Man City Go Three Clear with Statement Liverpool Win

Manchester City put a fortnight of bad headlines to one side and extended their 100% start to the season thanks to a brilliant 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield.

The international break has been dominated by news that City have been found guilty of 114 charges of financial misconduct following a protracted Premier League investigation.

But as attention turned back to football, it was Enzo Maresca’s side who did the talking.

A Timid Opening 45

After all the headlines, we were greeted by a red hot Anfield atmosphere aimed to unsettle a potentially fragile City outfit.

But on the pitch it was a scrappy first half, with 18 fouls preventing the match from getting into a slick rhythm we’ve seen so often when these two meet.

City would’ve been the happier of the two at the break, having weathered the crowd and faced little in the way of a final-third threat from the hosts.

A Game Changing Ten Minutes

After a dreary 55 minutes, City boss Maresca introduced Belgian winger Jeremy Doku in place of Iliman Ndiaye, in a switch that changed the direction of the game.

But the first flashpoint came just after the hour, when Ryan Gravenberch - booked just two minutes into the second half for a foul on Elliot Anderson - was given a second yellow after needlessly bringing Doku down as the forward looked to sprint clear.

Doku made them pay moments later as he carried the ball into the penalty area before finding Erling Haaland at the back post for a crisp finish. 

And Doku was at it again in the 68th minute, cutting inside Ronald Araujo before curling a delightful effort past the helpless Alisson.

Rayan Cherki added some extra gloss to the scoreline 12 minutes from time after playing a delightful one-two with Josko Gvardiol, before displaying beautiful footwork to slide the ball home to seal an emphatic win.