Manchester City strengthened their Premier League title credentials with a ruthless 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, extending their unbeaten league start.
The turning point came in the 62nd minute when Ryan Gravenberch received his second yellow card for a challenge on Jeremy Doku.
City quickly capitalised, with Erling Haaland and Doku scoring within six minutes before Rayan Cherki sealed the victory with a superb strike.
Former refereeing chief Keith Hackett criticised referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision to book Gravenberch for his first offence, arguing that the challenge did not warrant a yellow card.
He also suggested the referee should have applied a higher threshold for bookings in such a high-pressure encounter.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also expressed frustration, describing the dismissal as a decisive moment that changed the game.
The victory marked City’s sixth consecutive Premier League win, taking them to the top of the table with 18 points.
It was also their eighth straight win across all competitions under new manager Enzo Maresca.
Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola suffered his first defeat as Liverpool manager.
The Reds were already without key players, including Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, making their task even more difficult after Gravenberch’s dismissal.