MANCHESTER, England (AP) — In his 1,000th game as manager, Josep Guardiola celebrated the win as if it were his first.
Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday was Guardiola’s 716th victory and perhaps one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.
City not only completely dominated the defence. premier league Champion and one of Guardiola’s fiercest rivals in a career that spanned Spain, Germany and England, victory cemented his side as the side most likely to take Arsenal closest to winning the title this season.
City have moved up to second place in the table, with just four points adrift at the top of the table and a track record ahead of Arsenal. That happened in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, but there is an ominous presence in City’s momentum as they took advantage of Arsenal’s surprise 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.
By contrast, Liverpool, who were sole champions just six months ago, are drifting even further.
This was their fifth loss in six games. have spent over $400 million During the off-season, the Merseyside club dropped to eighth in the table, eight points adrift of the leaders.
City fans taunted Liverpool manager Arne Slott, shouting that he would be sacked in the morning.
There is no suggestion that his position is under any threat, but Liverpool’s form will be a cause for concern. City’s dominance was so complete that Liverpool’s morale-boosting victory over Real Madrid that week was on the cards.
The 3-0 win could have been even bigger as Erling Haaland saved a 13th-minute penalty to give City the lead in the 29th minute.
Nico Gonzalez cut the lead to two points in first-half stoppage time when Virgil van Dijk’s shot deflected.
Player of the match Jeremy Doku tormented Liverpool throughout and scored a well-deserved goal in the 63rd minute with a round shot from outside the box.
Newcastle lost again
Newcastle suffered a consecutive defeat in the Premier League, losing 1-3 to Brentford.
Eddie Howe’s side, who lost to West Ham by the same score a week ago, once again took an early lead but squandered the points.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring at the G-Tech Community Stadium, but Newcastle were hit hard by Brentford in the second half and Dan Byrne was sent off, leaving Newcastle with 10 men.
Burns’ goal in the 27th minute was followed by Kevin Shade’s equalizer in the 56th minute.
Byrne was sent off for bringing down Dango Ouattara in the box, and Igor Thiago converted the penalty.
Thiago’s second goal in stoppage time sealed the victory, leaving Newcastle in 14th place in the table, just two points above the relegation zone.
Manchester City and Liverpool played a match late Sunday.
Sean Dyche claimed his first league win as Nottingham Forest coach after his side inspired themselves by defeating Leeds 3-1 at the City Ground.
Victory after last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United moved second-bottom Forest to within a point of safety.
Leeds took the lead in the 13th minute through Lucas Nmeka, but Ibrahim Sangare equalized two minutes later. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliott Anderson came on from the penalty spot before returning after the break.
Villa get back to winning ways
Aston Villa quickly bounced back from last week’s loss to Liverpool to beat Bournemouth 4-0.
Villa endured a disappointing start to the season, failing to pick up a win in their first six games in all competitions. However, Unai Emery’s side have regained their momentum, winning eight of their last 10 games.
Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen scored, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez keeping out Antoine Semenho’s shot, as Villa moved up to seventh in the table.
Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park.
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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