Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 to hand Andoni Iraola his first defeat as Liverpool manager, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki on the scoresheet. Liverpool had already been reduced to 10 men when City took control.
Haaland gave City the lead after a quiet first half, finishing emphatically after missing a big chance early in the second half. Liverpool keeper Alisson had no chance with the strike. Doku, who came on for Iliman Ndiaye on 56 minutes, added a second with a superb effort, and Cherki sealed the win with a lovely goal. Elliot Anderson provided the assist for Doku.
Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch was their best player until he was sent off for a second yellow card, a moment the ratings describe as naive. Gravenberch had come in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson (5): Could do nothing to keep out Haaland’s strike, then was beaten by a beauty from Doku and some solid footwork from Cherki.
Ronald Araujo (5): Picked up a cheap early yellow card 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 down Haaland quicker.
Jeremy Jacquet (6): Not a bad display from a young talent, though this was 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): Liverpool’s best player until his 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): 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, including 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): A strong performance at centre-half. He and Dias can take satisfaction from the way they 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 booked for fouling him in the second half.
Elliot Anderson (7): Always showed for the ball and was constantly involved. Lucky not to be booked for pulling back Gravenberch, and got the assist for Doku.
Enzo Fernandez (6): Forced Alisson into a good stop in the first half but didn’t 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): Threatening all afternoon and part of an attack that was simply too good for Liverpool once City had the man advantage.
Erling Haaland (8): Quiet in the first half and missed a huge chance early in the second, but finished emphatically to give City the lead.
Jeremy Doku (8): Came on and scored an absolute belter.
Ratings are based on the average of reader submissions.