Guardiola celebrates 1,000th game in style as Haaland, González and Doku strike
Manchester City marked Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game in management with a commanding 3–0 victory over Liverpool — a result that reignites the Premier League title race and cuts Arsenal’s lead at the top to just four points.
Erling Haaland bounced back from an early penalty miss to head in his 99th Premier League goal, giving City the lead midway through the first half. The Norwegian’s relentless drive set the tone for a display full of intensity and control from the reigning champions.
City doubled their advantage before the break when Nico González’s long-range strike took a heavy deflection off Virgil van Dijk, wrong-footing Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
In the second half, Jérémy Doku put the result beyond doubt with a stunning curling effort from the edge of the box — a goal that typified the Belgian’s electric form this season and underlined City’s attacking depth.
Liverpool briefly thought they had pulled one back when Van Dijk’s header found the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. It summed up a miserable afternoon for Arne Slot’s side, who have now lost four of their last five league matches.
The defeat leaves the defending champions languishing in eighth place, eight points off the top and with serious questions over their consistency and defensive organisation.
For Guardiola, however, it was a fitting way to mark a career milestone. “A perfect performance — my players gave me a beautiful gift,” said the City boss after the match.
With Arsenal held to a 2–2 draw at Sunderland on Saturday, this emphatic win puts Manchester City firmly back in contention. As winter approaches, the Premier League title race looks set for another fierce battle between Guardiola’s men and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
