Manchester City on Sunday defied relegation fears to beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, in a Premier League game in which the home side finished with 10 men.
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was sent off in the 62nd minute after picking up a second yellow card.
The result keeps City’s 100 per cent start to the Premier League season intact and handed Liverpool their first defeat under manager Andoni Iraola.
Erling Haaland put City ahead. Jérémy Doku, who came on as a substitute in the 56th minute, then curled in the second.
Ryan Cherki sealed the win after dummying a pass from Elliot Anderson and running on to a back-heel from fellow substitute Josko Gvardiol.
Cherki then cut away from Liverpool substitute Jeremie Frimpong before shooting home.
Doku was also involved in the build-up to the third goal.
The match was played against the backdrop of the guilty verdicts an independent commission handed City on virtually all of the 100-plus charges they faced for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules. City have maintained their innocence and have appealed.
The Premier League published a document giving the first details of the decision on the Tuesday before last. It cited proven misconduct, sham arrangements and concerted attempts to frustrate the investigation. It also said some of the club’s witnesses gave evidence they knew to be untrue.
Liverpool supporters sang that City were cheats and would be relegated, from before kick-off and at regular intervals throughout the game.
The noise rose sharply in the minutes before kick-off. A banner featuring the word “cheats” and a long sequence of pound signs was unfurled before the start, while others borrowed from Oasis lyrics.
City fans brought scores of inflatable bananas and some wore old match shirts. Banners in support of club chair Khaldoon al-Mubarak were also visible.
City’s team buses were taken around the back of the stadium on arrival, avoiding the crowds on the streets.
The game was tense early on. Ronald Araújo crashed into a slide tackle on Antoine Semenyo in the second minute.
Marc Guéhi was later penalised for going to ground but was not booked. Araújo was yellow-carded for demanding that Guéhi be shown a card.
