Manchester City secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, with goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki handing Enzo Maresca’s side all three points.
The visitors took control in the second half after Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was sent off, receiving a second yellow card in the 62nd minute for a foul on Doku.
City capitalised almost immediately, with Haaland opening the scoring in the 65th minute. The Norwegian striker fired home from close range after Doku’s cross took a deflection off Alexis Mac Allister.
Doku doubled City’s lead three minutes later, cutting inside from the left before curling a superb effort into the top-right corner to leave Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker with little chance.
Cherki completed the rout in the 78th minute, combining with Josko Gvardiol before slotting past Alisson to seal an emphatic away victory.
The defeat was a major setback for Liverpool, who had struggled to create clear-cut chances before Gravenberch’s dismissal changed the contest.
City dominated the closing stages, with Doku continuing to trouble the Liverpool defence as the visitors comfortably saw out the result.
The victory came amid heightened scrutiny of City following the verdict in the Premier League’s financial rules case. Before the match, Maresca defended the club’s achievements during the period under investigation, insisting he had no doubts about the effort invested in winning their major trophies.
City had won their opening five league matches and entered the fixture at the top of the table, while Liverpool were sixth after two wins and three draws under new head coach Andoni Iraola.
The result strengthened City’s position in the title race and extended their recent dominance over Liverpool, having won both Premier League meetings between the sides last season.
