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By ADRIAN BISHOP Published: 03: 47 AEDT, 2 December 2024 | Updated: 05: 13 AEDT, 2 December 2024 25 View comments Gary Neville offered a scathing assessment of Manchester City's performance during the first half of their clash with Liverpool. Pep Guardiola entered Sunday's clash in the midst of the joint-worst run of his managerial career. November saw City go winless in the Premier League, with back-to-back 2-1 defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton followed by a 4-0 drubbing at home to Tottenham. The dismal run meant the reigning champions were eight points behind Arne Slot's side as their hopes of securing a fifth consecutive league title appear increasingly tenuous. Amid the circumstances Guardiola opted to drop Ederson to the bench following a poor European showing in midweek, and also found no space for Kevin De Bruyne in his starting XI. Any hopes that City would quickly put their recent form behind them against their title rivals at Anfield were quickly dashed as Liverpool immediately seized control of the action. Liverpool took an early lead in their clash against title rivals Manchester City on Sunday Reigning Premier League champions failed to register a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes Gary Neville slammed City's first-half performance calling the clash 'men against boys' Cody Gakpo put the Reds in front on 12 minutes, and the hosts had multiple opportunities to add to their lead in the earth going. Despite the wealth of attacking talent at their disposal, City also struggled to create any real chances throughout the early portion of the game. Their only shot in the first 45 minutes came as Rico Lewis dragged his strike wide of the mark. Speaking on commentary as part of Sky Sports' coverage, Neville slammed City's performance and claimed the clash had been 'men against boys' up until that point. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group