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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has praised the “character” of his teammates after they earned a brilliant 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in their first match since the announcement of a guilty verdict for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.
The league leaders came into the game after a whirlwind three weeks that ended with the club launching an appeal over the guilty verdict, but while their first game looked like a stern test at Anfield, they passed it with flying colours with the help of a Ryan Gravenberch red card.
After an even first half, the Dutchman was sent off just after the hour mark for a second yellow card offence and City took the lead a few minutes later, with Haaland firing an emphatic finish past Alisson.
Jeremy Doku’s stunning curled effort added a second just three minutes later, before a brilliant dummy and finish from Rayan Cherki sealed all three points in a strange, subdued atmosphere on Merseyside.
Speaking after the game, Haaland singled out teammate and man of the match Elliot Anderson for praise, while highlighting the “character” shown by the players.
“Every single person part of Man City, and every fan, this is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time,” he said after the full-time whistle.
“It was tough, it was hard but we showed amazing character from back to front. So proud of everyone. [It’s] important to stay strong mentally, stick together and do what you can do something about, and the thing we can do something about is to play good football and fight together. That’s the only thing we can do.
“I spoke about the character playing with 10 men at Old Trafford, the first guy I think of is Elliot,” he explained.
“You want to win games, it’s as simple as that. Perform well, play good football and win games. This was a mental battle, [it’s] never easy coming back from internationals.
“[I’m] proud that we managed to stick together, we are mentally strong,” he added.
City’s win means they maintain their 100% winning record at the summit of the league table, with 18 points from 18 and a three-point lead over nearest challengers Arsenal. Their next match comes in midweek in the Champions league against PSG, and they return to domestic action at home to Ipswich on Saturday, 17 October.