Rayan Cherki was the player who made the difference when Liverpool met Manchester City in the Premier League, and the BBC's player ratings reflect it. Erling Haaland was clinical, Jeremy Doku scored a superb goal off the bench, and Liverpool's afternoon unravelled after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. Here's how that breaks down, and which performances matter most going forward.
I'm using the BBC's ratings as the factual backbone here. The specific marks aren't something I'll invent or guess at, so what follows is the story the ratings tell, with my own read clearly flagged as such.
Cherki: the statement performance
Per the BBC, Cherki sparkled, and he's the headline name in its ratings. In a fixture between two sides with big-money attacking talent, he was the one who stood out.
That's the notable part. City have no shortage of players who can win a game, so for a single attacker to separate himself says plenty about the quality of his display. My read: this is the kind of afternoon that shapes how a player is viewed for weeks. A standout showing at Liverpool is the sort of evidence managers and fans point to when asking whether a creative player can handle the biggest occasions.
Haaland: clinical, as expected
The BBC highlights Haaland's clinical finish. Nothing surprising there, and that's the point. When City create chances, the question is rarely whether he'll take them, and a ruthless finisher paired with a creator like Cherki is an obvious headache for any defence.
Doku: the bench that keeps on giving
Doku's superb goal came as a substitute, which says something about City's depth. When your replacements can change a game, opponents can't relax after the first-choice front line tires.
It's also a useful reminder of how different the two benches felt on the day. One side added a goalscorer; the other was dealing with the fallout of a red card.
Gravenberch's red card: the turning point
The BBC points to Gravenberch's red card as the moment Liverpool's afternoon became a struggle. Playing against City with ten men is about as hard a task as the Premier League offers. Even a well-organised team ends up chasing shadows, and the space City's attackers can find grows quickly.
It's hard to judge Liverpool's other players fairly without that context. Some of the weaker marks in any set of ratings from this game come with an asterisk, because the match changed shape after the dismissal.
Wirtz: under pressure after a quiet showing
The ratings flag Florian Wirtz's display as underwhelming. That's the sharpest question for Liverpool coming out of the game.
To be fair, one quiet big-game performance doesn't define a player, and a red card makes it harder for any creative player to influence a match. But expectations attach to the biggest signings, and a game like this is where those expectations get measured. My view: the next few matches matter more than this one. Fans will be watching for whether he finds more of the ball and more space to hurt opponents.
What to take from it
- For City: Cherki's impact, Haaland's finishing and Doku's goal off the bench show attacking options in depth.
- For Liverpool: Gravenberch's sending-off is the immediate issue, and Wirtz's quiet display is the longer-term conversation.
- For the neutral: this was a match decided by moments, and City took theirs.
When you read any set of player ratings, ask two things: who changed the game, and whose mark was shaped by circumstances outside their control? Here, Cherki changed it, and Liverpool's red card muddied nearly everything else. Watch how Wirtz responds next time out, because that's the story with legs.
