City 'Fine'
Amid a hostile atmosphere filled with insults, Manchester City returned victoriously from Liverpool’s Anfield stadium with a crushing 3-0 win on the eve of the sixth round of the English Premier League, capitalizing on their numerical superiority in their first appearance since being found guilty of financial fair play breaches between 2009 and 2018. City were greeted with chants of “cheaters” upon their arrival at Anfield, with Liverpool fans lining the surrounding streets for hours before kickoff, while souvenir stalls were stocked with flags and scarves mocking the “blue team’s” financial scandal, as the club was found guilty of more than 100 financial fair play violations by an independent commission during the international window. The visiting team’s bus arrived under police escort via an unusual route to avoid large crowds, but without a repeat of the violence that preceded the two teams’ Champions League encounter in 2018, when City’s bus was pelted with bottles.
On the pitch, however, City responded decisively, securing their sixth consecutive victory to top the table, three points clear of defending champions Arsenal, while benefiting from Liverpool’s numerical disadvantage under Spanish manager Andoni Iraola, who suffered his first defeat of the season. Liverpool suffered a heavy blow when Wataru Endo was sent off with a second yellow card in the 62nd minute. City quickly exploited the extra man, with Norway’s Erling Haaland opening the scoring in the 65th minute. The ball fell to him after a failed attempt by Belgian substitute Jérémy Doku, and Haaland fired it powerfully into the net, marking his sixth goal in six league matches. Doku soon added a second goal in the 68th minute, cutting inside from the left wing before curling a brilliant shot into the bottom left corner of Alisson’s goal. City sealed the match in the 78th minute with a third goal from French midfielder Ryan Cherki, following a fine team move.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace finally broke their duck against Nottingham Forest, recording their first-ever league victory over their opponents with a 3-1 win. In 12 previous meetings at the senior level, Palace had failed to beat Forest, but on this occasion they turned the tables, overturning a deficit to secure their second win of the season. Algerian substitute Mohamed Bounedjah rescued Hull City from defeat against Everton, equalizing in the 74th minute to make it 2-2, lifting his team’s tally to nine points and moving them into ninth place, while Everton remained fifth with ten points.
