MANCHESTER, England – Manchester City put a marker in Premier League title race with impressive 3-0 win over the current champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Erling Haaland saw an early penalty before giving City a deserved lead midway through the first half with a well-placed header. Virgil van Dijk thought he had equalized only to have his header ruled out because Andrew Robertson was judged to be offside before Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City made the most of their first-half advantage when Nico Gonzalez Just before half-time the score became 2-0 thanks to a shot from outside the area that was saved by Van Dijk and Jeremy Docu finished his game as man of the match with a spectacular goal in the second half.
As a result, City moved up to second place in the table, closing the gap with the leaders. Arsenal to four points after Mikel Arteta's side had to settle for a draw Sunderland on Saturday. — Rob Dawson
City's winning week shows how good they are
It's hard to say where City are at after a mixed start to the season, but this week has shown that they are actually quite good.
Pep Guardiola's team saw off AFC Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool within seven days. Moreover, all three performances were relatively convincing.
The first half against Liverpool was perhaps their best 45 minutes of the season. It was arguably their best 45 minutes since the 2023/24 season.
Guardiola has tried to play down expectations after a disappointing 2024/25 campaign, but they are moving with the times. UEFA Champions League leaders of the league standings; occupy second place in the Premier League, four points behind leaders Arsenal; and they will play in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup Brentford next month.
So far things are going so well.
There is a long way to go this season, something Guardiola himself noted in his press conference on Friday. All City can do is compete for trophies in the new year and they are well on their way to doing so.
Liverpool may not be at the same level as they were crowned champions six months ago, but it was still a resounding victory. — Dawson
Liverpool watch their rivals fade from view
Perhaps the most fitting expression of Liverpool's turbulent season so far came in the second half at the Etihad, when the home fans turned their backs on the action and staged the iconic Poznan celebration.
For Arne Slot's side, the sight of their long-time rivals enjoying such a convincing victory represents a new low in a campaign that has swung from the sublime to the ludicrous. After a promising week in which the Reds beat both Aston Villa And real MadridSunday's clash with a resurgent City simply proved a bridge too far.
Ultimately, this game was lost in the first half as Liverpool were unable to reproduce the quality and intensity that had helped them to such an impressive performance against Madrid in midweek. Slot may well have pointed to the fact that fate was not on his side; City's early penalty (well saved thanks to Georgiy Mamardashvili) seemed a harsh decision, while Van Dijk's controversial disallowed goal that would have made it 1-1 in the first half undoubtedly swung the tide in City's favour.
However, the fact is that Liverpool have not performed well enough this season. After 11 league games they have already suffered five defeats – more than in the whole of last season – and have now lost every game in which they conceded the first goal.
Defeat to City leaves Liverpool four points behind Guardiola's side and eight points behind leaders Arsenal. Unless the Reds can find a way to restore the mentality that helped them win the title last season, they could quickly find their two main rivals completely out of the picture. – What Lindop
Doku looks consistent and unstoppable
What a performance from the Manchester City striker. He caused havoc on City's left flank all day and capped off a great game with a fantastic goal.
Conor Bradley looked comfortable against Vinicius Junior on Tuesday, but he couldn't handle Doku. Belgium International won an early penalty, which Haaland missed, and every time he received the ball there was a feeling in the stadium that something was about to happen.
At one point in the first half he had such success with Bradley that Slott ordered Ryan Gravenberch to double. Nothing Liverpool tried seemed to work and it was only when Doku was substituted in the 73rd minute that the misery ended.
His goal, cutting in from the left and firing a right-footed shot into the far corner, was so good that when it was replayed on the big screens, there were oohs and aahs from City fans.
Doku has shown flashes of his abilities since arriving from Stade Rennais in 2023. However, this season he has done it consistently.
His ability in one-on-one situations is so good that when he plays like this, he is virtually unstoppable. — Dawson
Liverpool's defense could be their undoing in 2025/26
As Liverpool cruised to an impressive win over Real Madrid on Tuesday, Bradley's name reverberated around the stadium. The home fans at Anfield were keen to serenade the right-back after he produced perhaps the most impressive performance of his career, defending superbly and containing the tricky Vinicius.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Bradley was unable to match the same level of performance against City and was part of a defense that struggled to contain the outstanding Doku, particularly in the first half. Next to him Ibrahima Konate also had a difficult day and was overtaken by Haaland for the home team's first leg, with Robertson replaced Milos Kerkez at the beginning of the second half.
After Villa and Madrid managed to save back-to-back draws, it was a reminder that Liverpool still have some work to do defensively if they hope to salvage anything from this season. The return of the goalkeeper Alisson Becker This should help boost confidence among the backline after the international break, but the Reds' leaky defense looks set to be their undoing this season. — Lindop
In great shape, Holland is rewriting the record books
Missing an early penalty in a big match could have a negative impact on many forwards.
Not Haaland. Mamardashvili saved a penalty in the ninth minute, but that didn't stop the Norwegian from impressing.
Matheus Nunez was smart, delaying a cross from the right long enough for Robertson to turn his back. The ball into the penalty area was of high quality. However, after that, all attention was focused on Haaland.
He came off the back post and rose above Konate to send the ball across goal and into the corner. In many ways it was a typical Haaland goal.
He wasn't the star of the match against Liverpool but still scored his 19th goal of the season and 14th in 11 Premier League matches. The 25-year-old has also scored 99 Premier League goals in just 108 appearances.
These are hardly plausible numbers.
Alan Shearer, the leading goalscorer in Premier League history, needed 124 matches to score 100 goals. Given Haaland's form, it's unlikely he'll need another 16 games to break into the club's top 100. Another record is on the way. — Dawson
Salah's best days appear to be behind him
If this had been the match against City at the Etihad last season, Mohamed Salah enjoyed one of his best outings in a Liverpool shirt before it was on the same pitch this season that the striker's recent decline was laid bare.
In February Egypt international player scored Liverpool's first goal and provided an assist Dominik Szoboszlai for their second run to victory, which allowed them to take a giant step towards the title. However, on Sunday Salah struggled to cope with a stunning Nico O'Reilly as Liverpool suffered another miserable defeat.
To his credit, the 33-year-old fought until the end, even after missing a golden opportunity late in the second half. But despite scoring in both of Liverpool's last two league games (against Brentford and Aston Villa), he looked a shadow of his former self against City, failing to hit the target with any of his three shots.
Salah has shown enough in recent matches to suggest Father Time has not yet caught up with him, but his latest performance proves his days as Liverpool's main man may be behind him. — Lindop
