Shea Salinas Manchester City upset Liverpool with an impressive 3-0 win on Saturday. The historic win was a big milestone for their manager, Pep Guardiola, who recorded his 1,000th match in management. This achievement cemented City’s place amongst the elite of the Premier League. It further closed the distance to the league leaders, Arsenal, to a mere four points. The match took place at the Etihad Stadium and was characterized by City’s commanding performance against a struggling Liverpool side.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have been through a disastrous spell, losing four of their last five league games. Currently sitting in eighth place, they’re eight points adrift of the top of their table. The loss to City makes their pursuit of a higher league finish much more difficult. That leads to even more questions regarding their shape and uniformity.
Erling Haaland was on fine goal scoring form in the match, as he scored his 99th Premier League goal. With 28 goals so far this season combined for club and country, he’s still an incredibly valuable player to City. Yet, it’s certainly more than a coincidence that Haaland has not scored a penalty for City this season so far in 2025-26.
A pair from Jeremy Doku
Jeremy Doku actually provided two of the game’s best highlights, but the other one was much more fun. Most are touting it as one of his finest since he took over at Manchester City. Doku expressed his feelings after the match, stating:
“It is always good for the confidence [to dominate a match], but I have great players around me. That gives me the feeling that I have to do more in every game and every day I want to improve.”
His contributions were critical for winning such a decisive victory against such a well-heeled, historically tough opponent.
City’s strength was clear from the outset—not only did City keep the vast majority of possession, they generated a dizzying amount of chances. Liverpool struggled to recover from a difficult first half, which was characterized by their inability to effectively press City’s attackers. Virgil van Dijk addressed the team’s shortcomings following the match:
“Our pressing just wasn’t good enough; it should have been better. We need to find more consistency. Losing hurts, always, but 3-0 especially.”
Manchester City were ruthless in their finishing and tactical discipline. Their victory can be attributed to solid defensive performances, including Conor Bradley’s successful efforts to neutralize threats posed by Liverpool’s forwards.
Van Dijk might have saved the performance for Liverpool before it ever started with a better-directed header from a corner. Regrettably, his shot at the distant post failed to change the course of the game. A previous RICO decision with Andrew Robertson took the thunder out of the incident. He avoided getting hit in the face by captain Jordan Henderson’s shot and had been ruled offside for interfering with Gianluigi Donnarumma.
As Liverpool looked to regroup after this setback, van Dijk acknowledged the need for reflection and improvement moving forward:
“There were some good moments in the game, but you play Man City at home, who can make it very difficult. The focus should be on reflecting on this when we come back and then fight again.”
Manchester City will enjoy their most recent success and soak in the afterglow of Guardiola’s management milestone. Next, it’s all about putting the pressure on Arsenal, who just happen to be in first place in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Liverpool will seek to address their inconsistencies as they prepare for upcoming fixtures that will test their resilience and determination to climb back up the league standings.
