Haaland hails 'amazing character' as 10-man Liverpool fall 3-0 to City at Anfield

Manchester City swept aside Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, their first fixture since the Premier League delivered a guilty verdict against the club for breaching financial rules — a result that keeps City six points clear at the top of the table after six games.

The match turned on a second yellow card for Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch just after the hour mark, reducing the hosts to ten men. City needed only a few minutes to capitalise, with Erling Haaland driving an emphatic finish past Alisson to open the scoring. Jeremy Doku doubled the lead three minutes later with a stunning curled effort, before Rayan Cherki wrapped up all three points with a composed dummy and finish in what the Norwegian striker described as a subdued atmosphere on Merseyside.

Haaland was effusive in his praise of the squad after the final whistle, singling out midfielder Elliot Anderson — named man of the match — as an example of the collective resolve City have shown in a turbulent period.

“Every single person part of Man City, and every fan, this is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time,” Haaland said. “It was tough, it was hard but we showed amazing character from back to front. So proud of everyone. Important to stay strong mentally, stick together and do what you can do something about, and the thing we can do something about is to play good football and fight together.”

Haaland also drew a direct line to City’s recent performance at Old Trafford, where they also played with ten men. “I spoke about the character playing with 10 men at Old Trafford, the first guy I think of is Elliot,” he said.

City entered the game having launched an appeal against the Premier League’s guilty verdict following a whirlwind three weeks off the pitch. Haaland acknowledged the mental weight of the moment without dwelling on the off-field noise. “You want to win games, it’s as simple as that. Perform well, play good football and win games. This was a mental battle.”

The victory leaves City with a perfect 18 points from six Premier League matches, three points ahead of Arsenal in second. They face PSG in the Champions League in midweek before returning to domestic action at home to Ipswich on Saturday, 18 October.