Enzo Maresca’s men are sitting pretty at the top of the table with six consecutive wins, including statement away victories at their two biggest rivals after also beating Manchester United last month. Manchester City emerged unscathed from a hostile reception at Anfield in their first match since a guilty verdict on widespread financial impropriety, but a 3-0 win over Liverpool highlighted the uncertainty that now surrounds the Premier League season. Yet those points could count for nothing unless City are successful in their appeal against the findings of an independent commission, that found them guilty of over 100 Premier League charges.
Even if Liverpool turn out to be not strong enough to challenge for the title, the three points lost on Sunday could be vital in the battle for a place in the Champions League. No sanction has yet been decided. But if City’s appeal fails then a severe points deduction that could lead to relegation or even expulsion from the English top flight is on the table. Doku had a hand in the first and third City goals, scored by Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, either side of his own sumptuous strike into the top corner.
There is even the prospect of three Premier League titles City won between 2009 and 2018, the period to which the charges relate, being stripped. The Premier League leaders splashed out a record £460 million ($609 million) in one transfer window just a few months ago with immediate reward.
