Overview
- Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad through goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku.
- The defeat leaves the champions eighth after 11 matches, eight points off Arsenal and four behind City, with five league losses already.
- Arne Slot said talk of a title push is premature, stressing a results-first approach and acknowledging his game plan failed against City's press.
- Slot argued Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header was wrongly disallowed for offside interference by Andy Robertson, citing inconsistency with previous VAR calls.
- Pundits led by Roy Keane labeled the situation a crisis as scrutiny of underperforming players and calls for changes grew heading into the international break.