Manchester City beat Liverpool to extend their perfect start and inflict the first defeat of Andoni Iraola’s tenure, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki all on the scoresheet. Liverpool were reduced to 10 men when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card.
Goals and key moments
Erling Haaland gave City the lead with an emphatic finish after missing a big chance early in the second half. Alisson had no chance to stop the strike. Jeremy Doku, who came on for Iliman Ndiaye on 56 minutes, added a superb goal after Elliot Anderson provided the assist. Rayan Cherki then capped the day with a lovely effort of his own.
Liverpool had been without Dominik Szoboszlai, who was injured, so Gravenberch came into the midfield. He was Liverpool’s best player until his dismissal, and Gravenberch was naive to pick up the second booking. City then dominated with the extra man, and Matheus Nunes made a crucial tackle in the box to deny Bradley Barcola in the first half.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson (5) could do nothing about the two City goals. Ronald Araujo (5) picked up an early yellow card and was frustrated that the first two goals came from his side. Virgil van Dijk (6) was often pulled out of position as Liverpool were outnumbered in midfield. Jeremy Jacquet (6) was a young talent facing a quality City attack for the first time at this level. Milos Kerkez (5) battled well with Iliman Ndiaye and pushed forward regularly but lacked quality in the final third.
Alexis Mac Allister (5) grew into the game but struggled once Liverpool were down to 10 men. Ryan Gravenberch (6) was Liverpool’s standout until his red card. Victor Munoz (7) was fearless and a constant nuisance for City, causing Nico O’Reilly all sorts of problems. Florian Wirtz (4) was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions in a game of this magnitude. Bradley Barcola (5) was sharp on the ball and worked hard defensively but needed to do more in the final third.
Lewis Koumas (7) was making his first Premier League start at 21 and got stuck in from the outset, delivering 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) was impressive throughout. Ruben Dias (7) weathered the early storm well. Marc Guehi (7) gave a strong performance at centre-half and can take satisfaction from the way he and Dias defended 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 foul on him in the second half. Elliot Anderson (7) was always available for the ball and constantly involved, earning the assist for Doku despite being lucky to avoid a booking for pulling back Gravenberch. Enzo Fernandez (6) forced a good stop from Alisson in the first half but did not really get going until Gravenberch was sent off.
Iliman Ndiaye (6) was dangerous on the ball and had a few threatening moments before being replaced by Doku. Rayan Cherki (8) scored a lovely goal. Antoine Semenyo (7) threatened all afternoon as part of an attack that was simply too good for Liverpool once City had the numerical advantage. Erling Haaland (8) had a quiet first half, but his finish after the second-half miss gave City the lead. Jeremy Doku (8) came on and scored an absolute belter.