Sunday began with a celebration of Pep Guardiola and ended the same way.
The 54-year-old picked up his 716th win on his landmark 1,000th match in management as Manchester City emphatically beat champions Liverpool at the Etihad. At full-time home fans broke into “We’ve got, Guardiola…” to the tune of ‘Glad All Over’, acknowledging a boss who appears to have laid fresh foundations for another rebuild and a push for a seventh Premier League title.
After a draining season in which injuries took their toll following a record fourth successive title, both Guardiola and his side looked worn. Now, however, new faces and renewed energy suggest a revitalisation. City sit second in the table, four points behind leaders Arsenal, and Guardiola says the team is growing month by month — a key ingredient for title challengers.
“When that happens you arrive at the end fighting for the title,” he said. “It’s nice to still have the feeling that we are back in terms of many things. I have the feeling it [the energy] is back.”
The grin on Guardiola’s face as he walked onto the pitch after beating Liverpool said everything: the pleasure of coaching has returned. Since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016 he has reshaped English football, but last season was a rare blip when he went a year without a major trophy. That raised questions about whether he could find the same spark again — Sunday’s performance, against a club he credits with pushing him to be his best, answered those doubts.
Guardiola has often spoken of a “good vibe” around the squad since the Club World Cup in the summer, and it is showing on the field. City still prize their trademark passing style, but this iteration can vary its approach and play long when necessary to a dominant centre-forward. Matheus Nunes’ cross finding Erling Haaland for the opener was a reminder that classics still work: Haaland now has 14 league goals in 11 Premier League matches this season.
City’s work-rate is notable too. They have covered more ground than any other Premier League side this season (1,268.7 km), averaging 115.3 km per game — an increase of 5.5 km from last term. Guardiola relished the unpredictability of his side: “We are more unpredictable in the way we attack and defend, and that is good that the opponents don’t know what we are going to do. It is good energy to have during the games.”
Former City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Radio 5 Live that the manager in recent matches looks almost like a different man compared with his first and his most recent 100-game spells: “He is somebody who has adapted over the years based on how football is changing. He has had his finger on the pulse of how that is.” Ex-City midfielder Michael Brown noted City were managing games more pragmatically, holding the ball in corners and sometimes going direct into Haaland in pressured situations — approaches that earlier teams under Guardiola might not have used.
City have slipped up this season — defeats to Brighton, Tottenham and Aston Villa — but two of those came in August, and they have lost just once in 14 matches since. The departures over the summer of long-serving figures such as Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson marked the start of a new chapter, but the team looks to have regained the consistency that delivered six titles in eight years and the long-sought Champions League.
Haaland is again central: his goals take him to 28 for club and country in 18 appearances this season. Guardiola had asked midfielders and wingers to add to the scoring and on Sunday Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku responded. In Rodri’s absence, Gonzalez has settled into the number six role, registering the most touches of any City player, while youngster Nico O’Reilly limited Mohamed Salah effectively, winning five tackles — the most in the match.
Guardiola singled out O’Reilly and Bernardo Silva for praise. “Nico O’Reilly was amazing,” he said. “In general, everyone was extraordinary because they are still the champions.” On Bernardo: “He was there even though he struggled last season… He has been an incredible signing for us and in the way we played [against Liverpool] he is a master.” Silva and Phil Foden both ran more than 12.5 km on Sunday — a rare workload in the Premier League this season.
Former striker Dion Dublin said: “Guardiola has got his team where he wants them again. This is City of old. This is the City that we remember, dominating games.” Liverpool, meanwhile, slipped to eighth, eight points behind Arsenal. Their manager Arne Slot admitted five defeats were “too many” and warned against thinking about the title race for now.
Guardiola and City, however, will be thinking exactly that — building momentum, sharpening their unpredictability and trying to sustain the new energy that Sunday suggested is back at the Etihad.
Additional reporting by BBC Sport’s Chris Collinson
