Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Manchester City produced a performance of remarkable focus and ruthlessness on Sunday, brushing aside a hostile Anfield atmosphere and the shadow of an independent commission's guilty verdict to beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 and maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season. Second-half goals from Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki secured all three points for Enzo Maresca's side, who were playing their first match since being found guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
The build-up to the match had been dominated by the verdict, which found that City had artificially inflated their revenues by more than £900 million through "sham" contracts with commercial partners. City have denied any wrongdoing and have lodged an appeal, but the Anfield crowd had already delivered its own verdict. The City players were greeted by a chorus of boos during their warm-ups and again ahead of kick-off, with banners in the Kop declaring "a generation of supporters cheated" and chants of "you haven't won a trophy since 1976" referencing the club's last major honour before the current ownership era.
For the first hour, Liverpool matched City in a frantic, bruising contest. The hosts, under new manager Andoni Iraola, pressed aggressively and created chances, with Gianluigi Donnarumma called into action to deny several vicious strikes. The game threatened to boil over at times, with strong tackles flying in during the opening exchanges. By half-time, City had weathered the storm and settled the crowd, but with Liverpool attacking the Kop in the second half, Maresca's men knew they would have to withstand another onslaught.
The turning point arrived in the 62nd minute. Ryan Gravenberch, who had been one of Liverpool's better players, was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jérémy Doku and was sent off. The Dutch midfielder, making his return to the starting line-up, appeared to be in despair as he left the pitch, waiting momentarily in hope that the decision would be overturned. Television replays suggested the contact was minimal, and both Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville later described the dismissal as "harsh," with Carragher calling it "very, very soft". But the decision stood, and Liverpool were down to ten men with nearly half an hour remaining.
What followed was a six-minute collapse that laid bare the cost of the red card. Just two minutes and 36 seconds after Gravenberch's dismissal, City took the lead. Doku worked the ball into the box, his attempted shot deflected into the path of Erling Haaland, and the Norwegian smashed a left-footed strike past Alisson. Three minutes later, Doku doubled the advantage with a stunning long-range effort that curled into the far top corner. Rayan Cherki completed the rout in the 78th minute, playing a neat one-two with Joško Gvardiol before slotting the ball home. The three goals in sixteen minutes transformed a tense, even contest into a statement victory.
The statistics told the story of a City side that had absorbed pressure and then punished their opponents with clinical efficiency. Elliot Anderson, voted Player of the Match, controlled the midfield after the red card, while Donnarumma's saves in the first half kept City level when Liverpool were on top. Haaland, who missed a big chance just before his goal, praised his team's mental strength. "It was tough and hard. We showed amazing character from Gigio at the back, all the way to the front. I'm so proud of everyone," he said. "It's always tough to come here. It's about these times to stay strong mentally and stick together".
For Liverpool, the defeat was their first of the season and left them ninth in the table, already nine points adrift of City after just six matches. Iraola, who had refused to speak to his players immediately after the match, described the game as "two different games." "The first part is that we played two different games. One until the red card... You learn a lot in games like today. I am very proud of my players. They put the work rate and everything in today," he said. The Liverpool boss had earlier expressed frustration with the first yellow card shown to Gravenberch, calling it "just a kick in the toe. It was nothing".
The victory extended City's perfect record to six wins from six and moved them three points clear at the top of the table. It also marked their second consecutive league win at Anfield, a feat they had not achieved since January 1953. For a club facing an uncertain future, with the prospect of relegation, player exodus and contract chaos hanging over them pending the outcome of their appeal, the performance was a defiant reminder of what they remain capable of on the pitch.
City's players and staff went to show their appreciation to the away section after the final whistle, where supporters waved inflatable bananas and celebrated a victory that felt like more than just three points. The relief was evident on the faces of Haaland and Maresca, who has consistently backed his squad amid the controversy. "It's a lovely moment that will stick with us for a long time, when it comes to the feeling of after the game and in the game," Haaland said.
For Liverpool, the challenge now is to recover from a defeat that exposed their fragility once reduced to ten men. For City, the win provides a measure of vindication on the pitch, even as the legal and financial battles continue off it. The Premier League anthem was booed by City's supporters before kick-off, a gesture of defiance that carried extra resonance on a day when their club's conduct was being judged by the football world. As the players left the pitch to a mix of boos and cheers, the message from the away end was clear: whatever happens in the courts, on the pitch, City are still the team to beat.
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