Amid a hostile atmosphere and a barrage of insults, Manchester City secured a commanding 3–0 victory away to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday in the sixth round of the English Premier League, capitalizing on their numerical advantage in their first appearance since being found guilty of breaching financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
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City were greeted with chants of “cheats” upon arriving at Anfield. Liverpool fans lined the surrounding streets for hours before kickoff, while souvenir stalls were filled with flags and scarves mocking the financial scandal involving the Manchester club, which was accused by an independent commission of more than 100 financial rule breaches during the international break.
The visiting team’s bus arrived under police escort along an alternative route to avoid the large crowds. However, the scenes did not escalate into the violence that preceded the teams’ 2018 Champions League meeting, when City’s bus was pelted with bottles.
Relations between the two clubs have been tense for more than a decade, fueled by a sense of injustice among Liverpool supporters who believe their team should have won more league titles instead of City.
Liverpool finished second behind City in the 2013–14, 2018–19 and 2021–22 seasons, losing out by just one point in the latter two campaigns.
City, led by their new Italian coach Enzo Maresca, arrived at Anfield continuing to maintain their innocence after appealing a ruling by an independent commission that found them guilty.
They also arrived as league leaders, but with a heavy cloud hanging over the season and its possible outcomes as the Premier League considers what punishment to impose while the appeal process continues.
“It is important to stay mentally strong”
City responded on the pitch on Sunday, securing their sixth consecutive win and opening a three-point lead at the top over defending champions Arsenal. They also took advantage of the numerical disadvantage suffered by Liverpool, coached by Spaniard Andoni Iraola, who tasted defeat for the first time this season.
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who set City on their way to victory with the opening goal, told Sky Sports: “It is a fantastic moment that will stay with everyone at Manchester City and every fan for a long time. It was a difficult and demanding match, but we showed incredible character from back to front. I am very proud of everyone.”
He added: “It is important to stay mentally strong, stick together and focus on what we can control. What we can do is play good football and fight together. That is the only thing we can do.”
In the charged atmosphere, Liverpool were without injured players Alexander Isak of Sweden, Dutchman Cody Gakpo, Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai and Frenchman Hugo Ekitike. Liverpool started aggressively, pressing their visitors from the opening whistle, but Maresca’s side weathered the early pressure and began trading attacks without creating a clear threat on goal.
During one City attack, Liverpool launched a counterattack that nearly produced the opening goal, but Spanish player Victor Muñoz’s shot was saved by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 33rd minute.
City responded with a shot from Argentina’s Enzo Fernández inthe 35th minute and a left-sided run by Elliott Anderson in the 43rd, but Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson was equal to both efforts.
Early in the second half, Liverpool came close to taking the lead through a shot by Welshman Lewis Koumas in the 48th minute and a long-range effort from Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch a minute later. Donnarumma produced two fine saves, before Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister sent a long-range attempt just wide of the left post in the 50th minute. Mac Allister missed the target again eight minutes later.
Haaland then came close for City in the 61st minute, sending a shot just wide of the right post after a pass from Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo.
The turning point
Liverpool suffered a major setback when Gravenberch was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 62nd minute. City quickly exploited their numerical advantage, with Haaland opening the scoring three minutes later. The ball fell to him after a failed attempt by substitute Belgian winger Jérémy Doku, and he fired it powerfully into the net in the 65th minute.
It was Haaland’s sixth goal in six league matches and his eighth in eight appearances across all competitions.
Doku soon doubled City’s lead after cutting in from the left and curling a superb shot into the bottom-left corner past Alisson in the 68th minute.
City sealed the result in the 78th minute when French midfielder Rayan Cherki scored the third goal following an excellent team move.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace finally ended their struggles against Nottingham Forest, recording their first Premier League victory over the visitors with a 3–1 win.
Palace had failed to beat Forest in their previous 12 top-flight meetings, but turned the tables on Sunday to claim their second win of the season after coming from behind.
Algerian substitute Mohamed Belloumi rescued Hull City from defeat against Everton, scoring an equalizer in the 74th minute to secure a 2–2 draw. The result took Hull to nine points in ninth place, while Everton moved to fifth with 10 points.
Resource: AFP
