Manchester City secured a 3-0 victory at Anfield on Sunday, keeping their perfect start to the Premier League season intact. The win came days after an independent commission found the club guilty of breaking more than 100 Premier League financial rules, a ruling that dominated the build-up to the match.
The atmosphere in the stadium was openly hostile. Liverpool supporters displayed flags reading “cheats” and “114 charges”, and similar slogans were visible on merchandise sold around the ground. Red smoke filled the air and chants of “Cheating bastards” rang out, but City’s players were not put off.
Haaland, Doku and Cherki turn the match for City
City’s response came after Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch was sent off in the 62nd minute, leaving the home side with 10 men. The visitors used their numerical advantage quickly. Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku scored in quick succession, and Rayan Cherki added a third, quietening the noisy Kop end.
City turned the game around in six second-half minutes, a spell that proved decisive. Pep Guardiola’s successor, Enzo Maresca, said the squad had shown resilience. “It was not easy for the players after the last two or three weeks, but they dealt with the situation very well,” Maresca said after the match.
Maresca had earlier urged his team to tune out the noise around them. “I said during the week we need to learn how to deal with the outside noise but make our own noise, which is to win games. Our fans were singing at the end, so the noise was from us,” he said.
Haaland, the leading scorer in the Premier League this season with six goals, looked close to tears after the final whistle. He described the win as a “lovely moment” and said it would stay with a club he called troubled for a long time. “It’s time to stay strong and stick together and do what you can do something about – stick together,” he added.
Uncertainty hangs over City’s points and titles
City left Anfield without any damage to their position, but the result also underlined how much uncertainty surrounds the rest of the season. Maresca’s side top the table with 18 points from their opening matches and a 100 percent record. Those results, however, could count for little if City fail in their appeal against the guilty verdict.
City deny any financial wrongdoing. No sanctions have been decided, but if the appeal is unsuccessful, the potential punishments include:
- a significant points deduction
- expulsion from the Premier League
- the possible stripping of three league titles, which City won between 2009 and 2018, the period covered by the charges
The verdict on widespread financial impropriety casts doubt over every City result and raises questions for other clubs. City and 19 other clubs in the top flight are now facing an uncertain future, with key questions still unanswered about what sanctions, if any, the club will face.
Pundits and fans question the verdict and City’s past success
Former Manchester United captain turned pundit Gary Neville said the situation was damaging for the league. In comments made to a television broadcaster, he said: “This is really bad for the Premier League, and it’s going to continue for a few months.”
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said that “the uncertainty is not good for anyone”. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said he hoped the appeal process would not drag on for months. “There’s no way this can carry on to the end of the season because we’re all getting kidded,” Carragher said.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane raised the question of City’s previous titles. He argued that any league title won while financial wrongdoing was going on would be hard to celebrate. “Some people might think it’s a bit stronger, but I wouldn’t feel I have earned a league title if I thought there was something dodgy going on in the background. Absolutely not,” he said.
Keane also praised the effort players put into the game, including the injuries they pick up, but said that is simply part of their job. He added that he hoped everyone was “being honest and doing things the proper way”.
As City’s players celebrated at the final whistle, Anfield’s DJ played the Fleetwood Mac song “Little Lies” over the loudspeakers. For many, it was a final act of defiance from Liverpool and its fans, though it is unlikely to be the last hostile reception City face this season.
A Liverpool supporter outside the ground on Sunday said the verdict had been delivered but that such matters take time. “The Premier League have given their verdict, but we know that these things take time,” the fan said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t take years to discover what the end product is going to be.”
