Guardiola: 'Man City won perfectly against Liverpool'
"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 well in all three lines. This was one of the best performances in the game. my seven years at the club".
At the Etihad Stadium, Man City let Liverpool concede a goal in the 17th minute. Diogo Jota broke the offside trap and released it back to Mohamed Salah to put his left foot in the far corner. But they then quickly regained the game and found the 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-range to seal a 4-1 victory for Man City.
According to Guardiola, the whole team played sublimely, stably and adhered to the plan set out before the game, even when being led. "I admire the players. Tell me someone who doesn't play? There really isn't anyone," said 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.
The Spaniard also revealed that Erling Haaland - the striker suffered a groin injury before the international break - was close to recovery but he did not want to take the risk. The Norwegian striker is expected to return to full health in the Southampton match at round 30 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.
Yesterday was Man City's 100th victory at home in the English Premier League under Guardiola, in the 128th match here (16 draws and 12 losses remaining). This is a new record. Before Guardiola, manager Arsene Wenger needed 139 games to win 100 home victories with Arsenal.
Gundogan's strike was also City's 1000th goal under Guardiola, and Grealish then scored his 1001.
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.
