At Anfield, Manchester City answered a hostile afternoon with a 3-0 win over Liverpool, moving through one of English football’s most charged backdrops with Jérémy Doku central to a result that reshaped the early title picture.
The news from the club
Enzo Maresca’s City arrived on Merseyside for their first match since the Premier League found the club guilty of 115 breaches of its financial regulations. On the pitch, however, they produced an emphatic victory against Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool.
Liverpool were reduced to 10 men during the match and could not recover. Doku drove City’s decisive work as the visitors turned the occasion into a clear away success.
The defeat was Liverpool’s first of the league season, but it carries a significant cost in the table. The Reds have dropped to ninth place and now sit nine points behind City.
City are three points ahead of Arsenal, the reigning champions, while Brighton’s outstanding start has lifted them into third. The emerging view is that the championship may again become a contest between City and Arsenal, despite Brighton’s presence near the summit.
Pressure at the foot of the table
Elsewhere, Álvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham are bottom of the Premier League, one point from safety. Bournemouth, Iraola’s former club, occupy the place immediately above the relegation zone.
Coventry are second from bottom and complete the round on Monday against Newcastle. Tottenham currently stand just above them, in third-bottom position.
