PEP GUARDIOLA has collected 12 league titles on his way to 1,000 matches in management.
And after this demolition job on the reigning champions, which propelled Manchester City back into serious contention, we should not rule out a 13th this season.
Manchester City struck a hammer blow to Liverpool’s title hopes with a 3-0 win at the EtihadCredit: Getty
Erling Haaland fired City into the lead with his 99th Premier League goalCredit: EPA
Nico Gonzalez’s deflected strike in first-half stoppage time fired City into a 2-0 leadCredit: Getty
This was a grand old way for Guardiola to clock up his 1,000th game as a gaffer as headed his 99th Premier League goal before further goals from Nico Gonzalez and the electric moved City to within four points of leaders Arsenal.
Haaland had an early penalty saved by but it didn’t matter a jot as suffered his heaviest league defeat as Liverpool boss.
Guardiola’s reinvention of this City team after last season’s extraordinary mid-season meltdown is still a work in progress but it speaks of a man who still has a restless hunger so deep into his storied career.
For Liverpool, here was a fifth defeat in six league games – and though was unlucky to have a first-half equaliser ruled out, the champions were well beaten in a traditional Mancunian downpour.
Winger Doku was the undoubted star of the show, magnificent from the word go, and when he sealed victory with a brilliant long-ranger, Guardiola punched the air and smiled like a Cheshire cat.
Guardiola’s 100th teamsheet contained few surprises, while Slot stuck with the starting eleven who had defeated Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
There were banners to mark the City manager’s landmark all around the Etihad before kick-off – including one, written in Catalan, translating as ‘we want you to stay’.
Jeremy Doku fired City into a 3-0 lead with a thumping drive from outside the boxCredit: Reuters
In truth, nobody ever expected to reach anything like ten seasons at the club but rumours of the great man’s impending departure have been going on for years.
City were rapid out of the traps, Doku at the forefront, all express pace and murderous intent.
And it was the winger who won the early penalty, darting at , who got in a muddle with Ibrahima Konate before Mamardashvili slid out and connected with his knee.
Ref Chris Kavanagh missed this minimal contact but Michael Oliver decided it was a clear and obvious error – assuming the refs are doing clear and obvious this week. Either way, it really wasn’t clear and obvious.
Still, Mamardashvili plunged low to his left to keep out Haaland’s spot-kick – the fourth City penalty miss in their last five attempts against Liverpool.
The big man had missed two penalties in one match for Norway against Israel last month yet still bagged a hat-trick in a 5-0 win.
If the ability to net from 12 yards is a surprising weakness in his game then Haaland clearly doesn’t let it bother him.
Because, after another blinding Doku run ended with Mamardashvili turning his shot around the post, Haaland opened the scoring with a skyscraping header.
Matheus Nunes centred from the right and Haaland leapt above Ibrahima Konate to power his header home back across goal.
It was his 28th goal in 18 matches for club and country this season – outrageous stats from the man fed on rare meat and raw milk.
Virgil van Dijk thought he’d levelled the scoresCredit: AFP
But his equaliser was ruled out because team-mate Andy Robertson was in an offside
Still if Haaland’s was a proper thumping version of the supposedly lost art of the big header, then so too was Van Dijk’s.
The Liverpool skipper nutted a Mo Salah corner past the dive of but the celebrations in the away end were cut short by a linesman’s flag.
Andy Robertson, stationed directly in front of the City keeper, had ducked under the ball while in an offside position.
Oliver upheld the decision from Stockley Park but City had got lucky – Donnarumma surely wouldn’t have saved Van Dijk’s effort anyway.
Then in first-half injury-time, Lady Luck gave Liverpool’s captain another sound kick in the wotsits as Gonzalez drilled in a shot from outside the box which took a massive deflection off the Dutchman, wrong-footing Mamardashvili.
Slot sent his team out early for the second half and they looked full of intent – Ryan Gravenberch’s excellent first-time through-ball sending Salah haring down on goal only for Ruben Dias to make a crucial tackle after Donnarumma had dashed ten yards out of his box.
Cody Gakpo had only arrived in place of Hugo Ekitike two minutes earlier when he missed a far-post sitter from a Bradley cross.
That switch meant the Reds were operating with Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai as a pair of false nines, with Alexander Isak still kicking his heels on the bench.
Still, there was little the Reds could do about Doku – who was in absolute flames.
Bradley had pocketed Vinicius Junior on Tuesday night but he couldn’t lay a glove on the Belgian.
And when his goal arrived on 63 minutes it was brilliantly executed and richly deserved.
O’Reilly cut back a pass and Doku bamboozled Konate as he cut inside and walloped a missile of a shot inside the far post.
Salah missed a glorious chance to pull one back but there was never going to be any way back on Pep’s grand day out.
