By Olukayode Olumuyiwa.
Manchester City delivered a ruthless statement victory at the Etihad Stadium today, crushing rivals Liverpool 3-0 in a high-stakes Premier League clash. Goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and a spectacular strike from Jérémy Doku sealed the win on a landmark day—Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th as a manager.
The result inflicted a painful defeat on Liverpool, who once again looked like a team “walking alone”. The holders of the Premier League title slipped to eighth in the table with 18 points, a daunting eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal, casting serious doubt on their title defence.
Haaland Redemption After Early Miss
The game’s early drama centred around Erling Haaland. After Jérémy Doku was fouled by Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili inside the box, the Norwegian striker stepped up for the penalty in the 13th minute. Mamardashvili redeemed himself immediately, diving low to save Haaland’s spot-kick and keep the scores level.
However, City’s dominance soon told. In the 29th minute, Haaland rectified his miss, powerfully heading home Matheus Nunes’ whipped cross. The goal, his 99th league strike for the club, put City firmly in control. Liverpool thought they had equalised before the break through a Virgil van Dijk header, but VAR intervened, ruling the goal out for offside against Andy Robertson.
Gonzalez and Doku Complete the Rout
The small glimmer of hope for the Reds was extinguished deep into first-half stoppage time. Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead with a strike from distance that took a crucial deflection off Virgil van Dijk’s leg, leaving Mamardashvili wrong-footed and sending City into the tunnel 2-0 up.
The second half belonged to Jérémy Doku. The Belgian winger, who had tormented right-back Conor Bradley all afternoon, wrapped up the points in the 63rd minute with a sensational individual effort. Receiving the ball just outside the box, Doku pulled off a shimmy to beat his marker before whipping a blistering, curled shot into the far corner.
Doku’s effervescent performance—which included winning the penalty, tormenting the defense, and scoring the final goal—rightly earned him the Player of the Match award.
Title Race Implications
The comprehensive 3-0 victory moves Manchester City up to second in the Premier League table on 22 points, closing the gap on leaders Arsenal to just four points. For Liverpool, who now suffer their fourth successive Premier League away loss—their worst such run since 2012—the result signals a period of crisis, forcing them to seriously contemplate their immediate targets for the season.
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