Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool: Six Straight Wins at the Top of the Table
Manchester City won 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday 11 October to complete a perfect six-match start and open a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Liverpool played the last half-hour with ten men after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off in the 62nd minute, and slipped to ninth with the first league defeat of their season. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored between the 65th and the 78th minutes.
Matchweek 6 · Anfield
How Manchester City won at Anfield
Kick-off was 16:30 BST, which is 23:30 in Beijing time, and it was the last of the three Matchweek 6 days. Liverpool pushed early in front of a loud Anfield crowd, but City absorbed the pressure and went into the interval level at 0-0, with Elliot Anderson’s passing and Erling Haaland’s runs already pulling Liverpool back.
The match turned in the 62nd minute. Ryan Gravenberch, already booked in the 47th for a foul on Anderson, went over the top of Jeremy Doku’s legs and was shown a second yellow. City scored three times in the 16 minutes that followed — the fastest three-goal spell either side has managed against a side reduced to ten — and the visiting support emptied toward the exits well before the final whistle.
City also completed something they had not managed in the Premier League era: consecutive away wins at Anfield. The club denied wrongdoing and has appealed after an independent commission found 114 breaches of the league’s financial rules across the past nine seasons, and the Liverpool crowd made its feelings about that ruling known before kick-off.
Haaland, Doku and Cherki: how the three goals went in
| Minute | Scorer | How it happened |
|---|---|---|
| 65’ | Erling Haaland | Doku drove into the left side of the box and his shot was blocked; Haaland pounced on the rebound and swept it past Alisson from close range. |
| 68’ | Jeremy Doku | Elliot Anderson slid a pass into the left channel and Doku cut inside two defenders before curling a long-range shot into the far top corner. |
| 78’ | Rayan Cherki | Anderson played Gvardiol on the overlap, the backheel found Cherki inside the area, and he turned past Frimpong to finish. |
The 62nd-minute dismissal that decided the game
Gravenberch had already been booked in first-half stoppage time for a challenge on Elliot Anderson. Sixteen minutes into the second half he clipped Doku as City broke forward, and referee Michael Oliver produced the yellow a second time. Liverpool had to finish with ten men and a defensive reshuffle, and City capitalised immediately rather than settling for the point.
The wider picture is a record opening. Maresca is only the fourth manager to win his first six Premier League matches in charge of a club, after Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea in 2009, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in 2016 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United in 2018/19. City have scored 16 and conceded five — the best attack and the joint-best defence in the division after six rounds.
Six wins from six
Manchester City: top on 18 points
City are the only side in the Premier League still unbeaten after six rounds, and the only one with a game in hand still to play. Haaland leads the scoring charts with six goals in six appearances, three more than anyone else, and the win at Anfield is the fourth time this season that City have scored three or more in a league game.
First league defeat
Liverpool: down to ninth
Liverpool went into Sunday’s game on two wins and three draws, and had not lost a league game all season. The 3-0 at Anfield is their first defeat of 2026/27 and it drops them to ninth on nine points, level with Leeds United and Hull City but behind on goals scored. Alexander Isak leads their scoring with four, and Cody Gakpo leads the club’s assists with three.
Both of Liverpool’s league matches against Manchester City in the Premier League this season are now decided — City won the reverse fixture before the international break — and the next chance to respond is at the Gtech on Saturday.
Where the table stands after Matchweek 6
| Pos | Team | P | W-D-L | GF-GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 6 | 6-0-0 | 16-5 | +11 | 18 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 5-0-1 | 10-5 | +5 | 15 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 | 4-1-1 | 18-5 | +13 | 13 |
| 4 | Brentford | 6 | 2-4-0 | 12-6 | +6 | 10 |
| 5 | Everton | 6 | 2-4-0 | 8-5 | +3 | 10 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 6 | 3-1-2 | 15-13 | +2 | 10 |
| 7 | Leeds United | 6 | 2-3-1 | 8-5 | +3 | 9 |
| 8 | Hull City | 6 | 2-3-1 | 8-6 | +2 | 9 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 6 | 2-3-1 | 7-7 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Ipswich Town | 6 | 3-0-3 | 9-12 | -3 | 9 |
The other Matchweek 6 results
| Date (BST) | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 10 Oct | Arsenal 2-1 Leeds United | Emirates Stadium |
| Sat 10 Oct | Chelsea 5-1 AFC Bournemouth | Stamford Bridge |
| Sat 10 Oct | Ipswich Town 2-1 Fulham | Portman Road |
| Sat 10 Oct | Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford | Villa Park |
| Sat 10 Oct | Sunderland 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion | Stadium of Light |
| Sat 10 Oct | Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur | Old Trafford |
| Sun 11 Oct | Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest | Selhurst Park |
| Sun 11 Oct | Hull City 2-2 Everton | MKM Stadium |
| Mon 12 Oct | Coventry City v Newcastle United | 20:00 BST — still to play |
Both clubs are back in action on Saturday 17 October
| Club | Opponent | Venue | Kick-off (BST) | Beijing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | v Ipswich Town | Etihad Stadium | Sat 17 Oct, 15:00 | 22:00 |
| Liverpool | v Brentford | Gtech Community Stadium | Sat 17 Oct, 15:00 | 22:00 |
City then travel to Villa Park on Saturday 24 October, and Liverpool host Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on Sunday 25 October — which is the last matchday of the month played on British Summer Time.
Result, scorers, timing and table positions compiled from match reporting and the published league table for 11–12 October 2026.