Sunday began and ended as a celebration of Pep Guardiola as Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad, giving their manager his 716th win in his landmark 1,000th match in management. Home fans broke into 'We've got, Guardiola...' to the tune of Glad All Over, recognising a coach who seems to have laid fresh foundations for a new chapter and another push for a seventh Premier League title.
After a draining campaign in which injuries took their toll following a fourth successive title, Guardiola and his players looked depleted. The arrival of new faces and a visible lift in energy, however, point to a revitalisation. City sit second, four points behind leaders Arsenal, and Guardiola says the squad is improving month by month — the kind of progression that fuels title challenges. He added he feels the energy is back and that the team is returning to many of the things that defined them.
The smile on Guardiola's face as he walked onto the pitch said it all: the pleasure of coaching has returned. Since joining from Bayern Munich in 2016 he has reshaped English football, but last season was a rare trophy-less blip that prompted questions about whether he could spark the side aga
