Manchester City beat Liverpool to extend their perfect start and inflict the first defeat of Andoni Iraola’s reign at Anfield. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored the goals, and Liverpool had to play the final stages with 10 men after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card.
Haaland gave City the lead with an emphatic finish after a quiet first half and a missed chance early in the second. Doku added a superb strike, with Elliot Anderson providing the assist. Cherki capped the win with a lovely goal of his own.
Liverpool ratings
Alisson could do nothing to keep out Haaland’s strike and was then beaten by a beauty from Doku and some solid footwork from Cherki. Rating: 5.
Ronald Araujo picked up a cheap yellow card early on and will be annoyed that the first two City goals came from his side. Rating: 5.
Virgil van Dijk was often pushed out of position to help Liverpool deal with being outnumbered in midfield, and perhaps could have closed Haaland down more quickly. Rating: 6.
Jeremy Jacquet was not a bad display from a young talent who is very impressive, but this was a real eye-opener against a quality City attack. Rating: 6.
Milos Kerkez battled well with Iliman Ndiaye and pushed up regularly but lacked quality in the final third. Rating: 5.
Alexis Mac Allister grew into the game and put in a good shift but struggled once Liverpool went down to 10 men. Rating: 5.
Ryan Gravenberch came in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai and was Liverpool’s best player until he was sent off for a second yellow card. It was a naive moment. Rating: 6.
Victor Munoz played with real fearlessness and was an absolute nuisance for City, causing Nico O’Reilly all sorts of problems. Rating: 7.
Florian Wirtz has to do better, particularly in games of this magnitude. He was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions. Rating: 4.
Bradley Barcola was sharp on the ball and did his defensive duties but, like Wirtz, must do more in the final third. Rating: 5.
Lewis Koumas made his first Premier League start and the 21-year-old got stuck in from the outset in an energetic display that was loved by the Anfield crowd. Rating: 7.
Substitutes not used: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, McConnell.
Manchester City ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma 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. Rating: 7.
Matheus Nunes was impressive and made a great tackle in the box to deny Barcola in the first half. Rating: 7.
Ruben Dias did well to weather the early storm and keep Liverpool out. Rating: 7.
Marc Guehi delivered a strong performance at centre-half and can take satisfaction from the way he and Dias defended, especially when Liverpool attacked the Kop end. Rating: 7.
Nico O’Reilly was solid going forward but had his work cut out against Munoz and was booked for a foul on the Spaniard in the second half. Rating: 6.
Elliot Anderson always showed for the ball and was constantly involved. He was lucky not to be booked for pulling back Gravenberch, and he set up Doku’s goal. Rating: 7.
Enzo Fernandez forced Alisson into a good stop in the first half but did not really grow into the game until Gravenberch was sent off. Rating: 6.
Iliman Ndiaye was dangerous on the ball and had a few threatening moments before being replaced by Doku. Rating: 6.
Rayan Cherki capped a day to remember for City with a lovely goal. Rating: 8.
Antoine Semenyo was threatening all afternoon and was part of an attack that was simply too good for Liverpool once City had the man advantage. Rating: 7.
Erling Haaland had a quiet first half and missed a huge chance early in the second, but he finished emphatically to give City the lead. Rating: 8.
Jeremy Doku, who came on for Ndiaye on 56 minutes, scored an absolute belter. Rating: 8.
Substitutes not used: Rulli, Kovacic, Reis, Khusanov, Lewis.
