Keane hails Man City’s ‘statement’ win as Liverpool falter at Anfield

Manchester United legend Roy Keane praised Manchester City’s 3‑0 triumph at Anfield on Sunday, calling it a statement that drowns out the noise surrounding the club’s recent financial‑fair‑play ruling and keeps the Citizens unbeaten in the Premier League.

Financial fair play cloud lifts

The Citizens arrived in Liverpool amid huge amounts of noise after the club was found guilty of 114 of 115 charges related to alleged Premier League financial‑fair‑play breaches. Despite the distraction, Enzo Maresca’s side showed brilliant togetherness, matching Liverpool for the first hour before pulling ahead.

Red card flips momentum

Ryan Gravenberch’s sending‑off on 62 minutes turned the match on its head after he received a second yellow for bringing down Jeremy Doku. The dismissal gave City a numerical advantage that they exploited to full effect.

Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki each found the net, securing the three goals that completed a perfect six‑wins‑from‑six start to the Premier League season for Manchester City.

Anfield prepares hostility towards the Citizens after accusations

Keane told: “There have been lots of statements made over the last few weeks, but the team made a statement today. The sending off was a big help but you still have to show your quality. The three goals were fantastic. It will be a big boost to City. They have had a good start to the season, great for Enzo Maresca. You’re thinking, ‘Pep who?’ at this stage. It’s not even been mentioned the concerns we had when Pep left or Rodri. Doku made a big difference going at people. He basically changed the game off the bench.”

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge added: “The game changed on the red card. We have to be truthful about that. City delivered after the red card changed the game. Prior to that, it was very even.”

Micah Richards observed: “In terms of their attitude coming into this game, all they could do was play their football to the best of their ability. They wanted to go out there and put on a show, and that is exactly what they did today. As a group, I think they really delivered – we talked about how they were going to react to all the noise. That was a perfect performance.”

Liverpool fans attack City with 'cheaters' flags

Midfielder Elliot Anderson said after the match: “We’ve shown real togetherness and fight. It’s a tough place to come and it’s challenging. We really stuck together out there, fought for each other and played well. We’ve shown courage and three points is good. I thought we did really well to quieten the crowd. We struggled in the first half a little bit, but in the second half we were a lot better.”