Manchester City missed the chance to cut the gap on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table to just two points this afternoon as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho's strike with 15 minutes remaining proved to be the difference on Merseyside after Edin Dzeko had earlier cancelled out Jordan Henderson's effort.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who stood out during an enthralling encounter between last season's top two.

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LIVERPOOL

Goal

Simon Mignolet: Only had one shot on target to face all afternoon and could not do much to keep out Dzeko's effort having been left exposed. Was a little nervy coming off his line on a couple of occasions, but settled into the game. (6/10)

Defence

Emre Can: Perhaps should have done better for City's goal having played Dzeko onside and failed to spot the danger of the Bosnian's run. Strong in possession as ever, though, and brought some composure at the back for Liverpool. (6/10)

Martin Skrtel: Always seemed to be in the right place to deal with crosses into the box as his side protected Mignolet's goal well. Outfoxed by Aguero's reverse pass for the goal, but otherwise impressive. (7/10)

Dejan Lovren: A couple of nervous moments, as ever, but generally coped with the likes of Aguero and Silva well. (6/10)

Midfield

Lazar Markovic: Looked lost out on the right at times and failed to have a huge say on the game, more often than not losing possession when trying something. Did create a good chance for Lallana with a clever chipped through ball, but that was his highlight. (5/10)

Jordan Henderson: Another superb performance from the stand-in skipper, following on from last weekend. Opened the scoring with a spectacular strike and was all over Toure in the second half. (8/10)

Joe Allen: Liverpool won a crucial midfield battle today and Allen was involved in that. Will not grab the headlines, but was an important figure. (7/10)

Philippe Coutinho: The best player on the park by some distance. Completely ran the show, making a mockery of Toure and Fernandinho in the second half especially. Capped off a wonderful display with a magnificent winner. (9/10)

Adam Lallana: Also found plenty of space behind City's deep midfield duo and contributed to Liverpool's dominance of that area. Had two goals disallowed for offside, but played a big role in the victory. (8/10)

Alberto Moreno: The vast majority of Liverpool's promising attacks came down his side in the first half. He faded as the match wore on, though, and was eventually withdrawn in the final 10 minutes. (6/10)

Attack

Raheem Sterling: Helped Coutinho and Lallana as part of a front three that tormented City. His pace caused plenty of problems and he also picked up two assists, although both goals were all about the finishes. (8/10)

Substitutes

Daniel Sturridge: Came on immediately after the winning goal and helped his side continue to pose a threat when City were pushing for an equaliser. Flashed one good chance narrowly wide of the far post. (6/10)

Kolo Toure: Replaced Moreno in the final 10 minutes and helped his side to see out the victory. (6/10)

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MAN CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: Was left helpless with the quality of the two strikes that beat him. Made a few decent saves throughout the match to keep his side in the game. (6/10)

Defence

Pablo Zabaleta: All of Liverpool's best moments came down his flank in the first half, and he struggled to get close to Coutinho when faced with the Brazilian. Good going forward, but defensively he found things difficult. (5/10)

Vincent Kompany: Going through a difficult patch at the moment and was at fault for the opening goal as he lost a 50-50 to Coutinho in midfield. Recovered to some extent, but was repeatedly left exposed by those in front of him. (5/10)

Eliaquim Mangala: Also got very little help from the two midfielders in front of him as Liverpool were allowed to break through time after time. Steadier than Kompany, though. (6/10)

Aleksander Kolarov: Did not get forward anywhere near as much as he would have liked, but did negate the attacking threat of Markovic down his wing. (6/10)

Midfield

Samir Nasri: Enjoyed a decent spell in the first half as he and Silva found space in between the lines. His influence waned as Liverpool gained control in the second half, though. (6/10)

Yaya Toure: Very much a mixed bag. His passing in the first half was dangerous and looked to be a potential avenue for goals, but he gave the ball away a lot more after the break. Is not in the team for his defensive qualities, but still should have done a lot more to help with the threat of Coutinho. (5/10)

Fernandinho: Effectively had to deal with Lallana and Coutinho by himself at times as Liverpool outnumbered City in midfield, and unsurprisingly he found that difficult. He was outplayed, but that was as much to do with the tactics as his own performance. (5/10)

David Silva: Contributed to the City goal and enjoyed a spell in the first half when he began to pull the strings. Had none of that in the second, however, and could only watch on as Coutinho played out the type of masterclass that Silva is used to producing. (6/10)

Attack

Sergio Aguero: Got the assist for the goal with a cleverly disguised reverse pass that took the entire Liverpool defence out of the game. Also hit the post himself, but was far short of his best for long spells. (6/10)

Edin Dzeko: Took his goal well but did not have much more of an impact on the game. Was eventually sacrificed before the hour as Pellegrini brought on another midfielder in an attempt to stop Coutinho. (6/10)

Substitutes

James Milner: Replaced Dzeko with just over half an hour to go as Pellegrini looked to address the imbalance in midfield. Milner's introduction did little to solve that, though. (6/10)

Wilfried Bony: Introduced in the 78th minute and lucky not to receive his marching orders shortly afterwards having led with his elbow in an aerial challenge with Lallana. (6/10)

Frank Lampard: Came on for the final seven minutes, but barely got a kick during his short cameo. (6/10)