Cherki sparkles but who must do more? Rating Liverpool and Man City after Anfield rout

Cherki, Haaland and Doku star as Wirtz struggles

Manchester City inflicted a first defeat of the Premier League season on Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola with a 3-0 win at Anfield, and the BBC Sport player ratings reflect where the match was won and lost. Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki got the goals; here is how the individuals fared.

Liverpool

Alisson (5): Could do nothing to keep out Haaland's strike, then beaten by a beauty from Doku and some solid footwork from Cherki.
Ronald Araujo (5): Got a cheap yellow card early on and will be annoyed that the first two City goals came from his side.
Virgil van Dijk (6): Often pushed out of position to help Liverpool deal with getting outnumbered in midfield; perhaps could have closed Haaland down quicker.
Jeremy Jacquet (6): Wasn't a bad display from a young talent, but a real eye-opener against a quality City attack.
Milos Kerkez (5): Battled well and pushed up regularly but lacked quality in the final third.
Alexis Mac Allister (5): Grew into the game and put in a good shift but struggled once Liverpool went down to 10 men.
Ryan Gravenberch (6): Came in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai and was Liverpool's best player until he was sent off for a second yellow. Naive.
Victor Munoz (7): Played with fearlessness and was an absolute nuisance for City, causing Nico O'Reilly all sorts of problems.
Florian Wirtz (4): Simply has got to do better, particularly in games of this magnitude. Largely ineffective with some poor decisions.
Bradley Barcola (5): Sharp on the ball and did his defensive duties but, like Wirtz, must do more in the final third.
Lewis Koumas (7): Making his first Premier League start, the 21-year-old got stuck in from the outset in an energetic display loved by the Anfield crowd.

Subs: Nyoni (on 66, Wirtz) 6; Jeremie Frimpong (on 75, Araujo) 5; Ngumoha (on 75, Koumas) 5; Gomez (on 88, Jacquet); Chiesa (on 88, Barcola).

Manchester City

Gianluigi Donnarumma (7): Had a shaky start but made a string of good saves early in the second half to deny Koumas and Gravenberch and keep the game level.
Matheus Nunes (7): An impressive display and made a great tackle in the box to deny Barcola in the first half.
Ruben Dias (7): Did well to weather the early storm and keep Liverpool out.
Marc Guéhi (7): A strong performance at centre-half; can take satisfaction from the way they defended.
Nico O'Reilly (6): Solid going forward but had his work cut out against Munoz and was inevitably booked when he fouled the Spaniard.
Elliot Anderson (7): Always showed for the ball and constantly involved; got the assist for Doku.
Enzo Fernandez (6): Forced Alisson into a good stop but didn't really grow into the game until Gravenberch was sent off.
Iliman Ndiaye (6): Dangerous on the ball with a few threatening moments before being replaced by Doku.
Rayan Cherki (8): Capped off a day to remember for City with a lovely goal.
Antoine Semenyo (7): Threatening all afternoon and part of an attack too good for Liverpool once City had the man advantage.
Erling Haaland (8): Had a quiet first half and missed a huge chance early in the second, but finished emphatically to give City the lead.

Subs: Jérémy Doku (on 56, Ndiaye) 8 — came on and scored an absolute belter; Josko Gvardiol (on 66, O'Reilly) 7; Allan (on 80, Haaland); Bouaddi (on 84, Fernandez).

Ratings via BBC Sport, based on the performance of each player in Liverpool's 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City on 11 October 2026.