Manchester City delivered a devastating six-minute blitz at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, 2026, scoring three times after Ryan Gravenberch’s 62nd-minute red card to hand Liverpool their first Premier League defeat of the season and move three points clear at the top of the table.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 65th minute, Jeremy Doku doubled the lead three minutes later with a stunning curling effort, and Rayan Cherki capped a brilliant team move in the 78th minute to seal a 3-0 victory.
The Red Card That Changed Everything
The match had been a cagey, tense affair before the turning point. Liverpool, missing key attackers Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai through injury, had started brightly, with debutant Lewis Koumas forcing a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alexis Mac Allister firing just wide . But in the 62nd minute, Gravenberch—already on a yellow card—was shown a second booking for tripping Doku as the Belgian launched a counter-attack. Referee Chris Kavanagh had no hesitation, and the Dutch midfielder was sent off. Sky Sports co-commentators Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both felt the decision was harsh. Carragher said: “Feels really harsh when you think of two tackles. The first was not a yellow, it was so harsh, it was a nothing challenge, the referee was far too quick to get the card” . Neville concurred: “That is very, very soft. Knowing you’re on a yellow and on the wrong side of Doku, does he need to make the challenge? Giving the referee a dilemma”.
Six Minutes of Carnage
City wasted no time exploiting the numerical advantage. In the 65th minute, a deflected Doku shot fell to Erling Haaland, who slammed a first-time finish past Alisson from close range . It was Haaland’s sixth consecutive match on the scoresheet for City .Just three minutes later, Jeremy Doku—who had drawn the foul for the red card—cut inside from the left, danced past Koumas on the edge of the area, and curled an unstoppable strike into the far corner. Neville described it as “a beauty from Jeremy Doku. What a goal” , though he added it was “not necessarily beautiful for the game” given the circumstances .The third arrived in the 78th minute after a prolonged passing sequence that left Liverpool chasing shadows. Elliot Anderson found Cherki, who dummied the ball to Josko Gvardiol before spinning into the box. Gvardiol returned the pass perfectly, and Cherki calmly slotted past Alisson for one of the goals of the season.
What It Means
The victory extends City’s perfect start to the season to 18 points from six matches, while Liverpool remain on 15 points after their first league defeat . The result came in City’s first match since being found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules, with the Anfield crowd directing chants of “Cheats!” at the visitors throughout . City’s players celebrated emphatically in front of their travelling supporters, many of whom clutched inflatable bananas—a nod to an old club tradition from the 1980s . The win sends a clear message: regardless of the looming punishment, Enzo Maresca’s side remains the team to beat.