Man City silence Anfield: three goals, one statement

Winning at Anfield is hard. Winning 3-0 there is something else entirely. Manchester City did not just take three points off Liverpool on Sunday, they made a claim about where this season is heading, and they made it in the loudest possible venue.

For a fixture that has produced so many classics between these two, this one was controlled by the visitors almost from the first whistle. Liverpool never settled into the press that usually makes Anfield such an ordeal, and once City moved in front the home crowd spent the afternoon waiting for a response that never came.

The scoreline matters as much as the points. A clean sheet at Anfield is rare. A clean sheet with three goals at the other end is a statement the rest of the league will have noticed, and the goal difference swings look meaningful even this early in a long race.

For Liverpool the questions are uncomfortable but familiar. When this fixture has gone wrong for them in recent seasons it has tended to go wrong the same way: concede first, chase the game, leave space for the very players you cannot afford to give it to. Sunday followed that script to the letter.

Elsewhere, Chelsea produced the weekend's most emphatic home performance, a 5-1 win over Bournemouth that does wonders for their goal difference and their mood. Five different kinds of pressure told on the scoreboard, and for a side that has spent recent seasons accused of flattering to deceive, this was a reminder of what the squad looks like when it clicks.

Arsenal did what title contenders do. A professional 2-1 over Leeds will not live long in the memory, but these are the afternoons that add up. Take the points, move on, no drama. It is the least glamorous and most important habit in the division.

The game's purists got their value at Villa Park, where Aston Villa and Brentford played out a lively 2-2. Two sides who both believe they should be playing European football trading blows is usually worth watching, and this was no exception.

Manchester United and Tottenham drew 1-1 at Old Trafford, a result that satisfies neither set of supporters. Both clubs measure their seasons against fixtures like this one, and both left the pitch with the feeling of two points dropped. For all the quality on show, the game had the shape of a contest between two sides still working out what they are.

Crystal Palace were the weekend's quieter winners, 3-1 over Nottingham Forest, a result that continues their reputation as the side nobody wants to visit. Brighton left Sunderland with a clean 2-0, efficient rather than spectacular.

Further down, Ipswich beat Fulham 2-1 in a result that will mean more to them than the table currently suggests, and Hull and Everton shared a 2-2 that both managers will privately file under missed opportunity.

So the weekend closes with the table looking familiar at the very top and restless everywhere else. City come away from Anfield with more than three points. They leave with the knowledge that, on the biggest domestic stage of the weekend, they were the only side who looked inevitable.

The coming weeks will tell us whether this was a title-race pivot or simply a very good away performance. But Liverpool 0, Manchester City 3 is the scoreline this weekend will be remembered by, and it is the one every rival dressing room will have noticed.