Manchester City at Liverpool: Haaland and Maresca frame a 3-0 win as a test of character

"It was hard, it was difficult, but from defense to attack we showed incredible character. I am so proud of everyone," Erling Haaland said after Manchester City's 3-0 win at Liverpool on 2026-10-11. The result came with banners in the stands calling City cheats after the guilty verdict, and the noise at Anfield never really eased.

Haaland's reading of the win

Haaland was not interested in dressing the afternoon up as anything other than a difficult away game. Speaking to SPORT1, in comments translated from German, he also said: "It is important to stay mentally strong, to stick together and to do what we have influence over and what we have influence over is playing good football and fighting together. That is the only thing we can do."

He also called it "a wonderful moment" that will stay in the memories of City supporters for a long time. The football backed him up. Haaland has 6 Premier League goals in 6 appearances this season, he scored once at Anfield and needed only 1 shot on target to do it.

Liverpool's turning point

The game changed after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off following a second yellow card in the 62nd minute. Haaland struck in the 65th minute, Jeremy Doku added City's second in the 68th, and Rayan Cherki finished it in the 78th.

Virgil van Dijk later said: "Second half the red card changed the game, especially when you concede quickly afterwards. We end up with 10 men is the fact and we concede quickly after and it becomes a difficult game against them again."

Enzo Maresca was just as focused on the atmosphere as the scoreline. "We have to learn to deal with the noise, because the noise will accompany us in all our away games," he said, before adding, "We have to make our own noise. Our noise means winning games."

City have now won all 5 of their Premier League matches, and this one fit the pattern: keep the game alive, absorb the heat, then punish the opening when it came.