Manchester, England – Manchester City set a milestone in the race for the English Premier League title with an impressive 3-0 win over defending champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Erling Haaland saw an early penalty saved before giving City a deserved lead midway through the first half with a well-placed header. Virgil van Dijk thought he had equalized only for a header to be disallowed because Andrew Robertson was deemed offside in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City made the most of their dominance in the first half when Nico Gonzalez made it 2-0 just before half-time with a shot from outside the box that deflected off Van Dijk, and Jeremy Doku rounded off his man-of-the-match performance with a stunning second-half goal.
The result lifted City to second place in the table as they closed the gap with leaders Arsenal to four points after Mikel Arteta’s side were forced to draw with Sunderland on Saturday. — Rob Dawson
City’s win week reveals just how good they are
It has been difficult to know where City stand after a mixed start to the season, but this week revealed that they are actually good.
Pep Guardiola’s side beat Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in the space of seven days. What’s more, all three presentations were relatively convincing.
The first half against Liverpool was perhaps their best 45 minutes of the season. This was perhaps their best 45 minutes since the 2023-24 season.
Guardiola was keen to play down expectations after a miserable season in 2024-25, but they are keeping pace with the UEFA Champions League leaders at the top of the league table; It ranks second in the English Premier League, four points behind leaders Arsenal. He will face Brentford in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals next month.
So far, so good condition.
There is still a long way to go this season, something Guardiola himself pointed out in his press conference on Friday. All City can do is put themselves in a position to challenge for silverware in the new year, and they are well on their way to doing so.
Liverpool may not be at the level that saw them crowned champions six months ago, but it was still an impressive win. –Dawson
Liverpool are watching their rivals disappear out of sight
Perhaps the most apt embodiment of Liverpool’s turbulent season so far was what happened in the second half at the Etihad Stadium, when the home team’s supporters turned their backs on the game and staged the famous ‘Poznań’ celebration.
For Arne Slott’s team, the sight of their old rival enjoying such an emphatic victory represents a new nadir in a campaign that has gone from sublime to ridiculous. After a promising week in which the Reds beat both Aston Villa and Real Madrid, Sunday’s match against promoted City proved to be a bridge too far.
Ultimately, this was a losing game in the first half, as Liverpool were unable to replicate the quality and intensity that helped them beat Real Madrid so impressively in midweek. Slott may point to the fact that fortune has not been in his team’s favor; City’s early penalty (well saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili) looked like a callous decision, while Van Dijk’s controversial goal – which would have made it 1-1 at half-time – undoubtedly swung the momentum in City’s favour.
However, the fact of the matter is that Liverpool have not been good enough this season. After 11 league games, they have already suffered five defeats – more than they suffered in the whole of last season – and have now lost every game in which they conceded the first goal.
The defeat to City left Liverpool four points behind Guardiola’s side and eight points behind leaders Arsenal. If the Reds cannot find a way to regain the mentality that helped them win the title last season, they could quickly find that their biggest rivals are completely out of sight. – What to do?
Doku looks consistent – and unstoppable
What a performance from the Man City winger. He caused chaos down City’s left flank all afternoon and capped off an impressive display with a superb goal.
Connor Bradley looked comfortable against Vinicius Junior on Tuesday, but was unable to handle Doku. The Belgian international won the early penalty kick that Haaland missed, and every time he got the ball, there was a feeling inside the pitch that something was about to happen.
At one point in the first inning, he was having such a hit against Bradley that Slot ordered Ryan Gravenberch to double up. Everything Liverpool tried seemed to work, and the pain only stopped when Doku was substituted in the 73rd minute.
His goal, a drive from the left flank and a right-footed shot into the far corner, was so good that when it was replayed on the big screens, there were boos from the City fans.
Doku has shown flashes of his ability since arriving from Stade Rennes in 2023. However, he has done so consistently this season.
His ability in one-on-one situations is so good that when he plays like that, he is almost unstoppable. –Dawson
Liverpool’s defense could be their undoing in 2025-26
With Liverpool on the verge of an impressive win over Real Madrid on Tuesday, Bradley’s name has been raised all over the pitch. Supporters inside Anfield were keen to sing the right-back’s praises after he produced the most impressive display of his career, defending superbly to keep Vinicius away.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Bradley was unable to match that level of performance against City and was part of a defense that struggled to contain the outstanding Doku, especially in the first half. Alongside him, Ibrahima Konate also endured a difficult afternoon and was outclassed by Haaland in the hosts’ opener, while Robertson was replaced by Milos Kerkez at the start of the second half.
After keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Villa and Madrid, it was a reminder that Liverpool still have work to do defensively if they hope to salvage anything from this season. The return of goalkeeper Alisson Becker after the international break should help boost confidence among the backline, but it looks like the Reds’ leaky defense could be their undoing this season. — Lindop
At his best, Haaland is rewriting the record books
Missing an early penalty kick in a big game may have had a negative impact on many strikers.
Not Haaland. He saw his ninth-minute penalty saved by Mamardashvili, but it did not stop the Norway international from making his mark.
Matheus Nunes was clever in delaying his cross from the right long enough for Robertson to turn his back. The ball inside the penalty area was quality. After that, it was all about Haaland.
He raced towards the back post and rose above Konate to head the ball across goal and into the corner. In many ways, this was a typical goal for Haaland.
He was not the star against Liverpool, but he scored his 19th goal of the season and 14th in 11 Premier League matches. The 25-year-old has also moved on to 99 Premier League goals in just 108 appearances.
These are unbelievable numbers.
Alan Shearer, the all-time top scorer in the Premier League, needed 124 games to reach 100 goals. With Haaland at this level, it is unlikely that he will need another 16 games to reach club number 100. Another record is about to go. –Dawson
It seems that Salah’s best days are over
If Mohamed Salah enjoyed one of his best games in a Liverpool shirt against City at the Etihad Stadium last season, it was on the same pitch this season as the striker’s recent decline was revealed.
In February, the Egypt international scored Liverpool’s first goal and assisted Dominik Szoboszlai’s second on their way to a win that saw them take a giant step towards the title. But on Sunday, Salah faced the impressive Nico O’Reilly, as Liverpool suffered another miserable defeat.
To his credit, the 33-year-old fought back to the end, even after missing a brilliant chance late in the second half. But despite scoring in Liverpool’s past two league games (against Brentford and Aston Villa), he looked like a shadow of his former self against City, as he failed to hit the target with any of his three shots.
Salah has shown enough in recent games to suggest that Father Time has yet to catch up with him, but his latest display proves that his days as Liverpool’s main man may be behind him. — Lindop
