StadiumPosts Logo
Stay upto date with notifications from Stadiumposts
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences

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.

LEGEND STATUS: ERLING HAALAND EQUALS COLIN BELL’S GOAL RECORD IN FULHAM STROLL TODAY

Erling Haaland equals Colin Bell's scoring record as Man City beat Fulham 3-0. Read how Pep’s side closed the gap on Arsenal.

top-news
Erling Haaland strikes as Manchester City dominate a rainy Etihad

Erling Haaland climbed to joint-fourth on Manchester City’s all-time scoring chart, tying with Colin Bell, as Pep Guardiola’s team brushed aside Fulham 3-0 and closed the gap on Arsenal.

Haaland’s 153rd goal for City came in a match that felt easy for the home side. They barely broke a sweat at the Etihad on Wednesday, cutting Arsenal’s Premier League lead to just three points.

Antoine Semenyo struck first, keeping his hot streak alive, and Nico O’Reilly added another in a match that was basically one-way traffic, with rain pouring down all night.

City did all their damage before halftime. Job done, Haaland didn’t even bother coming out for the second half.

After struggling for a bit, Haaland seemed to snap back into form with a clutch penalty winner at Liverpool on Sunday. Maybe that’s the spark he needed.

Matching Bell’s tally is no small feat—especially considering Haaland’s done it in just 183 games, while Bell had 492.

Honestly, this game was a walk in the park for City. In the last meeting at Craven Cottage, City led 5-1 after 57 minutes but almost let Fulham back in, scraping by 5-4. This time, there wasn’t even a hint of drama.

Fulham made it easy, coughing up possession over and over and giving City every chance to attack.

You could tell a goal was coming. Phil Foden, starting after a spell on the bench, nearly scored twice early on. O’Reilly wasn’t far off either.

The breakthrough came 24 minutes in. Matheus Nunes whipped in a cross from the right, Haaland nodded it down, and Semenyo slid in to poke it past Bernd Leno.

That was Semenyo’s fifth goal in eight games for City, and his third against Fulham this season; he’d already scored twice against them for Bournemouth back in October.

Fulham did get a sniff at goal when Harry Wilson forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City hit right back. Haaland got clipped by Joachim Andersen on a counter, but Semenyo kept going and slipped in O’Reilly, who coolly chipped Leno for 2-0.

City’s third came after Fulham gave the ball away yet again. Rayan Ait-Nouri found Foden, Foden passed to Haaland at the edge of the box, and Haaland buried it in the bottom corner for his first league goal from open play since December.

There was a quick VAR check for a possible penalty, with Semenyo claiming his hair got pulled, but nothing came of it.

City eased off after the break. Fulham tried to respond, and Wilson had a lively run, but it fizzled out.

Even with City playing in second gear, Fulham couldn’t get anything going.

Foden tried his luck from a distance but didn’t really trouble Leno, and Josh King forced a late save from Donnarumma, but that was about it.

ERLING HAALAND’S MENTALITY IS THE ONLY REASON MAN CITY CAN CATCH ARSENAL

Erling Haaland’s late penalty at Anfield has cut Arsenal’s lead to three points, reigniting Manchester City’s title charge.

top-news
Erling Haaland Claims He Needs To Be "Sharper" For City

Erling Haaland isn’t giving up on the title just yet. After slotting home a penalty deep into stoppage time at Anfield, he made it clear: “The title race isn’t over until it’s actually over.” That late goal kept Manchester City’s hopes alive.

Honestly, things looked grim with six minutes left. Szoboszlai had just smashed in a free kick, and even with Bernardo Silva’s equaliser, City were still staring at an eight-point gap behind Arsenal. But that penalty—Haaland’s first league goal at Anfield—changed the mood. Now, if City beat Fulham at home on Wednesday, the gap shrinks to three points before Arsenal even kick a ball at Brentford the next day.

Haaland tried to play it cool when people pressed him about the win. “It’s just three points, that’s it. Doesn’t matter if it’s Tottenham, whoever,” he said. But then he admitted, “Yeah, I get it. It was a big one.”

He’s not getting carried away, though. “We’ve seen it before—this race goes down to the wire. Right now, Fulham’s all I’m thinking about. There’s still a lot of football left.”

Haaland’s still the league’s top scorer with 21, but his penalty at Anfield was only his second league goal since Christmas. In his first 20 games this season, he couldn’t stop scoring—30 goals for club and country. Lately, though, the goals have dried up, and he knows it.

“Honestly, I haven’t scored enough since the start of the year. I have to be sharper and better at everything. That’s on me—I owe it to the team and to everyone watching.”

He didn’t want to make excuses or talk too much about what’s behind his dip in form. “I don’t think there’s an excuse. Fatigue? Most of it’s in your head. The schedule’s brutal, sure, but for me, it’s all about staying fit and being ready to help the team. That’s what matters most.”

Premier League Standings

WhatsApp Read More News