Manchester City secured two wins in a row at Anfield for the first time in 73 years as they punished 10-man Liverpool in the first game since the Premier League's guilty verdict. Six minutes after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card, City led 2-0 thanks to excellent strikes from Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku. Rayan Cherki poured on the pain with a gorgeous late third after every away player had touched the ball in the build-up.
Match context and red card
The Reds had not lost in the league at Anfield since February 8, when City last came to L4. This result confirmed Andoni Iraola's first defeat since taking charge. It comes after it was confirmed during the international break that City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 Premier League charges against them, leaving it uncertain whether they will be playing at Anfield in the league again next season.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson - 6: Good save from Enzo Fernandez and parried a dangerous Elliot Anderson cross well. Could do nothing about the Haaland or Doku goals but got done by Cherki for the third.
Ronald Araujo - 6: Early tackle on Semenyo got the Anfield crowd going. A difficult assignment against Antoine Semenyo but did well while the game was alive. Booked.
Virgil van Dijk - 6: Dominant in the air, even against Erling Haaland, and solid on the ball. Noticeably stepped forward a lot. But after Liverpool went down to 10, lost control of the defence and played annoyed. Booked.
Jeremy Jacquet - 6: Good positioning to thwart a City attack when Rayan Cherki might have been in on goal. But failed to track Haaland for a brilliant second-half chance and like Van Dijk, not good enough after Gravenberch's dismissal.
Milos Kerkez - 6: Unable to offer much in attack and his deliveries were poor. Good defending to thwart Ndiaye at the back post when it looked like City would score.
Ryan Gravenberch - 5: Started well and loved powering forward in possession. Forced some good saves from Donnarumma with long-range efforts in the second half. Very unlucky to be sent off with first yellow very harsh. Second was soft too. For that reason, still gets a 5. His red card changed the game.
Alexis Mac Allister - 6: Some brilliant long-range passes and went close with an acrobatic effort at a corner. Very combative display. Curled one just wide second half. But looked lost once City scored.
Victor Munoz - 5: Game for the battle and a real nuisance with his pace. Liverpool's biggest threat but lacked end product and gets marked down for poor defending for the Doku goal.
Florian Wirtz - 3: Nowhere near clean enough in possession with too many poor touches and passes. Had some encouraging moments but overall continues to be a massive flop. His performance was summed up by a moment in the second half when he blazed a shot wide instead of playing Kerkez or Barcola into space in the box.
Bradley Barcola - 5: Put the hard work in defensively but didn't offer enough in attack. Too often pushed onto his weaker left foot. Good work to pinch the ball and feed Koumas for a chance in the 48th minute.
Lewis Koumas - 6: Very enthusiastic but raw. Competed well against the more physical Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi and pressed hard. Forced a good save from Donnarumma second half.
SUB: Trey Nyoni (Wirtz 66') - 6: Given too much to do with Liverpool down to 10.
SUB: Jeremy Frimpong (Araujo 75') - 4: Sent absolutely flying by Cherki for the third goal.
SUB: Rio Ngumoha (Koumas 75') - N/A
SUB: Joe Gomez (Jacquet 88') - N/A
SUB: Federico Chiesa (Barcola 88') - N/A
Man City player ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7: Did his best Manuel Neuer impression with some fancy footwork close to goal in the first half, but was a bit shaky at set pieces. Pulled off a trio of saves in less than a minute just after the restart.
Matheus Nunes - 6: Battled hard with Bradley Barcola and got the better of the Frenchman on several occasions. A sloppy mistake early in the second half almost cost the visitors.
Ruben Dias - 7: A man born to battle. The City skipper would've relished going into the lion's den. Marshalled the backline well.
Marc Guehi - 6: Conceded a needless free-kick on the edge of his box in the first half, which might've been costly on another day. Otherwise fine.
Nico O'Reilly - 6: Had a real battle on his hands against Victor Munoz, with the pair both getting the better of each other on occasion.
Elliot Anderson - 9: Absolutely everywhere. Covers so much ground and was crucial in breaking up Liverpool's attacks.
Enzo Fernandez - 7: Wouldn't have been phased by the unwelcoming reception. Did struggle with the physicality to begin with, but grew into the game and was key to helping calm things down from a City perspective.
Rayan Cherki - 8: Struggled to make an impact on the game in the first half. But as ever with the magical Frenchman, all he needs is a moment. That came in sensational fashion, with the ex-Lyon star turning the Liverpool defence inside out.
Antoine Semenyo - 7: Mixed bag. Created a couple of wonderful chances with driven crosses from the byline, but was also careless in possession at times.
Erling Haaland - 8: Unusually quiet and easy to defend against… until he wasn't. A thunderous swing of the left boot from around 12 yards out broke the deadlock at a pivotal moment.
Iliman Ndiaye - 6: Had the double-edged sword of being a City AND an ex-Everton player, but the Senegalese forward gave as good as he got in front of a hostile crowd. Subbed off just before the hour mark.
SUB: Jeremy Doku (Ndiaye 56') - 9: Tailor-made for a match like this. His positivity forced Ryan Gravenberch into the tackle that brought about the red card, and his driving run led to the opening goal.
SUB: Josko Gvardiol (O'Reilly 58') - 7: Was brought off the bench to shore things up, but it was the flick for the Cherki goal that represented his best contribution.
SUB: Allan (Haaland 80') - N/A: Late change.
SUB: Ayoubb Bouaddi (Enzo Fernandez 80') - N/A: Another late sub.
