Man City beats Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield after guilty verdict on financial breaches

Manchester City won 3-0 at Anfield on October 11, 2026, in their first match after an independent commission upheld 114 of 115 financial rule breach charges brought by the Premier League. The verdict came at the end of September. The dominant road victory occurred in an atmosphere thick with recrimination, with Liverpool fans displaying banners reading 'Cheats' and 'Shamchester City', but the on-field result carries uncertain weight: City are appealing and have maintained their innocence, and potential sanctions could include Premier League relegation or a record points deduction.

Goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki secured the win. City manager Enzo Maresca won all six Premier League games played since taking charge and became the fourth manager in Premier League history to win his first six matches in charge of a new club, joining Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, per CBS Sports reporting.

Thousands of Liverpool fans waited for the Manchester City bus before the game, forcing the bus to change its usual route to avoid the home fans on the road. City navigated the hostile reception by arriving through the staff and contractors' entrance. Banners around Anfield carried messages including 'A Generation Of Supporters Cheated', 'And After All You Really Robbed Us All' and 'All Of Your Stars Are Fading Away', according to BBC Sport. City fans waved a flag reading 'In Khaldoon We Trust. We've Won It All', a gesture of support for chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and hundreds waved inflatable bananas, a habit from when the club spent time in the lower leagues.

Between 2009 and 2018, a period in which City won three Premier League titles, the club was found to have artificially reduced costs and inflated revenues to over £900 million, predominantly through what the independent panel termed 'sham' contracts with sponsors. City won five of the next six Premier League titles in addition to the 2023 Champions League and five domestic cups after 2018, per the brief reporting.

Former City manager Pep Guardiola posted on social media ahead of the match: 'I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran Soriano, the players, staff, Enzo Maresca and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.' Guardiola left City in the summer and was expected to be at the Etihad Stadium for the first time since his departure.

Maresca said after the win, per BBC Sport: 'We knew there was going to be noise but we need to make our own noise by winning games. We need to learn to deal with the noise but the message is to win games.' Haaland added: 'For every single person part of Manchester City, every fan, this is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time. It was tough. It was hard, but we showed amazing character from back to front.' City hold a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. City face PSG on Wednesday for their second match of the Champions League opening phase.