Manchester City extended their perfect start to the season with a 3-0 win over Liverpool, handing Andoni Iraola his first defeat as Liverpool manager. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored the goals, and the visitors were comfortable once Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men.
Liverpool’s problems grew after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card. Gravenberch had come in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai and had been Liverpool’s best player up to that point.
Haaland and Doku punish Liverpool
Haaland had a quiet first half and missed a big chance early in the second half. He recovered to finish emphatically and give City the lead. Alisson had no chance with the strike.
Doku made it 2-0 with a superb effort after coming on at 56 minutes to replace Iliman Ndiaye. Elliot Anderson provided the assist, and Doku’s strike was described as an absolute belter. Cherki added a lovely third goal to complete a memorable afternoon for City.
Liverpool’s struggles and bright spots
Liverpool were cut open once they were outnumbered in midfield. Florian Wirtz was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions, earning a rating of 4. Virgil van Dijk was often pulled out of position to help his side deal with City’s numbers, while Ronald Araujo picked up a cheap early yellow card and was left frustrated that the first two goals came from his side.
There were positives for the hosts. Victor Munoz was an absolute nuisance for City and caused Nico O’Reilly all sorts of problems, earning a 7. Lewis Koumas made his first Premier League start at 21 and got stuck in from the outset, producing an energetic display that the Anfield crowd loved. He also earned a 7.
City’s solid defence and midfield
Gianluigi Donnarumma had a shaky start but made a string of good saves early in the second half to deny Koumas and Gravenberch and keep the game level. Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi defended strongly at centre-half, especially when Liverpool attacked The Kop end. Matheus Nunes made a great tackle in the box to deny Barcola in the first half.
Anderson was constantly involved and always showed for the ball. Antoine Semenyo was threatening all afternoon as part of an attack that proved too strong for Liverpool once City had the numerical advantage.
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