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DOKU AND ERLING HAALAND UNSTOPPABLE: MAN CITY DISMANTLE LIVERPOOL — PLAYER RATINGS

Jeremy Doku starred with a goal and an assist as Man City dominated Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad. The win, in Pep Guardiola's 1000th game, lifts City to 2nd in the Premier League table.

Doku and Erling Haaland unstoppable: Man City dismantle Liverpool —  Player Ratings
99 Premier League goals for Erling Haaland - Photo Credit: Manchester City FC


Pep Guardiola's 1,000th game as manager featured Jeremy Doku as Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium to move up to second place in the Premier League standings. 

After 63 minutes of a faultless display, Doku earned a goal for himself and was by far City's most dominant player.

On a day when Liverpool played poorly, that goal was the last piece of a very simple puzzle for City; previous goals from Nico Gonzalez and Erling Haaland gave Guardiola's team a lead.

When Virgil van Dijk grabbed Mohamed Salah's corner, Liverpool believed they had equalised, but Andy Robertson was offside and stopped the play. 

Guardiola's team got out to a strong start, forcing Liverpool into a compact formation that was subsequently revealed. However, if Haaland had scored from the penalty spot just 13 minutes in, the draw might have been broken sooner. 

Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate misplayed a loose ball inside the Liverpool penalty area, and the Frenchman lingered over it instead of clearing it, giving it to Doku. 

The Belgium international had just a few seconds to get the ball back and skip past Mamardashvili before the Liverpool goalkeeper pulled him down, and a VAR review resulted in a penalty. 

After 29 minutes, the Norwegian scored after Haaland tried to shoot into the bottom-right corner, but Mamardashvili brilliantly jumped off his line. 

With players like Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, who alone cost Liverpool £79 million and £116 million, respectively, in attack, Arne Slot fielded a somewhat formidable team. However, the visitors' compact structure encouraged City to drive toward the goal almost automatically.

After a change of play, Matheus Nunes was sent down the right wing and crossed towards Haaland a few seconds after Ruben Dias had held the ball from 40 yards away.

Additionally, Konate once again failed to provide much protection for his team after letting Doku have the ball earlier. The forward jumped up and headed the ball into the top-right corner of the net. 

The pressure on Liverpool continued after that first goal, and City had a chance to double their lead when Doku got the ball from Haaland on the left side of the box. Mamardashvili caught the winger's attempt to pass into space to Foden with relative ease. 

Doku had already demonstrated that he was in his element at 26 minutes when he shrugged Bradley off the ball, turned onto his left foot with his back to goal, and fired towards the near post, but the Liverpool goalie parried that attempt as well. 

Despite all odds, Liverpool believed they had equalised, and it was both skilful and discouraging for Guardiola's team. Andy Robertson went ahead of the ball as it was headed into the net, and Van Dijk's thunderous header at the end of Salah's corner was ruled offside. 

Before halftime, that seemed to have soured Slot's team's mindset, but not before Nico Gonzalez gave City a second lead in the third minute of injury time.

Gonzalez had the opportunity to shoot from 24 yards out as Liverpool stuck to their defensive-minded lineup, and City's attacking threat never appeared to slow down. 

After bouncing off the outside of Van Dijk's boot and bouncing past a misfiring Mamardashvili, it took a little luck for the ball to end up in the net, but the expansion of City's lead was well-earned. 

The home team again played well in the second half, creating additional issues for the Liverpool defence as Doku ducked past Bradley and Ryan Gravenberch to create a shot in the top-right corner. 

Given that Doku had performed at his peak this season, there was a sense of expectation that he would score, and he did so in the 63rd minute. 

The defender pulled back a long pass that Gonzalez had delivered to O'Reilly on the left, and Doku, facing Konate on the outskirts of the area, plucked the ball into the top-right corner. 

Cody Gakpo wasted a clear chance at the back post, while Gonzalez almost scored an own goal around the hour mark, giving Liverpool a slight advantage.

Salah also had a chance to rally his struggling team in minute 79, but his left-footed attempt slipped past the base of City's far post even though it cleared Gianluigi Donnarumma. 

Here is how we ranked the City players following their pivotal victory at the Etihad Stadium. That opportunity essentially summed up Liverpool's performance that day as City won handily well before the final whistle and secured their place in second place in the Premier League standings.

Player Ratings 


Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7.5  

City’s goalkeeper was hardly tested during the match. The only real challenge came when Salah made a weak right-footed shot after an eight-minute fast break.  

Matheus Nunes – 8  

He was solid down the right side all evening and didn’t give Gakpo much space for long stretches. He produced a stunning cross for Haaland, who scored from it.  

Rúben Dias – 7.5  

He led the defence with the authority that Guardiola’s side needed at times, especially when Liverpool tried to counter. He made a fantastic tackle to deny Salah a scoring chance.  

Josko Gvardiol – 7  

He excelled as a strong presence in the back. He lunged into tackles with determination and quickly judged long balls.  

Nico O’Reilly – 7.5  

Motivated by his second consecutive England call-up on Friday, he challenged Salah down the left side, even if he was caught out on the counter-attack sometimes. He assisted Doku’s excellent goal.  

Bernardo Silva – 7  

He moved all over the pitch and demonstrated why he is the captain. He never stopped running and helped set up Gonzalez’s long-range goal.  

Nico González – 8  

He received an unnecessary yellow card in the 27th minute for pulling Wirtz down, but he made up for it with strong play in transition and scored just before halftime.  

Phil Foden – 8  

He was a constant threat on Sunday and excelled as a creator. Foden showcased his dribbling skills in City’s defensive third, navigating danger effectively, and contributed to attacks as well.  

Rayan Cherki – 7  

He came close in the first half when a deflected effort went over the bar. At the moment, he seems to be a better option off the bench.  

Jeremy Doku – 9 (POTM)  

Where do we start? He delivered an outstanding performance, giving Liverpool’s defence, especially Bradley, nightmares. He truly deserved his goal just after the hour mark.  

Erling Haaland – 8  

He missed an early penalty but bounced back, scoring just 16 minutes later with a looping header past Mamardashvili.  

Substitutes  


Savinho – 7  

He came off the bench and made an immediate impact with his tight dribbling down the right, causing problems for the exhausted away defence.  

Omar Marmoush – 7  

He had a feel-good introduction that created a few chances. The Egyptian was active on the edge of the Liverpool area and saw a shot blocked near the end.

REVEALED: THE SECRET TWO-WORD MESSAGE ERLING HAALAND SENT TO MAN CITY’S OMAR MARMOUSH

Erling Haaland sends a "Salam Brusjans" message to Man City teammate Omar Marmoush after Egypt's late AFCON win.

top-news
Man City’s Marmoush and Liverpool’s Salah Rescue Egypt in 2-1 AFCON Opener

Erling Haaland, the Man City striker, sent a shout-out to Omar Marmoush after Egypt's crazy late win in the African Cup of Nations. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal in the 91st minute, helping Egypt edge out Zimbabwe in their first game of the tournament.

This win gave one of the teams expected to do well a great start, especially since they had to come from behind to get the points. That goal was Salah's first since he scored in Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa in early November. Marmoush tied the game up a little after the hour mark.

After the game, Salah did what he always does and posted pics of himself with the other goal scorers on Instagram.

He put up a picture of himself with Man City’s Marmoush, and Haaland sent a message to his teammate.

The Norwegian wrote, 'Salam Brusjans,' which means 'peace brothers,' and added a thumbs-up emoji.

Even though Egypt won, their coach, Hossam Hassan, thought they could have done better in attack.

We didn't have the best luck. We missed a lot of chances and made things harder on ourselves, he told BeIN Sports. I told the players this could happen, and we need to learn from it.

There are no easy games. We want to try and win the whole thing. Egypt is a big team in Africa and should fight for the trophy.

Egypt is back in action on Boxing Day against South Africa in their group game. Then, on Monday, December 29th (4 pm kick-off), they play Angola.

Meanwhile, Man City is back in the Premier League on Saturday, December 27th (12:30 pm kick-off), when they play Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Sean Dyche's team is now safe from relegation and is five points ahead of West Ham United, who are in 18th place.

SHOCK: ERLING HAALAND’S HALL OF FAME VERDICT REVEALED: THE SECRET TO PEP’S GENIUS

How Erling Haaland smashed Alan Shearer’s records in record time. JUST IN: His SHOCK tribute to Pep Guardiola’s help.

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How Pep Guardiola Recreated a Monster

Ever since Erling Haaland switched from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in 2022, he's been smashing records left and right. It's cool since his dad, Alfie, played for City, too. Right off the bat, he became the Premier League's top scorer in his first month!

Just a couple of months later, this Norwegian star became the first player to score hat tricks in three home games in a row in the Premier League. By the end of his first season, he was the top scorer with 36 goals—beating Harry Kane by six.

Haaland didn't stop there. He kept breaking records, becoming the fastest player to reach 50, 75, and 100 Premier League goals, beating the legendary Alan Shearer twice.

He's only been in England for barely three years, and this 25-year-old has already snagged two Golden Boots. Now, people are seriously thinking about putting him in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

‘So far, it’s been great to work with him.’

Haaland chatted with JioStar about how much City's manager, Pep Guardiola, has helped him become the superstar he is today.

Since I signed up with City, Pep Guardiola has really helped me tweak my game and get into positions where I can score. He’s a genius, and he’s been a big help in my development as a goal scorer. So far, it’s been great to work with him,” Haaland said.

Guardiola has really turned City around. They were already doing well after the Abu Dhabi United Group bought them in 2008 and won their first title in over 40 years in 2011-12.

But with Guardiola, Man City became a real powerhouse in the Premier League. They've won six out of nine seasons under him, plus the 2022-23 Champions League and two FA Cup titles.

Haaland has been part of two of those seasons—2022-23 and 2023-24. Earlier this year, City were behind Liverpool and Arsenal, but now they’re catching up to Arsenal and are still in the running for their 11th Premier League title.

Premier League Standings

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