It was a night to remember at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City roared past Liverpool 3-0, celebrating Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th match as a manager in spectacular style. The win not only marks a personal milestone for the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss—now boasting 716 victories in 17 years—but also injects fresh life into City’s Premier League title chase.
Early drama came when striker Erling Haaland saw his penalty saved, only to bounce back and fire City into the lead soon after. Nico Gonzalez doubled the advantage with a stunning finish just before halftime. In the second half, Jeremy Doku capped off a Player of the Match display with City’s third goal, sealing a dominant performance.
City’s seventh win in eight matches across all competitions pulls them to within four points of league leaders Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s slip to eighth place amid seven defeats in their last 10 games shows the defending champions in disarray.
At Nottingham’s City Ground, Forest ended a long wait for victory with a 3-1 win over Leeds. After giving up an early goal, Forest fought back through Ibrahim Sangare and Morgan Gibbs-White, with Elliot Anderson tucking home a stoppage-time penalty. The result moves Sean Dyche’s side within one point of safety after a turbulent season that saw two managerial changes.
Aston Villa also stayed hot with a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at Villa Park. Goals from Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen kept Villa in the hunt for a top-four spot, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez denied a Bournemouth penalty.
With the league entering its final stretch, every point counts. City’s landmark win underlines their intent, while Forest and Villa fans have fresh hope as the race for survival and European spots heats up.
Reference(s):
Man City rout defending champs Liverpool to mark Guardiola milestone
cgtn.com
