Manchester City turn down the noise with their own racket

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Premier League: Liverpool 0 Manchester City 3 

IT’S safe to say this is one outcome that Manchester City will not be appealing.

If it is to be their last league visit to Anfield for the foreseeable, and who knows what the future holds given the uncharted territory of the past few weeks, Enzo Maresca’s side signed off in style as a corner of Merseyside became an oasis of blue. Defiantly? Maybe.

Back-to-back City victories in front of the Kop are rare - this was their first in 73 years as they showed few ill effects of the weight of the guilty charges hanging over them for systematic financial doping for the best part of a decade.

A red card for Ryan Gravenberch midway through the second half as the hosts enjoyed their most potent spell was the catalyst for a winning return to action for the Premier League leaders, who maintained their perfect start to the campaign with a victory which was as comprehensive as it was no doubt satisfying.

The three points they earned may still potentially become meaningless pending their appeal, but for the time being at least they were fully merited.

After his first defeat as Liverpool manager, Andoni Iraola pleaded the Dutchman’s innocence. 

The Spaniard said: “I think it’s obvious. We’ve played two games. One game until the 60th minute and then another game after the red card. We were the best team in the first game and then they were better.

“The first one is not a yellow. The referee wasn’t even going to give a foul so I’ve no idea why he gave it.”

City scored twice within six minutes of Gravenberch earning a second yellow card for a nothing challenge on substitute Jeremy Doku which was as innocuous as the midfielder’s first caution for tangling with an overly dramatic Elliot Anderson. 

The sudden loss of their best player was a blow from which Iraola’s side failed to recover as the visitors ruthlessly exploited their numerical advantage.

Erling Haaland launched the second-half exhibition, reacting quicker than Virgil van Dijk to fire home left-footed from a dozen yards after a deflected shot from Doku fell invitingly for the Norwegian to claim his sixth goal in the last four appearances against these opponents.

With Liverpool still coming to terms that there was simply no way back, the second came three minutes later. 

Doku, whose introduction helped decide the outcome, was given time and space to cut in from the left and curl a sumptuous finish into the top corner from just inside the area.

Haaland confessed to not seeing his dad leading celebrations in the away end and he said: “I was looking for him. It seemed like they had the time of their lives there. I think he enjoyed himself so I’ll send him a message.

“I missed a big chance right before my goal so it was about focusing on getting another chance. The moment came and I took it. As a team we’re proud to score three goals here because that doesn’t happen often.”

It’s meant to be difficult for visiting players to win at Anfield but this was a third victory in a row for their stand-out performer Anderson, the under-stated Geordie who is far happier letting his feet do the talking. 

The 23-year-old England midfielder said: “I didn’t know that stat - it’s a good one!

“I enjoyed the crowd and the noise and I feel like I thrive in an atmosphere like this - if anything it gives me confidence.”

Rayan Cherki underlined the gulf between the sides on the day by adding a third 12 minutes from time to put the cap on a first home league defeat in eight months for a side who peppered the City goal with three shots in the space of 51 seconds at the outset of the second-half but who otherwise were largely toothless.

The outstanding Frenchman rounded off a seemingly never-ending move lasting the best part of two minutes where every City player touched the ball before the will-o-the-wisp midfielder left Jeremie Frimpong on his backside with a deft drag back inside the six-yard area to calmly slot the ball beneath Alisson.

The scenes in the away end behind the goal were memorable for the travelling inflatable banana-wielding City faithful, including the aforementioned Alf-Inge and Noel Gallagher - both wisely keeping their distance from the club’s sombre-looking executives in the directors’ box. 

What’s the story? Tainted glory? Watch this space.

“We need to learn to deal with the noise,” City boss Maresca reflected. “The noise will be with us in all our away games given the situation but we need to deal with that and make our own noise which is to win games. At the end it was just our fans and our noise.”

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Alisson 6: Araujo 6 (Frimpong 75, 3), Jacquet 6 (Gomez 88, 6), van Dijk 5, Kerkez 5; Gravenberch 5, MacAllister 6; Munoz 7, Wirtz 3 (Nyoni 66, 5), Barcola 3 (Chiesa 88, 6); Koumas 6 (Ngumoha 75, 4). Sent off: Gravenberch. Booked: Araujo, van Dijk.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma 7; Nunes 7, Dias 7, Guehi 7, O’Reilly 6 (Gvardiol 66, 7); Fernandez 6 (Bouaddi 80, 6), Anderson 9; Ndiaye 5 (Doku 56, 8), Cherki 8, Semenyo 7; Haaland 8. (Allan 80, 6). Booked: O’Reilly, Bouaddi.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh