**Jeremy Doku starred in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game in management as Manchester City swept past Liverpool to go into second in the Premier League table after winning 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.**
Doku was City’s most dominant player by some margin and earned a merited goal for himself after 63 minutes during a flawless performance.
That goal was the final piece of a fairly straightforward puzzle for City on a day where Liverpool performed poorly; Erling Haaland and Nico Gonzalez scored earlier to provide a cushion for Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool thought they had scored an equaliser when Virgil van Dijk latched onto Mohamed Salah’s corner, but Andy Robertson was in an offside position and impeded the run of play.
A positive start from Guardiola’s side forced Liverpool into a compact shape that was later exposed but the deadlock could have been broken sooner had Haaland converted from the spot just 13 minutes in.
Ibrahima Konate had a mix-up with Conor Bradley over a loose ball inside the Liverpool penalty area and instead of clearing, the Frenchman dwelled over it and gave the ball to Doku instead.
There were only moments between the Belgium international winning the ball back and skipping past Mamardashvili but before he could fire into the net, the Liverpool goalkeeper brought Doku down and a VAR review led to a penalty.
Haaland stepped up and tried to fire into the bottom-right corner, though Mamardashvili pounced off his line excellently; still, the Norwegian found his goal after 29 minutes.
Arne Slot fielded a considerably strong side with the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz – who alone cost Liverpool £79 million and £116 million respectively – in attack, but the way in which the visitors posed a compact shape invited City to drive at goal almost instinctively.
A switch of play led to Ruben Dias holding the ball from 40 yards out before sending Matheus Nunes down the right flank, crossing towards Haaland moments later.
And after giving the ball away to Doku earlier, Konate once again showed little protection for his side, as the forward leapt up and guided his header into the top-right corner of the net.
Following that opener, the pressure on Liverpool didn’t waver and City could have extended their lead when Doku received the ball from Haaland on the left of the box. The winger attempted to pass across into space to Foden but Mamardashvili collected it rather effortlessly.
Earlier, on 26 minutes, Doku showed signs that he was in his element by shrugging Bradley off the ball, turning onto his left foot with his back to goal before firing towards the near post, though that effort too was parried by the Liverpool shot-stopper.
Against all odds, Liverpool thought they had scored an equaliser that was as skillful as it was dispiriting for Guardiola’s side — Van Dijk’s thunderous header on the end of Salah’s corner was found to be offside after Andy Robertson got ahead of the ball when it was on its way into the net.
That appeared to have sunk the mentality of Slot’s side ahead of the half-time break but not before Nico Gonzalez fired City into a further lead in the third minute of injury time.
City’s attacking threat never seemed to quieten and Liverpool remained in their defensive-minded structure, granting Gonzalez the chance to fire from 24 yards.
It took some fortune for the ball to find its way into the net, having brushed off the outside of Van Dijk’s boot and fizz past a wrong-footed Mamardashvili, but the extension of City’s advantage was nothing short of deserved.
Positive too was the hosts’ second-half performance as they generated more problems for the Liverpool backline when Doku slipped past a double-team of Bradley and Ryan Gravenberch to open up a shot towards the top-right corner.
There was a sense of expectancy that Doku would score, having played the best he has so far this season here and that goal came in the 63rd minute.
Gonzalez sent a long ball over to O’Reilly on the left before the defender pulled it back for Doku, who faced up to Konate on the edge of the area before plucking the ball into the top-right corner.
Around the hour mark, Liverpool found a slither of momentum when Gonzalez nearly scored an own goal and Cody Gakpo missed a glaring chance at the back post.
On 79 minutes, Salah also had the opportunity to pull one back for his flawed side and although his left-footed effort made it over Gianluigi Donnarumma, it trickled past the foot of City’s far post.
That chance just about summarised Liverpool’s performance on the day as City ran away with victory long before the final whistle, and earn themselves a spot in second in the Premier League table – here’s how we rated the City players after this crucial win at the Etihad Stadium.
**Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7.5**
City’s shot-stopper was hardly tested in the match; the only occasion coming after Salah dispatched a weak, right-footed shot on the back of a fast-break after eight minutes.
**Matheus Nunes – 8**
Was solid down the right side all evening and didn’t give Gakpo a yard for long periods. Produced a stunning cross for Haaland to get onto the end of and open the scoring.
**Rúben Dias – 7.5**
Commanded the line with his leadership that Guardiola’s side needed at times, especially when Liverpool tried to hit the hosts on the counter and made a stunning tackle to deny Salah a chance on goal.
**Josko Gvardiol – 7**
Did tremendously at being the big man at the back. Showed willingness to lunge into tackles and was quick to judge long balls.
**Nico O’Reilly – 7.5**
Seemed motivated by his second consecutive England call-up on Friday and gave Salah a tough task down the left side despite being caught out on the counter-attack occasionally. Provided the assist for Doku’s excellent goal.
**Bernardo Silva – 7**
Worked his way all over the pitch and showed why he is the captain. Never seemed to stop running and supplied Gonzalez’s long-range goal.
**Nico González – 8**
Earned an unnecessary yellow card 27 minutes in by dragging Wirtz down but made up for that with progressive football in transition and, of course, scoring on the brink of half time.
**Phil Foden – 8**
Was a threat all over the pitch on Sunday and played the creator role perfectly. Foden constantly showed his dribbling ability in City’s defensive third to weave in and out of danger and made advances in attack too.
**Rayan Cherki – 7**
Came close in the first half when his deflected effort went over the bar, but seems a better option off the bench at the moment.
**Jeremy Doku – 9 (POTM)**
Where do we start? An outstanding performance from the winger who gave Liverpool’s defence and particularly Bradley nightmares throughout. A truly deserved goal just after the hour too.
**Erling Haaland – 8**
He missed the early penalty but showed resilience to find the net just 16 minutes later with a looping header past Mamardashvili.
**Savinho – 7**
Came off the bench and made an instant impact with tight dribbling down the right, causing problems for the tired away defence.
**Omar Marmoush – 7**
A feel-good introduction that brought the odd chance. The Egyptian was prevalent on the edge of the Liverpool area and had a shot blocked towards the end.