Manchester City ignored the threat of harsh sanctions and defeated the Liverpool, which played with ten men, for 3-0 in its first game since he was found guilty of more than 100 charges for violating the Premier League's financial rules.
The goals of Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki in the second part extended the impeccable beginning of the City under the direction of Enzo Maresca, after Ryan Gravenberch was expelled by double yellow.
The victory reestablishes the City's three-point advantage at the top of the table, but the future of any title struggle depends on the outcome of the club's appeal against widespread financial irregularities.
An independent commission found that the City and its Emiratee owners organized "fictitious" agreements to artificially inflate revenue and reduce costs by over £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018.
No sanctions have yet been imposed, but a severe deduction of points or even the expulsion of the highest category of English football are possibilities that cannot be raised, unless the City revokes the decision.
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It has even been speculated with the possibility of taking retroactive measures to revoke the titles.
The multiple violations of the Premier League rules occurred during a period in which the City won three more titles and several other trophies.
However, the City's rivals believe that illegal spending during that period also laid the foundations for a golden era under the command of former coach Pep Guardiola, who left at the end of last season.
The Liverpool was one of the most affected clubs, as it had been left second behind the City three times in the last 12 years.
"There are so many moments and memories that we cannot recover," he told 23-year-old AFP Martin Reilly, a Liverpool fan. "They have to apply all the weight of the law to them.".
The City arrived under the protection of a police escort and was expected to welcome a hostile in Anfield, but the violent scenes that occurred when his bus was stoned before a Champions League match in 2018 were not repeated.
The Liverpool fans were agitated in the streets to receive visitors with "trampos" and "we're going down," while the trading stations were full of flags and scarves that mocked the City's financial scandal.
In the emblematic "The Kop" stand, behind one of the portraits, a banner said, "A generation of fans was deceived.".
In recent years, the duels between the City of Guardiola and the Liverpool of Jürgen Klopp have become the star event of the Premier League.
But with the attention of the whole world put on them, the Liverpool was not up to the circumstances on the ground of play.
The options of the new Liverpool technician, Andoni Iraqi, were reduced without the injured Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, and the Spanish suffered his first defeat since taking over the Reds.
The local team had a brief glimpse of hope at the beginning of the second part, when Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Lewis Koumas a goal in his first game as the Premier League.
The acquisition by a company supported by Abu Dhabi in 2008 transformed the City from a half-board mediocre team to the dominant force of English football.
The economic power of the City was evident in helping to change the course of the party, as Maresca was able to turn to Jeremy Doku from the bench at the beginning of the second part.
In a matter of minutes, the Belgian end was shot down by Gravenberch, who received a second very severe yellow card, and the Liverpool never recovered.
Doku's misdirected shot was shot to the goal by Haaland within 25 minutes of the end, breaking the tie and opening the door.
Three minutes later, Doku marked a sensational blow with a curved shot that snuck into the squadron.
Cherki exchanged a fluid wall with Josko Gvardiol before he shot a shot below Alisson Becker, throwing salt into the Liverpool wound.
