Doku's 100 Games and Guardiola's 1,000, Liverpool's Suffering

MANCHESTER, SUNDAY — The phenomenal performance of winger Jeremy Doku in his one-hundredth match with Manchester City contributed to a victory in the one-thousandth match of manager Pep Guardiola's career. Behind the historic numbers of the City squad, there lies an irony for the defending champions Liverpool, who suffered a three-goal defeat without reply.

The match between the top teams City and the visiting Liverpool ended unevenly at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, on Monday (10/11/2025) early morning WIB. Three goals from Doku, Erling Haaland, and Nico Gonzales against Liverpool were sufficient to illustrate the one-sided nature of the match. They excelled in nearly all aspects of the game.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the video assistant referee (VAR) to annul the equalizing goal by defender Virgil van Dijk in the first half. However, he acknowledged that City deserved to win. "They were better than us. We struggled greatly to move the ball from the back and maintain possession," he stated.

The greatest credit for City's victory goes to Doku. In addition to contributing the final goal, he truly became the lifeblood of Guardiola's team's attack during his 74 minutes on the field. He led the best statistics in the City squad in various aspects, ranging from winning ground duels (11), successful dribbles (7), shots (3), to key passes (3).

Last week, wing-back Conor Bradley and the right side of Liverpool's defense successfully contained one of the most dangerous wingers in the world, Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid). At the Etihad, that dominance reversed. Bradley was repeatedly outmaneuvered by Doku, one of which resulted in a moment where Doku won a penalty.

Doku plays a role that appears simple but is very complex for the visiting team. He alternates between sticking to the touchline and moving into the center. Thanks to his agility, City can easily break through Liverpool's pressure. According to Slot, his team was confused by the positional rotations of Doku and wing-back Nico O’Reilly.

Doku capped his 100th appearance at City with a beautiful goal following an individual dribbling action that ended with a long-range shot. "That was one of his best performances so far, in terms of his influence on the game. Their wing-back Conor is very fast; I saw it myself when he faced Vinicius," praised Guardiola.

Liverpool actually had the opportunity to seize momentum following Haaland's failed penalty execution. However, their game did not develop at all due to a completely failed high defensive trap. Meanwhile, "The Reds" won in the previous two matches due to aggressive pressure without ball possession that was very efficient.

City, which was able to penetrate the opponent's defense with ease in the final third, eventually took the lead through a header from Haaland. Just before halftime, Gonzales doubled the advantage with a shot from outside the penalty area that deflected off Van Dijk's leg. Falling behind by two goals left Liverpool increasingly frustrated.

From an individual perspective, the visiting team also did not develop. Salah was almost not given any space by O'Reilly, the 20-year-old player. Attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz also faded due to being outmatched physically. As a result, Liverpool could only produce a shot on target in the 76th minute through Dominik Szoboszlai. That was their only shot on target throughout the match.

"I think we are very solid from back to front and throughout the field. All players were able to dominate their respective opponents. This is a very important victory. The defending champions came to our place, so we knew we had to give them a tough match, and we did," O'Reilly explained.

For Guardiola, the match felt perfect. Not only did it result in a victory in his 1000th match as a coach, but he also achieved a resounding win against the fiercest competitor of the last decade. Furthermore, his team displayed their best performance since the beginning of the season. This was despite the fact that key midfielder Rodri was still unavailable due to injury.

Guardiola expressed his gratitude for the performance of his team. "The players gave me a wonderful gift with a great display against the defending champions. They all performed at the highest level. Playing at home and winning is very good to welcome the international break," he stated.

Through this result, Guardiola successfully completed his record of 716 victories from 1,000 matches. One of the most influential managers in modern football combined achievements from Barcelona B (28), the main team of Barcelona (121), Bayern Munich (179), and City (388). "That number is astonishing," he concluded.

This was Guardiola's first victory over Slot. Last season, City lost twice in a row in both home and away matches against Liverpool. Not only that, they also failed to score in the two encounters that ended with the same result (0-2).

On the other hand, the irony of Liverpool's performance must serve as a significant evaluation. Not only at the Etihad, but Slot's team has also lost four consecutive away matches in the Premier League. This streak of poor results has not occurred again in the "Red" camp since 2012. Their status as defending champions is under serious threat. (AP/REUTERS)