Manchester City put in a commanding performance to defeat Premier League rivals Liverpool 3-0 on Sunday, giving Pep Guardiola a win in his 1000th match as a manager.
Manchester City moved closer to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table with an emphatic win over rivals Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Celebrating his 1000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola saw Erling Haaland score his 99th Premier League goal before further strikes from Nico González and Jérémy Doku condemned Liverpool to yet another league defeat – their fifth already in 2025-26.
It was an incredibly disappointing performance from Arne Slot’s side, with Liverpool failing to register a single shot on target in the game until the 76th minute.
Man City started brightly and had a golden chance to take the lead in the 13th minute. Following a VAR review, Giorgi Mamardashvili’s knee was deemed to have upended Doku in the box and Haaland was given the chance to score from the penalty spot.
Looking to edge closer to 100 Premier League goals, the Norwegian saw his spot-kick expertly saved by the Georgian goalkeeper down low to his right, denying him his 99th goal in the competition. That stop meant that since the start of 2023-24, no goalkeeper has saved more penalties in Europe’s top five leagues than Mamardashvili (6).
It was a common scene for City fans, having seen their side miss four of their last five Premier League penalties against Liverpool, while Haaland’s penalty failure was just his third from 20 attempts in the Premier League.
It only took 16 minutes for Haaland to make amends. His 99th Premier League goal finally came via an excellent header from Matheus Nunes’ cross. He outjumped Ibrahima Konaté to direct his header at goal, leaving Mamardashvili rooted to the spot and only able to watch the ball nestle into the corner of his net. It was his 17th headed goal in the Premier League, more than any other player since he arrived in England.
Erling Haaland 99 Premier League Goals
Liverpool thought they’d levelled the scores in the 38th minute via a Virgil van Dijk header following a Mohamed Salah corner, but the goal was disallowed after Andy Robertson was deemed to be obstructing Gianluigi Donnarumma while in an offside position.
González doubled City’s lead in first half added time, with his strike from outside of the box clattering off Van Dijk’s foot to deflect past Mamardashvili. It was the Spanish midfielder’s first goal of 2025-26 and his first since scoring in the win over Bournemouth back in May.
Liverpool went into the half-time break having just attempted three shots, with none of those being on target. Across 74 competitive games under Arne Slot, it was only the seventh time that the Reds had failed to attempt a shot on target before half-time.
Man City 3-0 Liverpool Stats
History told us that a Liverpool comeback was unlikely, with City winning every one of their previous 71 Premier League matches when leading by 2+ goals at half-time, since losing 3-2 to Manchester United in April 2018. That statistic progressed to 72 games, and quite easily.
Doku was the standout performer throughout, constantly twisting and turning Liverpool players inside out with his direct running and quick feet. His 63rd minute goal was the least he deserved for his efforts, and he won’t score many better in a City shirt. Coming in off the right flank, the Belgian curled a long-range strike beyond Mamardashvili to put his side 3-0 ahead and end a 24-game run without a league goal. It also meant that this was the first league game that Slot’s Liverpool side have ever trailed by three goals.
This dominant victory was the perfect way for Pep Guardiola to celebrate his 1000th competitive game as a manager, securing his 253rd win in the Premier League against one of their rivals for the title. They still find themselves four points behind leaders Arsenal as we hit the November international break, but far bigger margins have been overturned, and in less time.
Pep 1000 - Man City BEAT Liverpool
For reigning champions Liverpool, this latest defeat – their fifth in their last six Premier League games – sees them trail the Gunners by eight points after just 11 games. This defeat even sent them below Manchester United in the Premier League table on goal difference.
The only time they’d collected fewer points from their first 11 matches of a Premier League season across the last 10 years was in 2022-23 (16), and they finished that season outside of the UEFA Champions League qualification spots (5th). A repeat performance would be far from welcome following their expensive recruitment in the summer.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Manchester City vs Liverpool stats from their Premier League meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool Post-Match Facts
Manchester City ended a four-game winless run against Liverpool in the Premier League (D2 L2), beating them for the first time since April 2023 (4-1). This was just the fourth time in 25 games against the Reds under Pep Guardiola that they have kept a clean sheet, and their first against them in 14 meetings across all competitions.
Liverpool have lost five of their 11 matches in the Premier League this season (W6), the most defeats by a reigning champion at this stage of a campaign since Leicester in 2016-17 (5). Only Chelsea in 2015-16 (6) have ever lost more after 11 games of a Premier League season as reigning champions.
Man City are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League home games against the previous season’s title winners (W7 D1). Only two sides have ever had longer unbeaten home runs against the reigning champions: Liverpool (16 games, 2008-present) and Chelsea (13 games, 2002-2020).
Liverpool have lost four consecutive Premier League away games for the first time since April 2012 under Kenny Dalglish (4). Those four defeats in succession are now more than the Reds suffered in their first 21 away league games under Arne Slot combined (W13 D5 L3).
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola took charge of his 1,000th game today, with his side’s 3-0 win against Liverpool being the 716th victory of his coaching career (388th with the Citizens).
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