Manchester City produced a ruthless second-half performance to beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday and maintain their place at the top of the Premier League.
Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored for the visitors after Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was sent off in the 62nd minute for a second bookable offence.
The contest arrived amid intense scrutiny surrounding Manchester City following a Premier League ruling over the club's financial regulations case. City have appealed the decision and continue to maintain their position as the legal process continues.
Liverpool began positively in front of a vocal Anfield crowd, pressing City aggressively and looking dangerous in transition during a tightly contested first half.
City created one of their better early openings when Antoine Semenyo drove a dangerous ball across the six-yard area, but nobody was able to provide the finishing touch.
Liverpool increased the pressure after the restart and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into action during a lively spell.
The City goalkeeper denied Lewis Koumas before keeping out Gravenberch, while Alexis Mac Allister sent another effort narrowly wide as the hosts searched for the breakthrough.
Haaland then passed up a major opportunity after Semenyo released him into space, with the Norwegian unable to convert as Alisson Becker rushed from his goal.
The direction of the match changed dramatically in the 62nd minute when Gravenberch, who had been booked shortly after half-time, received a second yellow card following a challenge on substitute Doku.
City needed only three minutes to take advantage.
Doku's attempted delivery was partially blocked before the loose ball fell kindly to Haaland, who struck a powerful first-time finish into the bottom corner to give the visitors the lead in the 65th minute.
The advantage was doubled just three minutes later.
Doku collected possession on the left, cut inside and curled an outstanding effort beyond Alisson into the top corner for his first Premier League goal of the season.
Liverpool struggled to regain control after going down to 10 men, while City increasingly dictated possession and pushed for a third.
Cherki completed the scoring in the 78th minute following an excellent passing sequence from the league leaders.
The French midfielder combined with Josko Gvardiol inside the penalty area, showed outstanding control to evade the Liverpool defence and calmly rolled his finish beyond Alisson.
The goal completed a 41-pass move, underlining City's control after Liverpool's dismissal and adding further gloss to a clinical second-half display.
City had gone into half-time without scoring after an opening period dominated more by intensity and fouls than clear chances.
Liverpool's strongest spell arrived immediately after the interval, but Gravenberch's red card proved decisive as City scored three times in a 13-minute period.
Haaland's strike continued his strong record against Liverpool, while Doku made an immediate impact after being introduced from the bench shortly before the sending-off.
Cherki's late goal completed the victory and ensured City remained at the Premier League summit, while Liverpool slipped further behind following their first league defeat of the campaign.
City manager Enzo Maresca also continued his impressive start, with the victory making it six Premier League wins from his opening six matches in charge.
For Liverpool and manager Andoni Iraola, the result brought an unbeaten start to the campaign to an end on a difficult afternoon at Anfield.
