Ten-man Liverpool beaten 3-0 at Anfield as Manchester City stay perfect

Manchester City scored three times in 13 minutes against 10 men to win 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, ending Liverpool’s unbeaten start and keeping their own perfect record under Enzo Maresca.

The match turned on Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal two minutes after the hour. Already booked, the Liverpool midfielder brought down Jérémy Doku as City broke, and was shown a second yellow card. Within minutes the game, goalless and evenly balanced until then, had gone.

How the goals came

Doku had come off the bench on 56 minutes and he made the difference. He cut in from the left, his shot was blocked and Erling Haaland drove the loose ball into the net on 65 minutes. Three minutes later Doku repeated the move and curled a shot into the top corner past Alisson.

Rayan Cherki added the third on 78 minutes. He ran on to a flicked pass from Joško Gvardiol, beat Jeremie Frimpong with a step-over and dragback and finished under Alisson. City said the goal came at the end of a 41-pass move involving all 10 outfield players.

Liverpool had their moments. Gianluigi Donnarumma made a double save to deny Koumas and Gravenberch soon after half-time, and Alexis Mac Allister curled narrowly wide. Haaland also dragged a one-on-one wide shortly before he scored.

What they said

Haaland said he had to put that miss behind him. “I missed a big chance right before and it was just about focusing on getting another chance and stay focused,” he said. “The moment came and I took it.”

Maresca admitted City struggled before the break. “First half we struggled a bit because it was not easy for different reasons,” he said. “I’m very, very happy with the three points.” He said Doku’s introduction came at “just the right time” with the red card.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola felt his side were the better team for the first 62 minutes and questioned Gravenberch’s first booking.

I think the first foul of Ryan is never a yellow card, never.

Virgil van Dijk agreed the dismissal changed the match. “Unfortunately, the red card obviously changed a big part of the game, especially when you concede that quickly afterwards as well,” he said.

Where it leaves them

City have won all six league games under Maresca, equalling the best start to a managerial reign in Premier League history, a record he shares with Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They have 18 points and lead Arsenal by three. It was also their fourth win in a row over Liverpool.

For Liverpool, watched by 60,338 at Anfield, it was the first defeat of the season. Gravenberch is suspended for the league trip to Brentford, and Iraola said the squad faces four games in 10 days, including a flight to Austria this week. City host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next.