Cherki cracker caps Manchester City win at Liverpool in face of Anfield taunts
Anfield's verdict, City's answer
It is a soundtrack Manchester City have heard before but never for such sustained bursts during a match. From the moment the teams emerged at Anfield on Sunday 11 October 2026, the Liverpool support rang out with it — and they were telling City exactly what they are, and where they believe the club is going.
With an independent commission having found City guilty on virtually all of the 100-plus charges they faced for breaking the Premier League's financial rules — a verdict published in the document two Tuesdays ago that dripped with contempt, citing "proven misconduct", "sham arrangements" and "concerted attempts to frustrate the investigation" — the Kop wanted to deliver its own judgment. According to them, City are cheats, set to be relegated. "You haven't won a trophy since 1976," came the early chant from The Kop, a reference to City's League Cup triumph, the last major honour before the Abu Dhabi era now under scrutiny.
The banners were unmistakable. One unfurled before kick-off featured the word "cheats" followed by a long sequence of pound signs. Others riffed on Oasis lyrics — "after all, you really robbed us all" — while a flag in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand read: "Until you've repaid the dreams you bought for your lies you'll be castaway alone under stormy skies." There were also odes to "a generation of supporters cheated."
City, who maintain their innocence and have appealed, did not care. They rolled with the invective. The public-address system seemed to join in: Calvin Harris's Blame and Wolfmother's The Joker and the Thief before kick-off, Fleetwood Mac's Little Lies at the final whistle.
City's own supporters arrived armed with scores of inflatable bananas and old-school match shirts, a nod to a custom dating back to Imre Varadi — "Imre Banana" to the fans of the late 1980s — and a reminder that the club pre-dates the Abu Dhabi takeover. Banners declared "In Khaldoon we trust" in support of chair Khaldoon al-Mubarak, and there were Poznan dances. "You want banners? The Kop had that boxed off," was the bemused read of the day.
For Liverpool, the grievance is personal as well as sporting. Glance down to the spot on the turf where Steven Gerrard slipped to let in Demba Ba in 2014; Liverpool lost that title to City, and the ruling has reshaped the regret of those near-misses in 2014, 2019 and 2022. Sadness, as the mood had it, is now tinged with anger.
Slow burn, then a landslide
The opening period offered little to report. Even the 12th-minute melee after Alexis Mac Allister tussled with Elliot Anderson was "the definition of handbags." Ronald Araújo was booked early for a crude slide on Antoine Semenyo and then again for demanding a card for Marc Guéhi; Liverpool had lost their three best players of the season so far — Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak — to international-break injuries, and gave 21-year-old Lewis Koumas a full league debut up front.
Koumas forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a fine save straight after the restart, and Liverpool pushed as the Kop sensed a breakthrough. Ryan Gravenberch worked Donnarumma; Mac Allister volleyed wide; Erling Haaland blew a glorious chance on the hour. Then everything changed.
Gravenberch, booked at the start of the second half for a foul on Anderson, was already on thin ice when he caught Jérémy Doku as the substitute prepared to spark a counter. The contact was not strong, but the second yellow in the 62nd minute left Liverpool with ten men — and City cut loose.
Doku, on for Iliman Ndiaye in the 56th minute, almost teed up Nico O'Reilly before Haaland swept home from a deflected Doku cross. Doku then curled in "an absolute beauty" to extend the lead. The best was still to come: Rayan Cherki dummied a pass from Elliot Anderson and ran on to a back-heel from substitute Josko Gvardiol, cut away from Liverpool replacement Jeremie Frimpong, and shot home. A team goal marked by individual brilliance.
It was a first defeat for Liverpool under Andoni Iraola and kept City's 100 per cent record intact — six wins from six, top of the table. "That is the backdrop to not knowing where these points and this season is going," rued Gary Neville on commentary. "There is going to be a 'but' all the way." As The Kop chanted "going down," the league table showed City very much on top.