Guardiola Celebrates Milestone with Dominant Win Over Liverpool

MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola has expressed that Manchester City’s 3-0 victory against Liverpool is a clear indication of their readiness to contend for the Premier League title.

With this win, City has reduced the gap to four points behind league leaders Arsenal, thanks to goals from Erling Haaland, Nico González, and Jérémy Doku.

The impressive result against Liverpool came just a day after Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal drew 2-2 with Sunderland. Guardiola emphasized the importance of the performance against the reigning champions, stating, “I think both Liverpool and we reacted to Arsenal dropping points, especially after conceding two goals.”

“However, we must focus on our own performance. I encouraged the players to play not merely because Arsenal failed to win, but because we have faith in our ability to compete with the champions of England and demonstrate our readiness to be in contention this season.”

“Today, we proved that we can do it.”

Doku particularly stood out in the match, earning an early penalty—though Haaland missed it—before later scoring a remarkable goal in the second half.

Guardiola praised the Belgian’s performance, noting his improvement and unique dribbling skills. He also acknowledged Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley’s impressive display against Vinícius Júnior in a previous match, saying, “Pep Lijnders told me numerous commendable things about him; he is exceptionally versatile. I witnessed how impressive he was against [Real] Madrid.”

“Doku managed to handle the pressure well; he was aggressive and quick without the ball. We supported him, and he delivered an outstanding performance.”

This victory against Liverpool was a perfect way for Guardiola to commemorate his 1,000th match as a manager. “I’m grateful to the players and staff for providing me with an incredible gift in this milestone game against such a formidable opponent,” he remarked.

“Competing against Liverpool has always been special, and it was heartwarming to see Virgil [van Dijk], [Andy] Robertson, and Mo Salah again after all our previous encounters. It truly was a memorable evening, especially with my children present.”