Man City crush Liverpool 3-0 as Guardiola celebrates 1,000th game in style

Man City crush Liverpool 3-0 as Guardiola celebrates 1,000th game in style
Reuters
Reuters

Manchester City marked Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game as a manager with a commanding 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday, reigniting their Premier League title hopes as goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku sealed the win.

Manchester City delivered a masterclass performance on Sunday, defeating rivals Liverpool 3-0 in a crucial Premier League clash that underlined their title credentials.

The match, which marked Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th as a manager, saw City climb to second in the table on 22 points after 11 games, four behind leaders Arsenal. Defending champions Liverpool slipped to eighth with 18 points.

City started brightly, and after missing an early penalty, Erling Haaland made amends in the 29th minute, towering above Ibrahima Konaté to head home Matheus Nunes’ cross for his 99th league goal for the club.

Just before halftime, Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead with a deflected long-range strike that wrong-footed Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Jeremy Doku sealed the win in the 63rd minute with a stunning curling effort from the edge of the box.

Guardiola praised his team’s display, saying: “My players gave me a good present with this performance against the champions. We had to perform well, and many good things happened — they all played to the highest level.”

Defender Ruben Dias added: “We live for games like this. There is no higher level than this kind of match. Everyone did a great game.”

The win ended City’s four-game winless run against Liverpool and was their first victory over Jürgen Klopp’s side since April 2023.

Liverpool had briefly thought they had pulled one back in the first half, but Virgil van Dijk’s goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Reflecting on the defeat, Van Dijk said: “The reality is that we lost 3-0 and that’s a big blow. It’s about finding consistency and carrying on. We’re ready for a long season and a big fight.”

City dominated throughout, registering six shots on target to Liverpool’s one, and capitalised on their momentum to send a clear message to title rivals ahead of the international break.

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