Premier League: Manchester City thrash Liverpool 3-0 in Pep Guardiola's 1000th game to close gap on leaders Arsenal

Pep Guardiola couldn't have asked for a better result in his 1000th game in charge as a manager in club football as Manchester City thrashed Liverpool 3-0 in a high-octane Premier League clash at the Etihad on Sunday. Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku scored to help Guardiola's City make light work of Liverpool and close the gap on league leaders Arsenal.

Both teams headed into the clash looking to catch table-toppers Arsenal, however, City ended up making the high-profile contest a one-sided affair by running a rampage at the Etihad. Despite Haaland missing an early penalty, City never looked out of control as they cruised to a comfortable victory at home.

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Haaland wasted the opportunity to give City an early lead in the game when Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saved a penalty from the striker in the 13th minute. The hosts were awarded the penalty after Mamardashvili's foul on Doku, however, he stepped up to save the shot from Haaland to keep Arne Slot's men in the game.

But the missed penalty didn't deter Haaland, who continued his red-hot scoring form when he found the back of the net in the 29th minute with a towering header. The Norwegian striker made amends to give City the lead by scoring his 28th goal for club and country this season and netting his 14th in the Premier League this season.

Liverpool thought they had equalised when Van Dijk scored a header from a corner by Mohamed Salah. However, the goal was ruled out for offside, much to the visitors' disappointment. City hurt Liverpool further when Gonzalez's shot from 20 yards went into the back of the net after deflecting off Van Dijk during the extra time before the break.

Doku made it 3-0 for Manchester City with a stunning strike in the 63rd minute to end Liverpool's hopes of staging a comeback in the contest. It was a superb curling effort from Doku, which beat the Liverpool keeper as City put the game to bed. With the win, City remain in the 2nd spot on the Premier League table with 22 points from 11 matches, but are only 4 points behind leaders Arsenal, who have 26 points from 11 matches.

Guardiola, who is regarded as one of the best managers of all time, bagged a special win in his milestone 1000th game in charge as a manager in club football. It was Guardiola's 716th win overall, highlighting his incredible dominance across Europe over the years. In his spells with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Guardiola has won an impressive 12 league titles, three Champions League titles and several domestic cups across England, Germany and Spain.