Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened
City embraced a hostile atmosphere and overwhelmed Liverpool after Ryan Gravenberch’s red card
6.42pm BST
Match report: Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City
It is a soundtrack that Manchester City have heard before but never for such sustained bursts during a match. It came from the Liverpool support, first ringing out around Anfield before kick-off and coming at regular intervals thereafter.
It was always going to be like this as City feel their way into a new reality, one conditioned by the guilty verdicts handed to them by an independent commission on virtually all of the 100-plus charges they have faced for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules. City continue to maintain their innocence and have appealed.
The Kop wanted to tell City what they are. And where they are going. According to them, they are cheats, who are set to be relegated. It was not exactly a bear-pit of an atmosphere; it was not really intimidating. It was more of an outpouring and it was impossible to ignore.
City did not care. They rolled with the invective. And after a slow-burn contest turned on a second yellow card for the Liverpool midfielder, Ryan Gravenberch, in the 62nd minute, City cut loose. All that their players can do is blot out the noise. They did so here, running all over Liverpool’s ten men to maintain their 100% start to the Premier League season.
Related: Cherki cracker caps Manchester City win at Liverpool in face of Anfield taunts
Updated at 6.52pm BST
6.41pm BST
Man City reaction Elliot Anderson
We showed real togetherness and fight – and we played well. The [hostility] was definitely more than normal, but I thought we did well to quieten the crowd.
I enjoy the noise and I feel like I thrive in those atmospheres. That’s when I come alive.
Erling Haaland
This is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time. We showed amazing character from back to front; I’m so proud of everyone.
It’s always tough to come here. It’s about trying to stay strong mentally. Do what you can do something about. And what we can do something about is play good football and fight together.
[Did you spot your dad in the away end?] I was looking for him but no, I didn’t see him. It looked like they [the away fans] had the time of their lives!
Updated at 6.42pm BST
6.36pm BST
“I’ve rarely if ever been left that cold by a game of football,” writes Anonymous of Anfield. “Was more engaged going to overseas league games as a neutral.”
6.35pm BST
“Hi Rob, no disputing the brilliance of City’s goals but the referee’s decision to give a second booking to Gravenberch, who was Liverpool’s best player today with driving runs and threatening shots, completely changed the game. A really poor decision,” writes Colum Fordham. “Obviously, the introduction of Doku with City a man up has also turned the match on its head. Plenty for Iraola to ponder, in particular the role of Wirtz who, together with Barcola, has been dreadfully disappointing.”
6.28pm BST
The race for the golden boot
Related: Premier League top scorers 2026-27: who is leading race for the golden boot?
6.26pm BST
The updated Premier League table
Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Man City 6 11 18 2 Arsenal 6 5 15 3 Brighton 6 13 13 4 Brentford 6 6 10 5 Everton 6 3 10 6 Chelsea 6 2 10 7 Leeds 6 3 9 8 Hull 6 2 9 9 Liverpool 6 0 9 10 Ipswich 6 -3 9 11 Newcastle 5 0 8 12 Crystal Palace 6 -3 7 13 Man Utd 6 0 6 14 Nottm Forest 6 -3 5 15 Aston Villa 6 -5 5 16 Sunderland 6 -6 4 17 AFC Bournemouth 6 -6 3 18 Tottenham Hotspur 6 -6 3 19 Coventry 5 -9 3 20 Fulham 6 -4 2 6.25pm BST
Full time: Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City Enzo Maresca spreads his arms wide at the final whistle before embracing his backroom staff. The Liverpool fans respond by singing ‘Going down, going down, going down!’.
Funny old day. For the first hour, the game was too close to call – but then Ryan Gravenberch, who had probably been Liverpool’s best player, was controversially sent off. Erling Haaland larruped City in front, Jeremy Doku curled a beautiful second and Rayan Cherki scored an even better third.
In the grand scheme, nobody has a clue what this victory means. But City’s players showed admirable composure and resilience under extreme pressure; they look thoroughly pleased with themselves as they salute the away end, and so they should.
Updated at 6.37pm BST
6.21pm BST
90+2 min One last chant of “Cheats!” from the home fans. Cherki tries to silence them with a deflected shot that loops over the bar.
6.20pm BST
90+1 min Van Dijk is booked for a foul on Cherki. Three minutes of added time.
6.19pm BST
90 min The Sky Sports player of the match is Elliot Anderson, who walked into – and through – a storm without flinching.
Updated at 6.23pm BST
6.17pm BST
89 min Cherki’s shot from the edge of the D is blocked. Bouaddi slices the loose ball well wide.
6.16pm BST
88 min: Liverpool substitutions Federico Chiesa and Joe Gomez replace Jeremy Jacquet and the subdued Bradley Barcola. It’ll take time.
6.16pm BST
87 min Mac Allister’s free-kick draws a comfortable save from Donnarumma.
6.14pm BST
86 min Bouaddi is booked for a foul on Munoz.
6.12pm BST
83 min The game was even until Ryan Gravenberch’s red card in the 62nd minute. Since then, it’s been painfully one-sided. There are more goals out there for City if they want them.
Updated at 6.17pm BST
6.10pm BST
81 min: City substitutions Allan Elias and Ayyoub Bouaddi on, Enzo Fernandez and Erling Haaland off.
6.09pm BST
Sheer delightful football from City. They kept the ball for almost two minutes before suddenly going for the throat. Anderson’s short pass into the area was dummied by Cherki, who darted behind Frimping in the same movement.
Gvardiol flicked the ball behind his standing foot to find Cherki, who dragged the ball cockily away the sliding Frimpong and passed it under Alisson. By the time Cherki scored, Frimpong was in a different postcode. Outrageous composure and skill from Cherki, and the gazillion passes that preceded it weren’t bad either.
Updated at 7.01pm BST
6.06pm BST
GOAL! Liverpool 0-3 Man City (Cherki 78) Rayan Cherki scores one of the goals of the season!
Updated at 6.09pm BST
6.04pm BST
75 min: Double substitution for Liverpool Rio Ngumoha and Jeremie Frimpong replace Lewis Koumas and Ronald Araujo.
6.03pm BST
74 min Gvardiol shoots over after some olé football from City.
6.03pm BST
73 min “Rob, the City punishment will certainly include some sort of relegation and I can’t see Erling Haaland playing in a lower division,” reckons Mary Waltz. “Where will he land? I say Barcelona or Real Madrid. What say you?”
If they are relegated, it wouldn’t shock me if he stayed, certainly for a season. Imagine being a Championship centre-half, barely able to feel your legs after playing two games a week for eight months, and you see that monster bearing down on you.
Updated at 6.07pm BST
6.01pm BST
72 min Eek, City have had 82% possession in the 10 minutes since Gravenberch was sent off.
6.00pm BST
72 min Doku leaves Araujo for dust and slips a low cross that is turned behind by the stretching Munoz. Gravenberch’s red card will dominate the analysis, but Doku has been sensational.
Updated at 6.59pm BST
5.59pm BST
70 min Cherki has a shot blocked after more good play from Doku. “Liverpool have to be careful,” says Jamie Carragher on Sky, “that it doesn’t get really messy now.”
5.58pm BST
What a brilliant goal from Doku, the kind he seems to save for matches on Merseyside. He cut inside from the left, moved the ball away from Munoz on the edge of the area and flashed an unsaveable curler into the far corner.
Updated at 6.59pm BST
5.56pm BST
GOAL! Liverpool 0-2 Man City (Doku 68) Jeremy Doku has made an even bigger difference now!
Updated at 5.59pm BST
5.56pm BST
This intrepid reporter is dedicated to his craft and is watching the game in a pub* a stone’s throw from Anfield. City fans on screen are regularly booed and the opening goal was met his cries of ‘cheats’. The vitriol is certainly not only for inside the ground.
* without an alcoholic beverage
5.55pm BST
67 min: Liverpool substitution Trey Nyoni has replaced the disappointing Florian Wirtz. And City have brought on Josko Gvardiol for Nico O’Reilly, who was on a yellow card.
5.54pm BST
Jeremy Doku, who has made a difference since coming on, charged into the area from the left and tried a shot that was blocked by Mac Allister. The ball ricocheted across the area towards Haaland, who blootered a devastating first-time finish past Alisson.
Updated at 5.56pm BST
5.53pm BST
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Man City (Haaland 65) Erling Haaland batters Manchester City into the lead!
Updated at 5.58pm BST
5.52pm BST
64 min Doku’s clever through pass is miscontrolled on the run by the underlapping O’Reilly. Had he taken that in his stride, he would have had a clear shot at goal.
5.51pm BST
62 min: Gravenberch is sent off! Ryan Gravenberch is shown a second yellow card. Moments after that shot was saved by Donnarumma, Gravenberch lunged towards Doku and was booked. The consensus in the Sky commentary box is that both yellow cards were a bit harsh.
Updated at 5.55pm BST
5.50pm BST
62 min Gravenberch belts another long-range shot that is pushed away by Donnarumma. But then…
5.50pm BST
60 min: Glorious chance for Haaland! City should be in front. Fernandez or Anderson (I think the latter) started the move with a fabulous pass between the lines to find Semenyo. He darted infield, away from Kerkez, then played a simple pass to put Haaland through on goal. Haaland clipped a right-foot shot across Alisson and wide of the far post.
Updated at 5.52pm BST
5.48pm BST
59 min Wirtz’s free-kick from the right is volleyed wide of the near post by Mac Allister. Tough chance.
5.46pm BST
58 min O’Reilly completes a sub-optimal 60 seconds with a foul on Munoz just outside the area that leads to a yellow card.
5.46pm BST
57 min O’Reilly gets behind the defence on the left, only to overhit what should have been a straightforward cross towards Semenyo in the middle. It won’t show up on the old xG, but that was a pretty good chance for City.
5.45pm BST
56 min: City substitution Jeremy Doku replaces Iliman Ndiaye, which means Semenyo switches to the right.
I’m surprised Anderson wasn’t booked for that attempt to foul Gravenberch.
5.44pm BST
55 min Gravenberch strolls past Anderson, who tries unsuccessfully to foul him. The ball runs to Wirtz, who shoots wastefully wide from 22 yards. Kerkez and Barcola, both in good positions on the far side, aren’t happy.
5.43pm BST
54 min Araujo curls a wicked cross that bounces past the stretching Koumas at the near post. No matter, he was offside.
5.42pm BST
53 min “Yes, very good, Anderson,” writes Charles Antaki. “He has an unusual look, though, for a modern footballer - a combination of Easter Island statue and an advert for Brylcreem.”
Updated at 5.44pm BST
5.40pm BST
50 min Semenyo twists Araujo inside out on the left side of the area and blasts a low cross into the six-yard box that just evades the stretching Ndiaye. The ball was cleared by Kerkez behind him, but had Ndiaye got a touch he would have scored.
5.38pm BST
49 min Gravenberch pings a wobbling long-range that is pushed away the diving Donnarumma. Then, moments later, Mac Allister shoots just wide from 25 yards. Three shots in 51 seconds for Liverpool, it says here.
5.38pm BST
48 min: Good save by Donnarumma! Liverpool open City up in transition. Barcola wins the ball high up the field and pokes it through to Koumas, who makes a fine run off Guehi and hits a rising drive from the edge of the area that is beaten away by Donnarumma.
Updated at 5.40pm BST
5.36pm BST
47 min Gravenberch is booked for a late challenge on Anderson, who has probably been the player of the match so far.
Updated at 5.36pm BST
5.34pm BST
46 min Liverpool begin the second half. No changes on either side yet.
5.32pm BST
“Hello Rob.” Hello Kári Tulinius. “I realise that discussing tactics is on an ‘other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the play’ level of missing the point, but it seems to me that Liverpool have started to take more risks in the final third. Specifically they’re trying passes and shots which, if they go astray, result in Manchester City goal kicks and throw-ins.
“This was a characteristic of Bournemouth, so Andoni Iraola seems to be getting his ideas across. Possibly it’s also because Bradley Barcola is inclined to play that way.”
5.21pm BST
Half-time reading x2
Related: European football: Lazio join Inter at top of Serie A as Roma held at Como
Related: Scottish Premiership: Celtic end losing skid and take top spot back from Rangers
Updated at 5.33pm BST
5.20pm BST
Half time: Liverpool 0-0 Man City In isolation, that was a pretty uneventful first half at Anfield. Liverpool started well, with Lewis Koumas and Victor Munoz impressive, but City responded with a kind of defiant composure and dictated the game as half-time approached.
No big chances for either side and only one minor flare up – a performative affair that didn’t lead to any yellow cards.
Updated at 5.22pm BST
5.18pm BST
45+1 min “There must be a lot of City players who don’t believe what Soriano and co have to say about ‘irrefutable evidence’,” says Sean Orlowicz. “And if they don’t believe them, how do they motivate themselves to compete in a league season that is rendered meaningless by impending punishments?”
We tell ourselves the stories we need to hear. I guess the impact on the players is more likely to be insidious than instant, but it’s still worth noting that there have no signs of depleted City morale today.
5.18pm BST
45+1 min At the other end, Wirtz pings one from 22 yards and Guehi blocks.
5.17pm BST
44 min Ndiaye runs at Kerkez and hits a cross-shot that deflects behind for a corner.
5.14pm BST
43 min City keep the ball to a soundtrack of boos. Semenyo slides an angled pass to the underlapping Anderson, whose early low cross is pawed away by Alisson.
Anderson has been increasingly dominant in midfield.
5.13pm BST
41 min “I had hoped, in the absence of goals and assists, that Wirtz would really tie the room together,” writes Niall Mullen. “Turns out he really disrupts the feng shui.”
He’s struggled, hasn’t he? Yet even in the context of a poor personal performance, there was a textbook return pass that almost led to a chance for Munoz. If he doesn’t succeed at Liverpool, somebody will get a bargain.
5.11pm BST
40 min Semenyo cuts inside from the left, only to blaze high and wide from distance. He’s had a decent half overall; Ndiaye has been quieter on the other wing.
5.11pm BST
38 min Anderson stops a Liverpool break with a bruising man-and-ball challenge on Wirtz. It runs to Cherki, who drives a cross-shot well wide.
The home fans didn’t love Anderson’s tackle but it looked fine. In fact, it brought to mind Steven Gerrard at his best.
Updated at 5.15pm BST
5.07pm BST
35 min City’s best effort so far. Enzo Fernandez hits a dipping curler from 25 yards that is well held by Alisson, falling to his left.
5.04pm BST
33 min Wirtz’s corner leads to another, which is headed up in the air by the backpedalling Haaland. Mac Allister’s ambitious overhead kick goes wide.
Moments later, Munoz’s low shot from distance is saved comfortably by Donnarumma. For all City’s possession, Liverpool have carried the greater threat.
5.03pm BST
31 min Munoz plays a smooth give-and-go with Wirtz on the edge of the area before hitting a cross that is deflected into the side netting by O’Reilly. Munoz looks a player.
5.01pm BST
29 min City have had 62% possession in the last 10 minutes. Dias’s cross is miscontrolled at the far post by Fernandez, who would have been through on goal with a surer touch. It matters not: replays show Fernandez was offside.
5.00pm BST
28 min “I am at a loss to understand why Guehi – once he was judged to have committed a handball – wasn’t booked,” says Adam Roberts. “The handball was clearly intentional and he prevented Liverpool from mounting a serious attack on the goal.”
I’m afraid The Controversy Inn is fully booked for the night.
Updated at 5.00pm BST
4.59pm BST
27 min Cherki tries to knife an angled pass in behind Kerkez and towards Ndiaye. It’s too ambitious, even for him, and Kerkez is able to shepherd the ball behind for a goalkick.
4.57pm BST
26 min “Hi Rob,” mails Leo Addor. “Why do the City travelling fans have inflatable bananas in their section of the away supporters?”
Now there’s a story.
Related: ‘It took on a life of its own’ – how a bet started the inflatable craze in the 80s
4.56pm BST
25 min On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher says “this is by far the best Liverpool have played this season”. Munoz and Koumas have caught the eye, both with and without the ball.
Updated at 5.01pm BST
4.55pm BST
23 min After all the hype – and I’m as guilty as anyone – it’s been a common-or-garden Premier League game so far.
4.54pm BST
22 min Kerkez’s cross is taken away from Donnarumma by Guehi. The ball lands kindly for City but that could easily have gone to an onrushing Liverpool player (not sure who it was).
4.52pm BST
21 min “I don’t know what I’m more excited about,” says Matt Dony. “The entertainment of constant needle as fan anger inevitably bleeds onto the pitch (scenes no one wants to see, but we all want to see), or Lewis Koumas potentially starring in Liverpool’s biggest match of the season thus far. Either way, should be happy days. Top scran so far!”
4.52pm BST
20 min Barcola wins a corner at the other end. Wirtz swings it deep, Donnarumma fumbles but then claims at the second attempt. Careful now.
Updated at 4.54pm BST
4.51pm BST
19 min Cherki runs 60 yards and lends to the ball to Enzo. He tries to return it to Cherki, forcing Jacquet to make an important interception. The ball rolls behind for City’s first corner, of which nothing comes.
4.49pm BST
17 min The Liverpool threat has come through Munoz on the right, with Barcola very quiet on the other side. For now.
4.47pm BST
15 min Semenyo runs at Araujo on the left and slides an inviting ball that rolls across the face of goal. Where are thou Erling?
That was apparently City’s first touch in the final third; Liverpool have had 17.
4.45pm BST
14 min Gravenberch storms imperiously through midfield and finds Munoz, whose low cross is cut out at the near post. That was some run from Gravenberch, who started deep in his own half and beat two or three City players.
Updated at 4.53pm BST
4.44pm BST
12 min: It’s kicking off! The lively Koumas turns smartly and is fouled by Dias, which inadvertently leads to a shoving match near the halfway line. Much ado about nothing. I think it was sparked by Mac Allister pushing a City player out of the way in an attempt to take a quick free-kick.
Updated at 4.48pm BST
4.42pm BST
11 min Corner to Liverpool on the left. Wirtz stops to do his laces up, then whips an inswinger that beat the first man.
4.41pm BST
10 min “Wonderful to see you in the sniper’s nest again,” chirps Bill Hargreaves. “The grand theatre that is the EPL seems to love a pre-Christmas pantomime.
“Forgive my quibbling, but is that banner missing a comma? Unless they’re of a mind for a confessional?
“Sincerely, as ever, and smiling at all of the controversy (it reminds me of that scene in Life of Brian - ‘He did it‘).”
4.40pm BST
9 min The resulting free-kick is taken by Wirtz and headed away at the far post.
4.40pm BST
8 min Koumas presses Guehi, who falls on the ball and is penalised for handling. He thought he was fouled; Chris Kavanagh disagreed.
Ronald Araujo is booked for waving an imaginary card.
4.38pm BST
6 min Liverpool haven’t flown out of the traps, certainly not in comparison to some of their starts against City under Jurgen Klopp. The Champions League quarter-final of 2017-18 and the Premier League game in November 2019 spring straight to mind
4.37pm BST
5 min City get on the ball for the first time, playing out from the goalkeeper until Anderson wins a free-kick. Good composure from everyone involved but especially Anderson.
Updated at 4.37pm BST
4.34pm BST
2 min Munoz charges thrillingly into the area from the right before being crowded out. As expected, Liverpool have made a fast start.
4.33pm BST
1 min Just before kick off, the entire City team went over to applaud the away end. All connected with City will hope Nietzsche was right.
4.32pm BST
1 min Finally, some football. Manchester City kick off from left to right as we watch.
Updated at 4.32pm BST
4.32pm BST
The pre-match chants from the Liverpool fans apparently included, ‘You haven’t won a trophy since 1976’, an adaptation of the 1995 Everton chant, and ‘You cheating bar stewards, you know what you are’.
4.29pm BST
Before we start, here’s our match report of Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottm Forest.
Related: Pino finishes off Nottingham Forest on Glasner’s unhappy Crystal Palace return
4.29pm BST
The players walk onto the field, with Erling Haaland making a point of applauding the away end. ALL OF YOUR STARS ARE FADING AWAY is another of the banners being shown on the TV coverage.
Updated at 4.41pm BST
4.25pm BST
One of the many banners being held up by Liverpool fans reads YOU’RE NOT REALLY HERE, with various trophies crossed out. It’s hard to make out the chants, but it’s fair to say there isn’t a surfeit of bonhomie.
Updated at 4.42pm BST
4.20pm BST
This is the updated Premier League table. City will stay top unless they are hammered. Liverpool can go fourth with a win.
Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Man City 5 8 15 2 Arsenal 6 5 15 3 Brighton 6 13 13 4 Brentford 6 6 10 5 Everton 6 3 10 6 Chelsea 6 2 10 7 Leeds 6 3 9 8 Liverpool 5 3 9 9 Hull 6 2 9 10 Ipswich 6 -3 9 11 Newcastle 5 0 8 12 Crystal Palace 6 -3 7 13 Man Utd 6 0 6 14 Nottm Forest 6 -3 5 15 Aston Villa 6 -5 5 16 Sunderland 6 -6 4 17 AFC Bournemouth 6 -6 3 18 Tottenham Hotspur 6 -6 3 19 Coventry 5 -9 3 20 Fulham 6 -4 2 4.18pm BST
Here’s our match report from the MKM Stadium, where Hull continued their impressive start with a 2-2 draw against Everton.
Related: Mohamed Belloumi grabs point for Hull in seesaw draw with Everton
Updated at 4.18pm BST
4.17pm BST
Andoni Iraola's pre-match interview [On why he picked Lewis Koumas] His performances, how he’s training, how he’s giving everything for the team. I trust that he can give us a good threat for City.
He’s very mobile, very forward. He can play all the positions; he can play wide, attack the spaces. I think he’s quite complete. He’s still young, but these sorts of games will be very good for his development.
We have some injuries but I trust my team 100%. I think the atmosphere will be good for us – but first we have to do our job.
[On the absence of Dominik Szoboszlai] He came from the international break with a tight hamstring. He trained but was not feeling 100%. We will have to wait for Dom.
4.15pm BST
There were hearty boos when City came out to warm up, but that aside it doesn’t sound particularly hostile. Yet.
Updated at 4.22pm BST
4.10pm BST
“I met a friend of mine last night who is a City fan,” says Niall Mullen. “He was genuinely upset about people giving him grief about City being judged to have cheated. Just as upset as he was happy when they won all the trophies and did the Poznan. Life comes at you fast. Or in this case incredibly slowly with a pending appeal.”
Did you nick that last line from Ferris Bueller?
Updated at 4.25pm BST
4.06pm BST
Enzo Maresca's pre-match interview The mood is good, the mindset is good. Now it’s time to start the game - finally!
[A sense of togetherness] is very important; the mix between the players and the fans, everyone.
We are away in a complicated environment, a complicated stadium, but we are going to try do our best to win the game. It will be an intense game.
[Was everything okay on the journey into Anfield?] Yeah, absolutely. It was all good.
Updated at 4.09pm BST
4.02pm BST
“Afternoon Rob,” writes Tim Woods. “A lot of talk these past few weeks about how City fans aren’t to blame. I agree, but only because the fans of any other club would be doing exactly the same. Blindly defending your team is part of the game; I am sure I can recall conversations with other Liverpool fans in which the phrase ‘yeah, but he’s only done it twice’ was used in relation to our favourite hungry Uruguayan. What is it about football that makes us behave so ridiculously?”
Updated at 4.05pm BST
4.00pm BST
An update from Will Unwin, who is part of our team at Anfield for today’s game
A group of over 600 Manchester City fans were given a police escort across Stanley Park, chanting as they went about their owners and throwing abuse back at any Liverpool fans who took issue. The message was a clear one of defiance from the hardcore away support.
Updated at 4.07pm BST
3.58pm BST
Premier League results Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Hull City 2-2 Everton
Related: Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest, Hull 2-2 Everton, Southampton 1-0 Portsmouth: football – live
3.57pm BST
Enzo Maresca’s first public display since Manchester City were found guilty on virtually all counts of breaching Premier League financial rules was controlled – apart from the sole, and telling, slip-up of his very first answer.
In Thursday’s pre-emptive PR move, the club had Maresca tell their channels that he was aware of the “noise” around City. Fast forward 24 hours, and to a packed media conference of 45 attendees – around a threefold increase on the norm – at the Etihad Campus, the Italian was asked if this was dismissive of the anger felt towards the club’s cheating. “I understand the reason why most of you are here but the only thing I can say is that there is a process ongoing and in this moment I completely trust the club,” he replied.
This correspondent’s radar bleeped at the use of “in this moment” and, when the microphone was passed, Maresca was quizzed if this meant he may change his mind. “Sorry, that was the wrong answer. I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always.” But there was no denying the initial response and how this points to these shaky times for all at City.
Related: Maresca maintains almost total control as he follows Manchester City owners’ line | Jamie Jackson
3.54pm BST
It’s Wednesday afternoon (UK time) and I find myself interviewing Tony Hadley on TalkSport about his upcoming big band tour. We play a bit of Spandau Ballet, chat about the classics and his career – hanging out with Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. In as much as you can deduce in a 10-minute chat on Zoom, Tony seems like an absolute gent.
We do always try to bring it back to sport – Tony is an Arsenal fan, there’s a bit of Arteta, Leeds at the weekend. Tony brings up Billy Bremner and suggests that my co-host Charlie Baker and I are too young to remember him playing. We are, and how wonderful to be called young.
Right at the end I go for a slightly cumbersome question/joke about Manchester City. “And I know Manchester City are top of the league, but they’ll probably be bottom of the league by the end of the season?”
Hadley is a pro. Maybe he’s been waiting for this hardball question about the charges. “You just never know what’s going to happen – the world is a crazy place. I’ve got to add to all the big band songs we’re doing … at the end we do a Christmas catalogue which is great fun as well.” What a sidestep.
Related: Sliding Doors meets Biff’s Almanac: City saga stirs up a world of alternate histories | Max Rushden
3.29pm BST
Football, the world’s most popular sport, played by laws drawn up in London in 1863. The Premier League is the UK’s greatest soft power export. Premier League clubs are owned by a deputy prime minister of Abu Dhabi, the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia, a billionaire based in Monaco for tax reasons and a disappointing assortment of investors and private equity funds. And what, really, could be more British than that? Football truly is the national game.
What the Manchester City case has exposed is just how difficult it is to regulate some of the richest and most powerful bodies in the world. While the wait for the verdict was frustrating, it’s perhaps unavoidable given the possibility of legal objection at every turn when a leaked email from City’s in-house lawyer during Uefa’s action against the club had threatened to “spend 30 million on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years”. You didn’t get that with Albert Alexander Sr or Peter Swales.
Related: Why we’re stuck with a Premier League in the clutches of the global mega-rich | Jonathan Wilson
3.21pm BST
Team news Lewis Koumas, 21, makes his full Premier League debut for Liverpool, who are without Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai. Ryan Gravenberch and Victor Munoz also come into the side.
Manchester City make one change from their 5-3 win over Sunderland before the international break: Nico O’Reilly replaces Josko Gvardiol at left-back.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dirk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Munoz, Wirtz, Barcola; Koumas.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Chiesa, Tsimikas, Frimpong, Nyoni, McConnell, Ngumoha.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly; Enzo, Anderson; Ndiaye, Cherki, Semenyo; Haaland.
Subs: Rulli, Kovacic, Doku, Reis, Gvardiol, Bouaddi, Allan, Khusanov, Lewis.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Updated at 4.48pm BST
2.43pm BST
A four-match international break has presented a stress test. “The intensity of the squad, the athleticism of it, really, I think it’s designed for the elite,” said the Wales head coach, Craig Bellamy, on the completion of four matches in 11 days. Elite club coaches would disagree. The Nations League and the wider set of international games staged across the globe have been accompanied by a daily list of casualties, club officials viewing matches through their fingers as players pull up and gesture to the bench.
Almost certainly to the disquiet of Enzo Maresca, City’s Elliot Anderson and Marc Guéhi were, alongside Harry Kane, the only England players to start all four Nations League matches, with Nico O’Reilly withdrawing halfway through. Liverpool’s problems appear to run deeper, with Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, early successes for the Andoni Iraola regime, sustaining injuries with Sweden and the Netherlands respectively. Jérémy Jacquet, another bright spark this season, reportedly strained a hamstring with France.
Related: Havertz, Isak, Dorgu … spate of injuries with national teams leaves sour taste for top clubs
2.36pm BST
It was quiet around Anfield three hours before kick-off but there is a sense of what is to come. For £15 you can buy a ‘Guilty’ flag, depicting the City squad in jail or a ‘Cheats’ banner riffing off Oasis’s own style. What larks.
Updated at 2.40pm BST
2.35pm BST
The internet: an apology. It turns out you were right. It was actually a simulation all along. Now, talk to me about chemtrails again. And yes, maybe Vinícius Júnior has been replaced by a handsome, baffled-looking waxwork.
Welcome to the weirdest weekend of them all. We are now post-judgment, post-statement, postlapsarian. As the Premier League prepares to snap back into what must be described, out of habit, as reality, armed with the knowledge its serial champions have been the authors of a 10-year sham supremacy, the first question is fairly simple. How is it going to feel?
There is no precedent for this. Even the state of total confusion feels brittle given City maintain their complete state of innocence and deny all charges. We await the release of Irrefutable Body of Evidence, the great lost Madonna erotic thriller sequel, presumably recast around a steamy three-year regulatory tribunal scenario.
Related: The Premier League is back: welcome to the new era of post-verdict unreality | Barney Ronay
Updated at 2.38pm BST
2.30pm BST
Preamble Of all the gin joints in the all the towns in all the world …
Manchester City’s first game after being found guilty of more than a hundred Premier League charges could have been anywhere: the Etihad, the Gtech Stadium, Portman Road, even Priestfield in the Carabao Cup. Instead, the great scriptwriter in the sky has decided it should be at Anfield – home of Liverpool, their biggest modern rivals and the team most affected by City’s success in the last 15 years. The atmosphere is always febrile when City visit Anfield; today, it will be off the charts.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a good time for City to play Liverpool. They have won five out of five in the Premier League, whereas Liverpool are still learning to speak Andoni Iraola’s coaching language and will be without both Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo.
You don’t need a PhD in rocket science to know these are not normal circumstances. To many people, this isn’t so much a football match as a public shaming. City will try to focus exclusively on the football – partly because they believe they have irrefutable proof of their innocence, partly because anyone who wants to finish above Arsenal this season needs every point they can get.
Nobody, not even Biff Tannen, knows what’s going to happen over the next few hours. The only certainty is that there will be banners, banter and bile. In almost 140 years of English league football, there has never been a game like this.
Kick off 4.30pm BST.
Updated at 2.38pm BST
