Guardiola: 'Man City won perfectly'
"From the first minute to 93, it was the perfect performance," Guardiola told BT Sport after the win at the Etihad. "Even when we conceded, we played well. Of course, Liverpool were always a threat on the counter-attack, but Man City played very well in all three lines. This was one of the best performances. in my seven years at the club."
At the Etihad Stadium, Liverpool played stalking and got ahead in the 17th minute. Diogo Jota broke the offside trap and released it back for Mohamed Salah to strike and put his forte left foot in the far corner.
After that, Man City completely dominated the game and found an equalizer in the 27th minute thanks to Julian Alvarez's close-range cushion. At the beginning of the second half, the home team went ahead according to the same scenario, when Riyad Mahrez stretched across for Kevin De Bruyne to score a goal. In the remaining minutes, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish respectively finished close to the wall to seal a 4-1 victory.
Guardiola praised the whole team for sublime performance, stability and sticking to the plan set out before the game, even when leading. "I take off my hat to the players. Tell me someone who doesn't play? There really isn't anyone," added the Spain coach. He also praised John Stones for his flexibility and Grealish - who contributed one goal and one assist - regaining the sublime form when playing for Aston Villa.
According to Guardiola, Erling Haaland - the striker suffered a groin injury before the international break - was almost recovered. But he does not want to risk using him soon, and expects the Norwegian striker can return to full health in the match against Southampton in the 30th round of the Premier League on April 8.
Before Liverpool, Guardiola used Julian Alvarez to replace Haaland, and was satisfied with the contribution of the Argentine striker. "Not only did he score, he also assisted the second, he was involved in the third. Julian was involved in everything, very smart on the ball. It's no coincidence that he played alongside Messi in the Argentina national team. when winning the World Cup," added Man City coach.
The comeback against Liverpool was Man City's 100th home win in the Premier League under Guardiola, in the 128th game at the Etihad. In the remaining 28 matches, Man City drew 16 and lost 12. In these 128 matches, Man City scored 360 goals and conceded 102 times. As a result, Guardiola became the fastest coach to reach 100 home wins in the tournament, breaking the previous record of 100 victories over 139 matches held by Arsene Wenger with Arsenal.
Gundogan's strike was Man City's 1000th goal under Guardiola, and Grealish then scored his 1001. In the 2017-2018 season, Man City set the record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season with 106. goals after 38 games. They also set the best goal difference in a Premier League season, with +79. But the next season, Man City scored even more goals in all competitions with 176 goals.
During Guardiola's reign at Man City, Sergio Aguero scored the most goals with 124. Raheem Sterling (120), Gabriel Jesus (95), Kevin De Bruyne (77) and Mahrez (75). The biggest victory came in September 2019, when Man City crushed Watford 8-0 at the Etihad thanks to Aguero, De Bruyne, Mahrez and Bernardo Silva's hat-trick.
