Man City 3-0 Liverpool: Doku blew away the 3-mark plan

Man City won 3-0 as Jeremy Doku took centre stage. Liverpool deployed a three-man siege but were still unable to cope with the Belgian's speed and skill. VAR denied a header from Virgil van Dijk, while the Etihad saw Pep Guardiola's 1,000th game in charge come to a complete end.

Man City dominates, Doku is the focus

Liverpool entered the season aiming to defend their Premier League title, but the trip quickly spiralled out of control. Erling Haaland opened the scoring just minutes after missing a penalty, Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead and Doku sealed the win with a curling effort. Van Dijk’s header was ruled out by VAR, and the scoreline reflected the situation: Man City were fully deserving.

The plan of 3 people to guard Doku was broken.

Arne Slot made no secret of his wariness of Doku from the start. The 23-year-old striker was positioned on the left, directly in front of Conor Bradley – the 22-year-old right-back who had silenced Vinicius Jr in the Champions League in midweek. But Doku was a different matter: he repeatedly got past Bradley with the first touch of the ball, drawing Ibrahima Konaté into support like a “right-back” on the heatmap.

Despite being two-on-one, Liverpool were unable to block Doku’s lane. In a clumsy combination between Bradley and Konaté, Doku swooped in to steal the ball and earned a penalty after a foul by goalkeeper Mamardashvili. Man City’s pressure forced Konaté into a passive position to escape the press, leading to several dangerous losses of the ball. When Doku scored the third goal with a turn and a long-range shot, Konaté could only watch.

Gravenberch cannot cover

Slot also pulled Ryan Gravenberch into the right wing to increase the cover, but the three-layer structure – Bradley, Konaté, Gravenberch – was still broken by Doku. As the game progressed, Liverpool became more and more exposed to Doku's constant changes of direction. In the 74th minute, Pep Guardiola took Doku off to rest amid applause from the Etihad stands. Bradley left the field less than 10 minutes later, ending a difficult evening.

Tactical Analysis: How Doku Stretches Defensive Structures

The biggest difference was Doku’s first burst. Just by getting past Bradley with his second touch, he immediately forced Konaté to cover inside and Gravenberch to drop deep, causing Liverpool to lose their structure and numerical advantage in midfield. When Konaté drifted wide, Liverpool’s right flank opened up space for Man City’s inside attackers to exploit. From there, Liverpool’s errors in escaping the press appeared in succession.

These details explain why, despite having an extra man, Liverpool were always a beat behind. Doku not only won in speed and technique 1v1, but also won in forcing the system to chase instead of proactively closing the gap.

Turning Point Moments

• Haaland opened the scoring just minutes after missing a penalty, relieving the pressure on Man City.
• Doku won the ball from Bradley – Konaté's foul combination and brought about a penalty.
• Van Dijk's headed goal was ruled out by VAR, extinguishing Liverpool's hopes of a comeback.
• In the 74th minute, Doku left the field to applause – the end of a destructive performance on Liverpool's right wing.

Arne Slot's reaction

Before the match, coach Arne Slot shared on Sky Sports that he "analyzed Man City 250 times in the past week". After the match, he admitted: "We knew Doku was the biggest threat, but clearly, we couldn't stop him."

Impact on the ambition to defend the throne

The 3-0 defeat at the Etihad was a warning to Liverpool as they defend their Premier League title. The difference comes from an explosive individual and a system that knows how to amplify that strength. At the Etihad, Doku was not just man of the match – he was a real nightmare for Liverpool’s right wing.