Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored as Manchester City beat Liverpool to hand Andoni Iraola his first defeat as Liverpool boss. City’s win came after Liverpool were reduced to 10 men.
Match summary
Haaland gave City the lead with a finish after missing a big chance early in the second half. Doku, who came on for Iliman Ndiaye in the 56th minute, added a stunning strike. Elliot Anderson provided the assist for Doku. Cherki then completed the scoring with a lovely goal that capped a memorable afternoon for City.
Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving Liverpool with 10 players. Before that, Gianluigi Donnarumma made a string of good saves early in the second half to deny Lewis Koumas and Gravenberch and keep the game level.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson (5) could do nothing to stop Haaland’s strike, then was beaten by Doku’s effort and Cherki’s footwork. Ronald Araujo (5) picked up an early yellow card and was left frustrated that City’s first two goals came from his side.
Virgil van Dijk (6) was often pushed out of position to help Liverpool cope with being outnumbered in midfield. Jeremy Jacquet (6) impressed as a young talent, though this was a real eye-opener against a quality City attack.
Milos Kerkez (5) battled well with Ndiaye and pushed forward regularly but lacked quality in the final third. Alexis Mac Allister (5) grew into the game and put in a good shift but struggled once Liverpool went down to 10 men.
Ryan Gravenberch (6) came in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai and was Liverpool’s best player until his dismissal, which was naive. Victor Munoz (7) played with real fearlessness and was an absolute nuisance for City, causing Nico O’Reilly all sorts of problems.
Florian Wirtz (4) was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions, and he needs to do better in games of this magnitude. Bradley Barcola (5) was sharp on the ball and did his defensive duties but must do more in the final third.
Lewis Koumas (7) earned the highest praise among Liverpool’s players. Making his first Premier League start at 21, he got stuck in from the outset in an energetic display that was loved by the Anfield crowd.
Manchester City player ratings
Donnarumma (7) had a shaky start but recovered well. Matheus Nunes (7) was impressive and made a great tackle in the box to deny Barcola in the first half. Ruben Dias (7) and Marc Guehi (7) both defended strongly at centre-half, especially when Liverpool attacked The Kop end.
Nico O’Reilly (6) was solid going forward but had his work cut out against Munoz and was booked for a second-half foul on the Spaniard. Elliot Anderson (7) was always available for the ball and constantly involved, and he set up Doku’s goal.
Enzo Fernandez (6) forced Alisson into a good stop in the first half but did not really grow into the game until Gravenberch was sent off. Ndiaye (6) was dangerous on the ball before making way for Doku.
Cherki (8) capped a day to remember for City with a lovely goal. Antoine Semenyo (7) was threatening all afternoon as part of an attack that was simply too good for Liverpool once City had the numerical advantage. Haaland (8) had a quiet first half and missed a huge chance early in the second, but he finished emphatically to give City the lead. Doku (8) came on and scored an absolute belter.
