LIVERPOOL — Manchester City cruised to a statement 3-0 win at Anfield as Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki all scored to inflict a first defeat for Liverpool under Andoni Iraola, with the hosts finishing with 10 men after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card.
City weathered early pressure before taking control. Gianluigi Donnarumma had a shaky start but made a string of good saves early in the second half to deny Lewis Koumas and Gravenberch and keep the game level. Haaland had a quiet first half and missed a huge chance early in the second half before finishing emphatically to give City the lead, and substitute Doku — on in the 56th minute for Iliman Ndiaye — scored an absolute belter to double the advantage. Cherki then capped the day with a lovely goal for the third, beating Alisson with solid footwork after the goalkeeper had earlier been beaten by Haaland's strike and Doku's beauty.
The BBC Sport player ratings reflected City's control after the dismissal. Cherki, Haaland and Doku each earned 8s as the standouts, with Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Elliot Anderson — who got the assist for Doku — and Antoine Semenyo all on 7. For Liverpool, Gravenberch was rated 6 as the team's best player until his naive dismissal after coming in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai, while Victor Munoz and 21-year-old Lewis Koumas — making his first Premier League start in an energetic display — both earned 7s. Florian Wirtz struggled most with a 4 after a largely ineffective display and poor decisions, while Alisson, Ronald Araujo, Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and Bradley Barcola each received 5s.
Nico O'Reilly and Enzo Fernandez were rated 6 for City, with O'Reilly booked for fouling Munoz after the Spaniard had caused him problems throughout, and Ndiaye also on 6 before his substitution. Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet earned 6s for Liverpool, with Van Dijk often pushed out of position to cover midfield numbers. The result leaves City with a statement road victory at Anfield while Liverpool rue the red card that shifted momentum.