Manchester City won 3-0 at Liverpool on Sunday in their first match since being found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules. All three goals came in the second half, after Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. Home fans greeted the visitors with chants of “cheats”.
Manchester City beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP.
It was City’s first game since an independent commission found them guilty on more than 100 charges of breaking the Premier League’s financial rules.
Match Summary
| Result | Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City |
| Scorers | Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki |
| Sent off | Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), two yellow cards |
| City’s lead | Three points at the top of the table |
How It Was Won
The match turned when Maresca brought on Jeremy Doku early in the second half. Within minutes Gravenberch fouled him and was shown a second yellow card.
Haaland scored three minutes after the dismissal, ESPN reported, turning in Doku’s deflected shot with 25 minutes left. Three minutes later Doku curled a shot into the top corner. Cherki added the third after a one-two with Joško Gvardiol.
The result extended City’s flawless start to the season under Enzo Maresca and restored their three-point lead.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola criticised the decision. “I think the first foul of Ryan is never a yellow card, never,” he said, according to ESPN. “I think we were the better team until the red card.”
The Reception
City arrived with a police escort. Liverpool supporters lined the streets and chanted “cheats” and “going down”. Stalls sold flags and scarves mocking the club’s financial case.
A banner in the Kop read: “a generation of supporters cheated”.
There was no repeat of 2018, when City’s team bus was pelted with bottles before a Champions League match.
Why Liverpool Fans Are Angry
The commission found that City and their owners arranged “sham” deals to inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018.
City won three league titles in that period. Liverpool have finished second to City three times in the past 12 years.
“There are so many moments and memories we can’t get back,” Liverpool fan Martin Reilly, 23, told AFP. “They have to throw the book at them.”
What Hangs Over the Title Race
No punishment has yet been decided. A heavy points deduction, or even expulsion from the league, is possible unless City overturn the verdict on appeal. There has also been speculation about titles being taken away.
City have appealed.
However well they play, the outcome of their season now depends as much on that appeal as on results.
Image: Jeremy Doku celebrating a goal for Manchester City at RB Leipzig, October 2023 (file photo). Photo: Steffen Prößdorf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
