Manchester City crushed rivals Liverpool 3-0 on Sunday in a high-stakes 2025-26 Premier League match, with Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku scoring to seal a win that could prove crucial in the title race.
The match was City boss Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th as manager, and his team marked the milestone with a statement victory, moving to second place with 22 points after 11 games, four behind leaders Arsenal. Holder Liverpool dropped to eighth place with 18 points.
City were sharp from the start and Haaland rose high above Ibrahima Konate to head home Matheus Nunes’ cross in the 29th minute for his 99th league goal for the club. The goal made up for the Norwegian’s missed penalty early in the match, and Haaland karate-kicked the corner flag in celebration.
Gonzalez doubled the lead just seconds before halftime when the fans chanted “shoot!” He did just that: his attempt from distance deflected Virgil van Dijk’s leg, putting goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili on the wrong foot.
Doku put the match out of reach with his first league goal since January, when Nico O’Reilly found him on the edge of the penalty area. He moved the ball to his other foot and then fired a thrilling shot from just outside the penalty area into the far corner in the 63rd minute.
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Haaland had an early penalty saved by Mamardashvili, who guessed correctly, the fourth penalty City has missed in its last five against Liverpool in the Premier League. The penalty was awarded after Doku appeared to be caught by Mamardashvili.
Premier League top scorer Haaland scored his fourteenth goal of the campaign – the second most by any player in the first eleven games of a season, behind Haaland himself, who scored seventeen in the 2022/23 campaign. He also has 28 goals in 18 appearances for club and country.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk briefly celebrated what he thought was a goal in the first half, but it was ruled out for offside. On review, VAR ruled that Andy Robertson, who dived as the ball went into the net, made “an obvious move directly in front of the goalkeeper” and was therefore offside, the Premier League Match Center said.
City had six shots on target, compared to just one for Liverpool, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium in a rush after wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid ended a dreadful run of six defeats in seven games in all competitions.
Published on November 10, 2025
