Manchester City delivered a commanding 3-0 victory over Liverpool in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th managerial game, cutting Arsenal’s Premier League lead to just four points.

Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday opened the door for the teams that have shared the last eight league titles, and City seized the moment with their most impressive display of the season.

Erling Haaland’s early penalty was brilliantly saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, who had conceded the spot-kick after bringing down City winger Jeremy Doku.

However, Haaland found the net in the 29th minute, heading Matheus Nunes’ precise cross from the right into the back of the net to cap a fluent City move.

Liverpool thought they had equalised when Virgil van Dijk nodded in from Mohamed Salah’s corner, but the goal was ruled out after VAR confirmed Andy Robertson was in an offside position ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Van Dijk was later unlucky at the other end in first-half stoppage time, as Nico Gonzalez’s strike deflected off him to give City a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Liverpool looked to respond early in the second half, with substitute Cody Gakpo somehow misfiring from a golden chance, turning Conor Bradley’s cross over the bar.

The visitors’ hopes were finally ended in the 63rd minute as Doku, in outstanding form, skipped past Ibrahima Konate before firing a precise shot into the top-right corner.

City continued to control the game, with Dominik Szoboszlai testing Donnarumma from a distance and Salah missing a clear one-on-one opportunity. Nico O’Reilly also came close on two occasions, but City held firm to seal a statement win.

The victory sees Manchester City climb back to second in the Premier League table ahead of the international break, while Liverpool slip to eighth after already suffering five league defeats this season.