Man City went back to second in the Premier League table, but now four points behind leaders Arsenal.
The Citizens got their first win over Liverpool since April 2023. The result kept their streak going while also ending what looked like a good run for the Reds, who had just defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League.
It also gave Pep Guardiola a happy ending for his 1,000th career match as a manager – against what has probably been his toughest rival so far.
How did Man City beat Liverpool?
Jeremy Doku’s masterclass
It’s hard to start anywhere else. Jeremy Doku put in a man of the match performance at Etihad Stadium and was on a different level to any other player on the pitch.
In addition to him being a threat whenever he had the ball, the freedom of movement Pep Guardiola gave his side caused all sorts of problems for Liverpool.
Doku was never limited to hugging the touchline and had the support of Nico O’Reilly overlapping. As a result, the Reds’ right side became overloaded since they were defending in a 4-2-3-1 and needed extra help. Perhaps a 4-3-3 with Dominik Szoboszlai as a right-centre-midfielder would have helped.
Not only did the Belgian score a wonderful goal to seal the win in the second half, but also won the penalty that Erling Haaland missed early on. Most of the danger City created had him involved somehow.
Key stats:
- 3 shots (Ranked #1)
- 3 chances created (Ranked #1)
- 11 touches in the opposition box (Ranked #1)
- 23 passes in the final third (Ranked #1)
- 7 successful take-ons (Ranked #1)
- 11 duels won (Ranked #1)
- 5x possession won (Ranked #2)
How Pep Guardiola nullified Arne Slot in the first half
Manchester City basically won the game in the second half. They did manage to score in the second, but most of the damage was done before half-time.
Other than Doku’s brilliance, one other aspect stood out in the Citizens’ performance – and it was out of possession. Guardiola had Haaland on Virgil van Dijk all game to take him out of the Liverpool build-up. It’s a common strategy nowadays, but had a huge impact on the game.
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This actually favoured the Reds’ preference looking for Mo Salah, and Szoboszlai often offered support down the right. But it meant that Ibrahima Konate was the one leading the first phase – and he failed at this role.
At half-time, Konate had attempted almost twice as many passes as Van Dijk (36 to 21), a dream scenario for Man City. It evened out a little by the end of the game with the hosts dropping their lines deeper, but they got what they wanted anyway.
| Passes vs Man City | Season average before the game (per 90) | |
|---|---|---|
| Virgil van Dijk | 48 | 77.6 |
| Ibrahima Konate | 68 | 59.8 |
And it was exactly a Konate mistake that led to Doku recovering possession inside the box before winning the penalty. A few minutes later, the Frenchman gave the ball away near his own box – Rayan Cherki would have been through on goal had he not slipped.
One could argue he was also at fault in Haaland’s goal, mistiming his jump and just grazing the ball. Overall it was a nightmare afternoon for the centre-back duo, as Van Dijk scored a goal that was disallowed and short after deflected Nico Gonzalez’s shot that made it 2-0 to the Citizens.
What next for Liverpool?
Football is context 100% of the time. Liverpool can say they were unlucky for having Van Dijk’s goal ruled off for an Andrew Robertson offside.
Conceding the second thanks to a deflection can also be considered bad luck. And the same applies to Doku’s wonder strike that put the final nail on their coffin and even the awkward opener.
The Reds looked defeated and psychologically checked out a lot of times during the game. They created next to nothing in the first half, but at the same time the match didn’t feel like it deserved a two-goal lead for Man City.
And yet, Liverpool managed to play well in the second half. This was their game with the most possessions won in the final third this season, with seven. Six of them were in the final 45 minutes – also their most in a second half in 2025-26 across all competitions.
Arne Slot’s men were also able to involve Salah in the game and put him in positions to take defenders on one-on-one and shoot from dangerous positions. The Egyptian star, however, failed in both categories. Credit to O’Reilly who stood his ground and Phil Foden who put in great effort and commitment in the defensive end.
Key Salah stats:
- 0/3 successful take-ons
- 1 big chance missed
- 0.44 expected goals
- 4 offsides
And all that was despite the whole team looking shaken and players showing visible lack of confidence. Cody Gakpo and Salah had great chances to score and missed. Who knows what would have happened had Van Dijk’s goal stood.
Overall, the 0-3 loss looks worse than it actually was. They even ended the game with more big chances (2 to 1), with their one conceded being the penalty.
Liverpool still have a lot to figure out, but shouldn’t be discouraged by this match. There are positives to take going forward and it’s hard to imagine them not being fine in the long term.