Manchester City beat Liverpool and handed Andoni Iraola his first defeat as Liverpool’s head coach. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored the goals, and City extended their perfect start to the season.
Liverpool had already lost Ryan Gravenberch, who was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving them with 10 men for much of the match. Haaland gave City the lead with an emphatic finish after a quiet first half and a missed chance early in the second. Doku, who came on in place of Rayan Cherki‘s teammate Iliman Ndiaye on 56 minutes, added a superb strike. Elliot Anderson provided the assist for Doku, and Cherki capped the afternoon with a lovely goal of his own.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson (5): Could do nothing to keep out Haaland’s strike, then beaten by a beauty from Doku and some solid footwork from Cherki.
Ronald Araujo (5): Picked up a cheap yellow card early on and will be annoyed that the first two City goals came from his side.
Virgil van Dijk (6): Often pushed out of position to help Liverpool deal with being outnumbered in midfield. Perhaps could have closed Haaland down quicker.
Jeremy Jacquet (6): A young talent who is very impressive, but this must have been a real eye-opener against a quality City attack.
Milos Kerkez (5): Battled well with Ndiaye and pushed up 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 he was sent off for a second yellow card. Naive on his part.
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): Simply has to do better, particularly in games of this magnitude. Was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions.
Bradley Barcola (5): Sharp on the ball and did his defensive duties, but like Wirtz, must do more in the final third.
Lewis Koumas (7): Making his first Premier League start, the 21-year-old got stuck in from the outset in an energetic display that was loved by the Anfield crowd.
Manchester City player ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma (7): 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.
Matheus Nunes (7): An impressive display, making a great tackle in the box to deny Barcola in the first half.
Ruben Dias (7): Did well to weather the early storm and keep Liverpool out.
Marc Guehi (7): Like Dias, produced a strong performance at centre-half and can take satisfaction from the way City defended, especially when Liverpool attacked the Kop end.
Nico O’Reilly (6): Solid going forward but had his work cut out against Munoz and was inevitably booked for a second-half foul.
Elliot Anderson (7): Always showed for the ball and was constantly involved. Lucky not to be booked for pulling Gravenberch back, and got the assist for Doku.
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.
Iliman Ndiaye (6): Dangerous on the ball and had a few threatening moments before being replaced by Doku.
Rayan Cherki (8): Capped a day to remember for City with a lovely goal.
Antoine Semenyo (7): Threatened all afternoon and was part of an attack that was simply too good for Liverpool once City had the man advantage.
Erling Haaland (8): Had a quiet first half and missed a huge chance early in the second, but finished emphatically to give City the lead.
Jeremy Doku (8): Came on on 56 minutes and scored an absolute belter.