Anfield had spent much of the afternoon trying to unsettle Manchester City. By the final whistle, it was the travelling end making the noise, with Jérémy Doku at the centre of a 3-0 win that sharpened the focus on Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.
Doku changes the game at Anfield
The Belgian international came on in the 56th minute for Iliman Ndiaye and transformed a match that had offered few openings before his arrival. Manchester City had been contained, while Liverpool looked the stronger side when both teams had 11 players on the pitch.
- Liverpool finally created danger early in the second half, but Gianluigi Donnarumma kept City level by stopping efforts from Lewis Koumas in the 48th minute and Alexis Mac Allister a minute later.
- Doku entered in the 56th minute and six minutes later drew the foul that led to Ryan Gravenberch being sent off.
- With Liverpool reduced to 10 men, Doku fired a shot in the 65th minute that was pushed away, only for Erling Haaland to react first and score the opener.
- Three minutes later, Doku finished a fine individual move himself to double City’s lead.
- Rayan Cherki ended Liverpool’s fading hopes in the 78th minute, producing a clever piece of work inside the area for City’s third goal.
City remain perfect before PSG test
The result kept Manchester City unbeaten and alone at the top of the Premier League, three points clear of Arsenal. It was a commanding finish after a difficult opening hour, with Liverpool unable to recover once Gravenberch had left the field.
City’s players had been welcomed by sustained whistles from the home crowd, linked to the club’s 114 alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations. But the mood shifted dramatically as the visitors took control. Their supporters were the ones heard at the end, celebrating with inflatable bananas in the away section.
Doku’s impact makes it unlikely he will begin on the bench again when City face PSG on Wednesday at 21:00 in the Champions League. The winger arrives in Paris off the back of a decisive display: a red card won, an assist in Haaland’s opener and a goal of his own in the space of six second-half minutes.
