Pep Guardiola has expressed his gratitude to his Manchester City players after they marked his 1,000th match as a manager with a convincing 3-0 win over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Goals from Erling Haaland, Nico González, and Jérémy Doku sealed a dominant victory for City, reducing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just four points. The result came a day after Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola described the win as a perfect gift from his team on a special night in his career.
“Thank you to the players and staff for giving me an incredible present and the best gift against the most important opponent we’ve faced during my time here,” he said.
“It has been nice playing against them and seeing Virgil [van Dijk], [Andy] Robertson, and Mo Salah after all the battles we have had. It’s been a special night with my kids here.”
Jérémy Doku stood out with an excellent performance, winning an early penalty and later scoring a fine goal in the second half. Guardiola praised the Belgian winger’s progress and determination to improve.
“He [Doku] is demanding himself to be better, he listens, and he has special attributes with dribbles,” Guardiola said, noting that Doku performed well against Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley, who had impressed recently against Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior.
Manchester City will now head into the international break sitting four points behind Arsenal, with Guardiola confident that his side is ready to push for another Premier League title.
