We enter the last international break before the 2026 World Cup with plenty of domestic drama still to chew on. The weekend delivered a mix of statement wins, worrying stutters and individual returns that shift team dynamics. Manchester City humiliated Liverpool at the Etihad, Robert Lewandowski marked his comeback with a hat-trick for Barcelona, Arsenal surrendered points to Sunderland and Napoli’s crisis deepened under Antonio Conte.
Man City 3-0 Liverpool — Doku makes the difference
Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th match as a manager belonged less to Erling Haaland and more to Jérémy Doku, whose one-on-one brilliance and directness unsettled Liverpool all afternoon. Doku’s ability to create dilemmas for defenders — isolate a marker and force others to react — gives City a new attacking balance. If he sustains this level, City will become harder to predict and less reliant on Haaland as the sole focal point.
Liverpool looked blunt and unbalanced. Arne Slot’s cautious setup, with Florian Wirtz deployed wide rather than Cody Gakpo, reduced their attacking thrust, and Ibrahima Konaté looked leggy from repeated starts. Margins and incidents (a disallowed Van Dijk goal, narrow misses) only
