Dazzling doku, O’Reilly + Szoboszlai’s praise verges on ban

Manchester City recorded a comprehensive 3-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday, with Erling Haaland (£14.8 million), Nico Gonzalez (£5.9 million) and Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) on the scoresheet.

Here are our Scout Notes from the Etihad Stadium.

“AWESOME” DOCUMENTS

Jeremy Doku was Manchester City’s standout performer on Sunday, creating havoc down Liverpool’s right flank.

The Belgian deserved his goal in the second half, curling his shot into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Linking beautifully with City’s other striker in a winger/part-centre role, he also won a penalty that Haaland failed to convert and completed seven of his eight take-ons.

“Of course, Jeremy’s threat was extraordinary with Erling [Haaland]. One of the best so far, for impact. Their right back, Conor [Bradley] Very quickly, I saw his game against Vinicius Junior. We made a really good play.” – Pep Guardiola on Jeremy Doku

Doku has certainly brought more consistency to his game this season, although it is important to note that Sunday’s goal was his first league goal since January.

Man City played some very good football in this match, and they could and probably should have won by a bigger margin.

Haaland opened the scoring, shortly after having his penalty saved by the penalty kick specialist Giorgi Mamardashvili (£4.3m), before Gonzalez added a second and Doku rounded it off with a third.

That means 99 Premier League goals for Haaland, with a trip to Newcastle United next after the international break.

FULL-BACKS IMPRESS/WHY CHERKI WAS REPLACED EARLY

Matheus Nunes (£5.3 million) and Nico O’Reilly (£4.9m) each provided an assist on Sunday, while also providing defensive contribution points (DefCon).

Nunes has now completed 90 minutes in six consecutive league games, while O’Reilly has started seven of the last eight games.

The only thing he missed, City lost 1-0 against Aston Villa.

You can never be completely confident, especially with players like that Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.8 million), Nathan Ake (£5.3 million), Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.4 million) and Rico Lewis (£4.8m), but at least we are starting to see some consistency in Pep Guardiola’s selection of full-backs.

O’Reilly in particular was outstanding against him Mohamed Salah (£14.2m), and has now featured in attack in his last three starts for City.

“Nico O’Reilly is incredible. In general, everyone is incredible because they are still champions. Sometimes we put a full-back inside, sometimes he is already 10 or eight years old. He can play. His presence in set pieces with long balls is very fast. He is clever – he plays very well. I think he is very good, he does very well.” – Pep Guardiola on Nico O’Reilly

City were unchanged from their last Premier League game against Bournemouth, with Rayan Cherki (£6.3m) started his second league game in a row and Tijjani Reijnders (£5.5m) once again on the bench.

Cherki only lasted 52 minutes, with Reijnders an unused substitute.

“It’s more difficult for Rayan because there is more space on the left side, not on the right, because of the way they defend.” – Pep Guardiola on Rayan Cherki

SZOBOSZLAI IS ONE BOOKING AWAY FROM THE BAN

Liverpool are out of the race on Sunday, raising more questions than answers ahead of their Gameweek 12 clash.

To further complicate matters, Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m) – the sixth most bought midfielder in Gameweek 12 – and Conor Bradley (£5.0m) both picked up their fourth yellow cards of the season.

They are now one yellow card away from a one-match ban.

Liverpool were unchanged from their impressive midweek win over Real Madrid, which was meaningful Florian Wirtz (£8.0m) maintains his position at the front Cody Agat (£7.5m) on the left wing.

Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m) also continues in top spot, with Alexander Isaac (£10.4m) is not ready to start.

“For me, he is in the final stages of rehabilitation. There have been two training sessions with us. Yes, we have trained, but not with the intensity that is best for Alex. He is there if he needs to help us.” – Arne slots on Alexander Isak

However, Ekitike was barely involved, failed to register a single shot on goal, and was sent off in the 55th minute.

Gakpo, who replaced him, wasted Liverpool’s best chance, while Szoboszlai’s powerful shot was parried away by Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.7 million).

As for Salah, he will claim the assist Virgil van Dijkgoal (£5.9m) if not firmly ruled out. He also fired three shots, creating a great chance that went just narrowly wide of the goal post.

But overall, it’s a disappointing display.