Man City Lay Bare Liverpool’s Soft Centre As Iraola’s Momentum Stalls

• Gravenberch’s red at 0-0 flipped the match; City ran out 3-0 winners
• Big-money trio Isak, Wirtz and Barcola under scrutiny after quiet displays
• Doku and Cherki changed the game; Haaland clinical as ever

So much for the early-season sheen. The talk of an Iraola-led Liverpool gliding through their opening fixtures hit a wall as Manchester City coolly dismantled them at Anfield. Rayan Cherki’s audacious strike ended the romantic chatter about unbeaten starts and reminded everyone there’s still daylight between these sides when Liverpool lose their heads—and a man.

Red Card Changes Everything, and City Smell Blood

Up to the dismissal, Liverpool were in the fight. Then Ryan Gravenberch saw red for halting a counter at 0-0 and the contest turned ruthless. Erling Haaland did what he does, punishing the space, before City’s bench power told—Jeremy Doku arrived, stretched the game and had a hand in the key moments, including the incident leading to Gravenberch’s exit. For those checking the markets on football betting sites UK, the momentum swing was as stark as you’ll see this season.

Young Lewis Koumas pressed with purpose on his Premier League bow but squandered the two chances that came his way. City simply don’t. Off-field noise about charges may swirl around them, but on the pitch they remain brutally efficient.

Transfer Strategy Under the Microscope

Injuries offered mitigation—Dominik Szoboszlai joined absentees Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo—yet the bigger question is whether Liverpool’s headline buys are tilting the tight games. Since his £125m move, Isak hasn’t featured in any of the four meetings with City; Haaland has six in those fixtures. Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola—both north of £100m—are still waiting for their first league goals, and when Liverpool chose Wirtz over Cherki, nights like this invite debate.

Squad depth told as the minutes ticked by. With Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley also out, Iraola had few levers to pull. He withdrew Ronald Araujo—booked early—and the reshuffle backfired as Jeremie Frimpong was turned inside-out for City’s third, finished impudently by Cherki.

There are positives. Anfield bought into Iraola’s high tempo and his willingness to act decisively—he’s already dropped Gravenberch and Frimpong when standards dipped. But the table is blunt: ninth in the Premier League, and a UEFA Champions League date with LASK looms without key men, while Gravenberch is banned for Brentford. The new man making all the noise at Anfield, mind you, stood across the technical area—Enzo Maresca—whose City looked streetwise and slick. If Liverpool want to close the gap, the game-changers they paid for must start changing games.

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