Erling Haaland scored his 99th Premier League goal as Manchester City produced a commanding 3-0 victory over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, handing the Reds their fourth consecutive away defeat in the league — their worst streak since 2012.

City, buoyed by nine wins in their last 10 home league fixtures, started with confidence against the reigning champions. Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili soon found himself in trouble when he collided with Jeremy Doku in the box after the winger cleverly stole possession from Ibrahima Konate. However, Mamardashvili quickly redeemed himself, diving low to deny Haaland from the resulting penalty.

Undeterred, City maintained control, creating chances through Rayan Cherki, whose deflected shot went over the bar, and a lively Doku, who forced a near-post save from Mamardashvili with a well-placed attempt.

The breakthrough came in the 29th minute, with Haaland heading home Matheus Nunes’ precise delivery despite Konate’s challenge, giving the hosts a deserved lead.

Liverpool showed flashes of attacking intent, with Mohamed Salah’s corner met by Virgil van Dijk’s header that seemed destined to equalize — only for VAR to rule out the goal due to Andrew Robertson being offside.

City doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time when Van Dijk inadvertently deflected Nico Gonzalez’s low effort past Mamardashvili, cementing their dominance before the break.

A brief Liverpool resurgence saw Conor Bradley’s crosses thwarted — one by Gonzalez and another blazed over by Cody Gakpo — but Doku quickly extinguished any hopes of a comeback, curling in a superb third goal for City to cap off a standout performance.

Late chances for Liverpool, including a rifled shot from Dominik Szoboszlai saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma and a delicate attempt from Salah that went wide, proved fruitless.

The win marks City’s seventh victory in eight games across all competitions and moves them within four points of league leaders Arsenal, providing the perfect backdrop for Pep Guardiola’s 1000th game in management.

For Liverpool, the result compounds their struggles. Arne Slot’s side have now lost six of their last seven domestic matches and drop to eighth, four points further adrift, failing to secure back-to-back away league wins for the first time since 1991.