Second half goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki extended City’s flawless start under Enzo Maresca after Ryan Gravenberch had been sent-off for two yellow cards. Victory reestablishes City’s three-point lead at the top of the table, but the future of any title challenge rests on the outcome of the club’s appeal against widespread financial impropriety. Manchester City shrugged off the threat of swingeing sanctions to beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 in their first game since being found guilty on more than 100 charges of breaking Premier League financial rules.
The multiple breaches of Premier League laws came during a period in which City won three titles and a clutch of other trophies. No sanction has yet been handed down, but a severe points deduction or even expulsion from the English top-flight are on the table unless City overturn the decision.
The home side briefly flickered into life at the start of the second half when Lewis Koumas was denied a goal on his first Premier League start by Gianluigi Donnarumma. City arrived under the protection of a police escort with a hostile Anfield welcome expected, but there was no repeat of the violent scenes when their team bus was pelted by bottles ahead of a Champions League clash in 2018. An Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in 2008 transformed City from mid-table mediocrity into the dominant force of the English game.
