Manchester City silenced a hostile Anfield crowd with a devastating second-half display to claim a commanding 3-0 victory over Liverpool.
Played under an intensely charged atmosphere following a landmark independent commission ruling against City, the first half remained a tightly contested, goalless battle.
However, the match turned decisively in the 62nd minute when Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second bookable offense, paving the way for Enzo Maresca’s side to ruthlessly exploit their numerical advantage.
A blistering six-minute blitz tore Liverpool apart as Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku struck in rapid succession before Rayan Cherki sealed the comprehensive win.
Haaland broke the deadlock in the 65th minute with a powerful left-footed strike, followed quickly by Doku’s spectacular curling effort into the top corner.
Cherki capstoned the masterclass in the 78th minute with dazzling footwork inside the box, ensuring Manchester City maintained their flawless start to the Premier League season with six wins from six matches. Striver.Football rates all players who took part in the game.
Liverpool
GK- Allison Becker - 6
Did not have much to do with the game understandably even for most part, and did as was expected for a keeper of his experience.
RB- Ronald Araujo - 4
Did well to stop Antoine Semenyo's threat cutting inside, and dealt well with several one v one isolations against the Ghanaian, but backed off too much from Jeremy Doku in the build up to both goals by City.
CB- Jeremy Jacuet - 6
Looked assured as he has been for much of the season since his arrival from Rennes against the threat of Eerling Haaland in the first half but it was not enough to prevent defeat.
CB- Virgil Van Dijk -6
Used his experience to great effect against Erling Haaland in the first half but it was not enough to prevent defeat.
LB- Milos Kerkez -6
Dealt well with the threat of Ilman Ndiaye, even making a timely interception to prevent the Senegaese forward from scoring the opening goal, but it was not enough to prevent defeat.
CM- Ryan Gravenberch -5
Kept things tidy in the middle of the park and looked like his old 2024/2025 self running the show. He looked threatening progressing the ball especially with his ball carrying. Unfortunate to have seen a second yellow card for a challenge on Jeremy Doku. The red card arguably changed the momentum of the game.
CM - Alexis Mac Allister -5
Tried to help Florian Wirtz create inroads in the City defence especially in the second half and had a generally great display up until the red card to Gravenberch.
LW - Bradley Barcola -4
Was ineffective as Mateus Nunes kept him easily at bay before he was subbed off in the second half.
AM - Florian Wirtz -4
Was clumsy and sluggish in posession especially in the first half but did create some good goalscoring opportunities especially in the first half.
RW - Victor Munoz -4
Struggled to beat Nico O'Reilly for much of the game.
CF - Louis Koumas -5
Was a threat to City with his channel running and pressed incredibly well from the front. Also gave City defenders problems with his channel running.
Subs
Trey Nyoni -N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Federico Chiesa-N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Joe Gomez-N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Jeremy Frimpong-N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Rio Ngumoha-N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Man City
GK- Gigi Donnarumma -7
Made some very crucial saves especially at the beginning of the second half with Liverpool gaining momentum as the game aged.
RB- Mateus Nunez-7
Dealt well with the threat of Bradley Barcola, preventing him from really getting into the game.
CB- Ruben Dias -6
Organised his defence well and calmed down the brief storm Liverpool created at the beginning of the second half.
CB- Marc Guehi - 7
Looked as equally assured in defence alongside Ruben Dias.
LB- Nico O’Reilly - 7
Kept Victor Munoz at bay for much of the game.
CM- Enzo Fernandez -7
Kept things ticking for City in the first half and produced some shots that threated the opposition goal.
CM- Eliot Anderson
Dictated the tempo of City's game and produced an excuisite cross field pass to Jeremy Doku for the second goal.
RW- Ilman Ndiaye
Had a decent battle facing Milos Kerkes, but was subbed off for Jeremy Doku early in the second half.
AM- Rayan Cherki -8
Scored City's third goal which was the icing on the cake for what was a good second half for City.
LW- Antoine Semenyo -7
Did okay trying to stretch play for City in both flanks.
CF- Erling Haaland -8
Scored Man City's opening goal and did well trying to occupy both Jacquet and Van Dijk.
Subs
Jeremy Doku-10
Contributed to City gaining a man advantage after winning a foul against Gravenberch, forcing him into being sent off for a second yellow card. Also directly contributed to both City's goals by forcing Araujo into backing off both times. Clear man of the match.
Josko Gvadiol - 7
Came on as a sub and did his defensive duties well as he helped contribute to the win. Produced the assist for Cherki's goal.
Ayoub Bouaddi - N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Allan- N/A
Did not have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.
Final Thoughts
The win is a statement of intent by Enzo Maresca's men, who are under fire following their financial fraud guilty verdict charges a fortnight ago. For Andoni Iraola's Liverpool, the defeat will give them food for thought for what they need to work on to bounce back to winning ways.
