A first-half goal and assist from the Norwegian star powers a 3-0 victory, deepening Liverpool’s away-day woes and marking a perfect celebration for Guardiola’s 1000th game.
Erling Haaland moved to within a whisper of a monumental personal milestone, scoring his 99th Premier League goal in a commanding 3-0 victory for Manchester City over a struggling Liverpool side. The match, played in front of a jubilant Etihad crowd, also served as a fitting tribute for manager Pep Guardiola’s 1000th game in management, cementing his team’s status as relentless title pursuers.
The home side set the tone early, playing with the confidence of a team that has made their fortress nearly impenetrable. The pressure told quickly when Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate gifted the ball to Jeremy Doku, whose darting run into the box was abruptly ended by the knee of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Georgian shot-stopper immediately turned from culprit to hero, however, diving low to his right to spectacularly save Haaland’s resulting penalty.
City, undeterred, continued to pour forward. The breakthrough finally came just before the half-hour mark. Haaland, making amends for his earlier miss, rose powerfully to meet a Matheus Nunes cross, his header deflecting off Konate and looping into the net.
Liverpool thought they had found an instant response before halftime when Virgil van Dijk thundered a header into the net, only for a lengthy VAR check to chalk it off for an offside interference by Andrew Robertson. The psychological blow was compounded in stoppage time when Van Dijk’s unfortunate deflection sent Nico Gonzalez’s driven effort skidding past his own goalkeeper, doubling City’s lead.
A brief flicker of hope for the visitors after the break was quickly extinguished. The irrepressible Doku put the game beyond all doubt, cutting inside and curling a beautiful strike into the far corner to cap a magnificent individual performance.
The result is a statement victory for City, confirming their seventh win in eight games and closing the gap on league leaders Arsenal to just four points. For Liverpool, the defeat marks a deepening crisis, as a fourth consecutive league away loss leaves them languishing in eighth place and their season in need of a rapid turnaround.
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