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PEP GUARDIOLA CELEBRATES 1000TH MATCH WITH RUTHLESS 3-0 LIVERPOOL WIN

Man City crushed Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad, with goals from Haaland, González, and Doku. The defeat is Liverpool's fifth in six league games, leaving them 8 points off the top and in crisis.

Pep Guardiola celebrates 1000th match with ruthless 3-0 Liverpool win
PEP celebrates on the touchline - Photo Credit: Manchester City FC

Manchester City's decisive victory over rivals Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium brought them closer to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League standings.

Erling Haaland scored his 99th Premier League goal in Pep Guardiola's 1000th game as manager, but goals from Nico González and Jérémy Doku sent Liverpool to yet another league loss, their fifth in 2025–2026.

Liverpool did not have a single shot on goal until the 76th minute, which was a very dismal performance by Arne Slot's team.

Man City got off to a strong start and had a fantastic opportunity to take the lead in the thirteenth minute. After a VAR review, it was determined that Giorgi Mamardashvili's knee had knocked Doku down in the area, and Haaland was awarded a penalty kick.

The Georgian goalkeeper successfully saved the Norwegian's spot-kick down low to his right, preventing him from scoring his 99th goal of the season as he attempted to get closer to 100 Premier League goals. With that save, Mamardashvili became the goalie with the most penalty saves in Europe's top five leagues since the beginning of 2023–24 (6).

Fans of City were used to seeing their team miss four of their previous five Premier League penalties against Liverpool, while Haaland's penalty failure was only his third in 20 Premier League attempts.

Haaland made amends in under sixteen minutes. Finally, he scored his 99th Premier League goal with a superb header from a cross by Matheus Nunes. Mamardashvili was stuck to the spot and could only watch the ball nestle into the corner of his net as he outjumped Ibrahima Konaté to direct his header toward goal. More than any other player since coming to England, it was his 17th headed goal in the Premier League.

Following a corner from Mohamed Salah, Liverpool believed they had tied the score in the 38th minute through a header from Virgil van Dijk, but the goal was disallowed when Andy Robertson was judged to be offside for blocking Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In the first half of extra time, González extended City's lead when his effort from beyond the area bounced off Van Dijk's foot and went past Mamardashvili. The Spanish midfielder's goal was his first in 2025–26 and his first since he scored in the team's victory over Bournemouth in May.

Liverpool had only taken three attempts before the interval, and none of them had been on goal. It was only the seventh time the Reds had failed to attempt a shot on goal before halftime in 74 competitive games played under Arne Slot.

Since losing 3-2 to Manchester United in April 2018, City has won all 71 of their Premier League games when leading by two or more goals at halftime, so history told us that a Liverpool comeback was unlikely. With relative ease, that number increased to 72 games.

Doku was the most impressive player the entire time, using his direct rushing and deft footwork to continually turn Liverpool players inside out. He will not score many goals in a City shirt, and his goal in the 63rd minute was the least he deserved for his efforts. The Belgian, who came in off the right flank, fired a long-range goal past Mamardashvili to give his team a 3-0 lead and snap a 24-game league goalless streak. Additionally, it marked the first time Slot's Liverpool team had ever fallen by three goals in a league match.

This resounding triumph over one of their championship contenders was the ideal way for Pep Guardiola to commemorate his 1000th competitive match as manager and his 253rd Premier League victory overall. As we approach the November international break, they are still four points behind leaders Arsenal, but much larger margins have been overcome in a shorter amount of time.

After just 11 games, incumbent champions Liverpool now trail the Gunners by eight points with this most recent loss, which is their fifth in their last six Premier League games. On goal differential, this loss even dropped them below Manchester United in the Premier League standings.

They completed that season outside of the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots (5th), and it was the only Premier League season in the previous ten years in which they had fewer points from their first 11 games (16). After their costly summer recruitment, a similar performance would be highly unwelcome.

REVEALED: THE SECRET TWO-WORD MESSAGE ERLING HAALAND SENT TO MAN CITY’S OMAR MARMOUSH

Erling Haaland sends a "Salam Brusjans" message to Man City teammate Omar Marmoush after Egypt's late AFCON win.

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Man City’s Marmoush and Liverpool’s Salah Rescue Egypt in 2-1 AFCON Opener

Erling Haaland, the Man City striker, sent a shout-out to Omar Marmoush after Egypt's crazy late win in the African Cup of Nations. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal in the 91st minute, helping Egypt edge out Zimbabwe in their first game of the tournament.

This win gave one of the teams expected to do well a great start, especially since they had to come from behind to get the points. That goal was Salah's first since he scored in Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa in early November. Marmoush tied the game up a little after the hour mark.

After the game, Salah did what he always does and posted pics of himself with the other goal scorers on Instagram.

He put up a picture of himself with Man City’s Marmoush, and Haaland sent a message to his teammate.

The Norwegian wrote, 'Salam Brusjans,' which means 'peace brothers,' and added a thumbs-up emoji.

Even though Egypt won, their coach, Hossam Hassan, thought they could have done better in attack.

We didn't have the best luck. We missed a lot of chances and made things harder on ourselves, he told BeIN Sports. I told the players this could happen, and we need to learn from it.

There are no easy games. We want to try and win the whole thing. Egypt is a big team in Africa and should fight for the trophy.

Egypt is back in action on Boxing Day against South Africa in their group game. Then, on Monday, December 29th (4 pm kick-off), they play Angola.

Meanwhile, Man City is back in the Premier League on Saturday, December 27th (12:30 pm kick-off), when they play Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Sean Dyche's team is now safe from relegation and is five points ahead of West Ham United, who are in 18th place.

SHOCK: ERLING HAALAND’S HALL OF FAME VERDICT REVEALED: THE SECRET TO PEP’S GENIUS

How Erling Haaland smashed Alan Shearer’s records in record time. JUST IN: His SHOCK tribute to Pep Guardiola’s help.

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How Pep Guardiola Recreated a Monster

Ever since Erling Haaland switched from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in 2022, he's been smashing records left and right. It's cool since his dad, Alfie, played for City, too. Right off the bat, he became the Premier League's top scorer in his first month!

Just a couple of months later, this Norwegian star became the first player to score hat tricks in three home games in a row in the Premier League. By the end of his first season, he was the top scorer with 36 goals—beating Harry Kane by six.

Haaland didn't stop there. He kept breaking records, becoming the fastest player to reach 50, 75, and 100 Premier League goals, beating the legendary Alan Shearer twice.

He's only been in England for barely three years, and this 25-year-old has already snagged two Golden Boots. Now, people are seriously thinking about putting him in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

‘So far, it’s been great to work with him.’

Haaland chatted with JioStar about how much City's manager, Pep Guardiola, has helped him become the superstar he is today.

Since I signed up with City, Pep Guardiola has really helped me tweak my game and get into positions where I can score. He’s a genius, and he’s been a big help in my development as a goal scorer. So far, it’s been great to work with him,” Haaland said.

Guardiola has really turned City around. They were already doing well after the Abu Dhabi United Group bought them in 2008 and won their first title in over 40 years in 2011-12.

But with Guardiola, Man City became a real powerhouse in the Premier League. They've won six out of nine seasons under him, plus the 2022-23 Champions League and two FA Cup titles.

Haaland has been part of two of those seasons—2022-23 and 2023-24. Earlier this year, City were behind Liverpool and Arsenal, but now they’re catching up to Arsenal and are still in the running for their 11th Premier League title.

Premier League Standings

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