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Manchester City delivered a resounding statement of intent in the Premier League title race, sweeping aside defending champions Liverpool with a dominant 3-0 victory at the Etihad. Goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and the exceptional Jeremy Doku underscored City’s readiness to challenge for the league crown once more, a sentiment echoed by manager Pep Guardiola. The win propels City into second place, now just four points adrift of leaders Arsenal, who drew 2-2 at Sunderland on Saturday. This fifth league victory in six outings suggests a strong resurgence for Guardiola’s side, who finished 13 points behind Liverpool last season. Guardiola expressed his belief in his team’s capabilities following the impressive performance. "I said to the players, ‘Don’t do it because yesterday Arsenal didn’t win, do it because we believe in ourselves that we can play against the champions of England and show that we are ready to be there with them this season’," he stated. "Today we proved it, we did it – especially in the first half." In stark contrast, Liverpool manager Arne Slot conceded that his side cannot afford to contemplate the title race given their current struggles. The Reds have now suffered five defeats in 11 league matches, leaving them eight points off the pace and languishing in eighth position. Slot is still working to integrate £400 million worth of summer signings, but current metrics indicate a regression from the team that secured the league title by 10 points last term. "Five defeats feels too many," Slot admitted. "The last thing I should speak about is the title race. We should focus on getting results before we can even think about that. The reality is we are eighth now. One team is quite far ahead, City are four points behind Arsenal." He added: "Our first focus should be on getting results and the last thing we should focus on is the title race…We need to improve, that is obvious." The match saw Haaland head City into a 29th-minute lead after missing an earlier penalty. Liverpool thought they had equalised when Virgil van Dijk found the net, but the goal was disallowed as Andy Robertson was deemed offside and to have impeded Gianluigi Donnarumma. While Slot initially told Sky Sports it was "obvious and clear the wrong decision has been made”, he adopted a more measured tone in his press conference. "I would like to emphasise that being 2-0 down at half-time was a fair reflection of how the game went," Slot clarified. "But I have been on the opposite side when we have been much better and 1-0 up and maybe not scoring the second one and then the opposition make it 1-1 and things change. 1-1 would have been the biggest gift at half-time because the second half was a different game. “But being 2-0 down and later 3-0 down doesn’t give a good reflection of how things would have gone if it had been 1-0."
