In the fight for the championship, Manchester City increased their intensity as rivals Liverpool fell behind. Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over reigning Premier League winners Liverpool, according to Pep Guardiola, indicates his team is prepared to contend for the championship once more this year.
At the Etihad, City easily defeated Arne Slot’s team with two goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and the incredible Jeremy Doku. Liverpool had a compelling argument that Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed header should have stood, but they were clearly inferior.
After their 2-2 draw against Sunderland on Saturday, City moved up to second, four points behind Arsenal. A fifth league victory in six suggests they are back in the running after ending 13 points behind Liverpool the previous season.
“Don’t do it because Arsenal didn’t win yesterday; do it because we believe in ourselves that we can play against the English champions and show them we are ready to be there with him this season,” Guardiola told the players. “We did it today, especially in the first half, and we proved it.”
Man City show their potential with signature win over Liverpool
They may have played their greatest 45 minutes of the season in the first half against Liverpool. They may have played their greatest 45 minutes since the 2023–2024 campaign.
Guardiola has been careful to downplay expectations following a dismal 2024–2025 season, but they are still in the lead in the league phase table, four points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, and they will play Brentford in the EFL Cup quarterfinal next month.
So far, everything is going well. This season still has a long way to go, as Guardiola himself noted during his Friday press conference. The only thing City can do is prepare themselves to contend for trophies in the upcoming season, and they are well on their way to doing so.
Even if Liverpool isn’t playing at the same level as when they were crowned champions six months ago, the victory was nonetheless noteworthy.
