Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool: Pep Guardiola marked his 1000th appearance as manager in style as the former Premier League champions thoroughly defeated the reigning kingpin.
Inspired by Jeremy Doku’s dazzling display, Manchester City thrashed Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon after falling behind to their title rivals.
City had a great chance to break the deadlock within 15 minutes when Giorgi Mamadashvili’s knee left Doc sprawled in the penalty area. But Georgia’s goalie made a great comeback, darting out to his left from 12 yards out to deny Erling Haaland.
Unfortunately for Liverpool and their deputy keeper, Haaland headed home his 99th Premier League goal after just 15 minutes and was soon back in regular service.
After Virgil van Dijk’s header past Gianluigi Donnarumma from a corner, Nico Gonzalez’s deflected effort cemented City’s dominance, shortly after the equalizer was disallowed due to VAR intervention.
Doc was Liverpool’s biggest culprit and produced the best moment of the game, finishing off Liverpool with a world-class shot past Mamadashvili just after the hour mark, capping off a great afternoon for City. Introducing key points from important mirror football games…
read more: Gary Neville slams referee over controversial Liverpool goal invalidation: ‘I don’t understand’read more: Premier League match center offers VAR explanation after Erling Haaland’s penalty miss
1) The dancing German is dazzling
On a field studded with elite offensive talent, it was Doc who stood head and shoulders above everyone else on Sunday afternoon.
Great one moment and often frustrating the next, this was arguably Doc’s finest hour in a Manchester City shirt, punctuated by a stunning third goal that ended Liverpool’s hopes of a comeback.
Doc’s dribbling ability was second to none (he hit seven here, if you’re counting), and he left the game with Connor Bradley dizzy at times. There were moments where he really couldn’t play. His end product may be inconsistent at times, but the game, and Manchester City, would be even poorer without him.
2) Haaland is hit and miss.
I mean, he’s human. Or maybe not. Just 15 minutes after City’s arrogant goalscorer misfired from the penalty spot, he was celebrating his 99th Premier League goal.
Unlike most of his 98 goals leading up to this goal, City’s No. 9 knew little about it. The ball bounced off Ibrahima Konate, then bounced off Haaland’s face and looped into the far corner of Maradashvili’s goal. Yes, City’s headline act can score goals without even intending to.
Josep Guardiola said earlier this season that Haaland is better than ever, a natural claim given the way he has set Premier League records on left, right and center on this coast. He currently boasts 14 goals in 11 games in the Premier League, which is surprisingly three short of the 17 he scored at this point in his debut season. But don’t get me wrong, this version of Haaland feels more dangerous than any other.
3) Liverpool is a failure
Victory over Real Madrid may have put any talk of crisis to rest, but the reigning Premier League champions were here in full force. They cowered under the Etihad lights in difficult conditions but were fortunate to be just two goals behind at the break.
Arne Slott’s side looked long-legged but when Gonzalez’s shot found the back of the net in first-half stoppage time, it never felt like there was a way back, even if they improved slightly after the break.
Submit this file another afternoon to forget for the champion. Based on this evidence, City, not Liverpool, will be competing with Arsenal for the Premier League title.
4) Pep celebrates milestone in style
The Manchester City central figure could hardly have wished for a better way to mark his 1000th game as manager, watching his team tear apart one of their main title rivals.
City have been dominating the Premier League for years, but last year’s blowout would have been a huge blow to Guardiola. But they played like champions here and have the form to chase down Arsenal in the Championship round.
This must have made Guardiola happy. I’ll follow up with a different title this time.
5) Reds record ends
Liverpool had scored in 44 consecutive Premier League games before failing to score against Manchester City.
Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike all started in attack, but none of them could break through City’s defence, and the Reds suffered another heartbreaking defeat. Much has been made about Liverpool’s defensive problems and here too they lacked the cutting edge.
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