Manchester City left Anfield with a 3-0 win, their sixth successive triumph to start the season, and the result restored a three-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table. Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki supplied the goals on a night when the noise around the club was as loud as anything on the pitch.
The first public outing after the guilty verdict
It was City’s first public outing since they were found guilty by an independent commission of 114 charges, and Liverpool supporters made that the focus from the start. Flags reading "Guilty - 114 Charges" and "Cheats" were displayed, red smoke drifted near the Players’ Entrance, and the crowd chanted "you cheating bastards" and "you know what you are" as the visitors arrived.
The buses even used an underground car park after the City coach took a back route. That kind of backdrop can swallow a team, but City did the opposite of retreating and turned the game into a clean win instead.
Haaland, Doku and Cherki settled it
The football was the point once the match began. Haaland now has 6 Premier League goals in 6 appearances, Doku has 1 in 2, and Cherki has 4 in 6, which explains why City have kept scoring even as the noise around them has grown louder.
City’s league numbers are hard to ignore, too. They have won all 5 of their Premier League matches this season, scored 13 goals in those games and sit on 15 points. The title race is still early, but a perfect league start and a 3-0 win at Anfield is a strong answer to a difficult week.
The last image of the night was City supporters in the away end doing the Poznan in the dying minutes. Pep Guardiola’s side did not just survive the atmosphere, they left with the points and the lead intact.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
