Manchester City secured a 3-0 win over Liverpool in a dominant display, marking a memorable night for head coach Pep Guardiola as he reached his 1000th match as a manager. Erling Haaland gave City the lead in the 29th minute after missing an earlier penalty. Nico Gonzalez extended the advantage in first-half stoppage time with a shot from outside the box that deflected off Virgil Van Dijk, and Jeremy Doku sealed the victory in the 63rd minute.
Reflecting on the milestone, Guardiola expressed his gratitude to his players and staff. “Thank you to the players and staff for giving me an incredible present against the most important opponent we faced in my time here. It has been a special night with my kids here,” he said.
Guardiola also singled out Doku for praise, noting his development and impact on the game. “I think never he’ll be a top, top scorer, to be honest. But he’s demanding himself to be better, he listens, and he has special attributes with dribbles. Today, Conor Bradley, the right-back of Liverpool, I’m really, really impressed. Pep Lijnders told me a thousand incredibly good things about that guy. He can do everything. I know the game against Real Madrid, how good he was against Vinicius, he’s wow, right? And he handled it. He was aggressive, quick without the ball, and we tried to help him. Listen, he played an outstanding game!”
City now turn their attention to their next Premier League fixture, hosting Newcastle United on the 22nd of November after the international break.