For 62 minutes on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool vs Manchester City delivered everything a title-race heavyweight bout promises. A deafening Anfield, two teams trading blows, and nothing between them on the scoreboard. Then Ryan Gravenberch walked. The Liverpool midfielder’s second yellow card — for running into Jeremy Doku — cracked the contest wide open, and Manchester City showed no mercy. Erling Haaland struck three minutes later, Doku curled in a beautiful strike of his own, and Rayan Cherki put the finishing touch on a 3-0 rout on October 11, 2026, that Anfield will remember for all the wrong reasons.
One Flash of Madness: The Red Card That Decided Liverpool vs Manchester City
At 0-0 with an hour gone, this was still anyone’s game. Liverpool had held their shape, Anfield was roaring, and City hadn’t found a way through. Then Gravenberch, already on a yellow, went steaming into Doku — and the referee had no choice. A second yellow, then red. Ten men. Twenty-eight minutes to survive against the best team in the country.
Was it harsh? Plenty of Liverpool fans thought so in the moment. But the Dutchman’s challenge was needless, right in front of the official, and it came at the worst possible time. The moment the red card went up, you could feel the air change inside the stadium. Anfield sensed what was coming. So did City.
That’s the thing about playing a man down against this Manchester City side. You don’t just defend a little deeper. The spaces stretch, the gaps widen, and sooner or later somebody with too much time on the ball picks you apart. It took them three minutes.
Three Goals in Sixteen Minutes: How City Buried the Reds
Erling Haaland needed no invitation in a Liverpool vs Manchester City game of this magnitude. Three minutes after the dismissal, the Norwegian found himself where he always finds himself — in the right place at the right time — and buried the opener. 1-0. Anfield went quiet in a way it rarely does.
Then came the moment of the match. Jeremy Doku, the winger whose collision had sparked the red card in the first place, picked up the ball and curled a gorgeous strike into the far corner. 2-0. The man who’d been at the center of this Liverpool vs Manchester City game’s turning point was now writing its headline, and even some Liverpool supporters couldn’t help but acknowledge the quality of it.
Rayan Cherki finished the job in the 78th minute, capping a sixteen-minute blitz that turned a tense stalemate into a Liverpool vs Manchester City rout. Three goals, all after the 62nd minute, all against ten men who were running on fumes. By the time the board went up for stoppage time, Liverpool’s players were just waiting for the ordeal to end.
The Chants That Told the Story: “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!”
As the clock ticked down, the sound that filled Anfield wasn’t the usual roar of defiance. It was a chant, ringing out from the stands: “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!”
The context made it unavoidable. This was Manchester City’s first match since being found guilty of violating the Premier League’s financial rules, and the Liverpool faithful weren’t about to let them forget it. Every City touch was jeered. Every celebration was drowned out. The fury of the stands said plenty about how this verdict has landed with rival supporters — this isn’t a story that’s going to fade quietly.
City, for their part, didn’t seem bothered. If anything, the hostility seemed to sharpen them. Winning a Liverpool vs Manchester City match 3-0 at Anfield while the home crowd chants about your finances? That’s a statement of its own.
A Streak Not Seen Since 1937
The result piled misery on misery for Liverpool. This was their third straight Liverpool vs Manchester City defeat — and according to the NBC broadcast, that’s something that hadn’t happened since 1937. Let that sink in: nearly nine decades of football, through all the eras and all the great Liverpool sides, and no City team had beaten them three times in a row until now.
It also leaves Liverpool’s season at a crossroads. Losing a Liverpool vs Manchester City clash like this, at home, in a game that swung on a red card, is the kind that lingers.
Elsewhere on a Wild Football Sunday
Anfield wasn’t the only place producing drama. Arsenal, the Premier League champions, survived a real scare before edging Leeds United 2-1 — the kind of nervy win that reminds everyone the title race won’t be a procession.
Chelsea ran riot elsewhere with a five-star display, the Blues turning on the style in a performance that’ll have their supporters dreaming bigger. And over in Germany, Bayern Munich twice had to come from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw at Augsburg — a chaotic afternoon that included the fastest Bundesliga goal on record and a rare Manuel Neuer mistake.
It wasn’t just football, either. Max Verstappen grabbed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, the Dutchman still hunting his first-ever win on the streets of Marina Bay. And Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines of a very different kind: the Portuguese Football Federation provisionally suspended him after he left the national team camp, reportedly following a disagreement with coach Jorge Jesus. A remarkable day, even by the standards of a busy October Sunday — and one that followed Lionel Messi’s emotional Argentina farewell earlier in the week.
Sources and Resources
USA Today: Ryan Gravenberch Red Card in Liverpool vs Man City
Premier League official website
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the final score of liverpool vs manchester city?
The Liverpool vs Manchester City result was a 3-0 Manchester City win at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, 2026. All three goals came after the 62nd minute, when Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was sent off: Erling Haaland scored three minutes after the red card, Jeremy Doku added a curled strike, and Rayan Cherki completed the scoring in the 78th minute.
Why was Ryan Gravenberch sent off against Man City?
Gravenberch picked up a second yellow card in the 62nd minute for running into Jeremy Doku, which earned him a red. Liverpool were down to ten men at 0-0, and City scored their opener just three minutes later. The Dutchman’s dismissal completely changed the shape of this Liverpool vs Manchester City match — City’s extra man told almost immediately.
Why were Liverpool fans chanting “cheat” at Manchester City?
This was City’s first match since being found guilty of violating the Premier League’s financial rules, and the Anfield crowd made their feelings known as the clock ticked down. The “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!” chant was aimed directly at the visitors in this Liverpool vs Manchester City showdown, and it underscored how raw the verdict remains among rival supporters.
How rare is it for Liverpool to lose three straight matches to Manchester City?
Extremely rare. Per the NBC broadcast, Liverpool hadn’t lost three consecutive matches to City since 1937 — nearly 90 years ago. That stat shows just how dominant City have become in this fixture, and how painful this particular defeat was for the Anfield faithful.
What else happened in football this weekend?
Plenty. Arsenal (the Premier League champions) survived a scare to beat Leeds United 2-1, Chelsea produced a five-star display, and Bayern Munich twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Augsburg after conceding the fastest Bundesliga goal on record plus a Manuel Neuer error. Off the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo was provisionally suspended by the Portuguese Football Federation after leaving the national team camp amid a reported disagreement with coach Jorge Jesus.
Conclusion
Sixty-two minutes of tension, one red card, and then a ruthless sixteen-minute demolition. Liverpool vs Manchester City turned on Ryan Gravenberch’s second yellow, and Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki made sure the ten men of Liverpool paid for it in full. The 3-0 scoreline, the “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!” chants ringing around Anfield, and a three-match losing streak to City not seen since 1937 all made this one of those afternoons that will be talked about for a long time. City leave Merseyside with three points and a statement made; Liverpool are left to pick up the pieces — again.