Pep Guardiola was thrilled and called it ‘almost perfect’ from start to finish.
As well as the top team display, there were also individual highlights during the 90 minutes.
We’ll take a look at all the facts and figures below.
100 UP FOR PEP
Pep Guardiola became the quickest manager in the history of the Premier League to reach 100 home wins – eclipsing the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
The 4-1 victory over Liverpool saw that landmark reached in record time.
He chalked up his century of home wins in just 128 games at the Etihad, beating previous record holder Wenger who achieved the milestone in 139 games at Highbury.
Ferguson comes in at No.3 having managed it in 141 games at Old Trafford while Wenger features on the illustrious list a second time, at No.4, having reached 100 home wins at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal again in 153 matches.
David Moyes completes the top five, hitting his century at Goodison Park in 193 games.
SEVENTH HEAVEN
Pep Guardiola remains unbeaten on home soil against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Guardiola has faced the Reds seven times at the Etihad Stadium in the top-flight and he’s yet to lose against the Merseysiders in that time.
The boss has recorded four wins and three draws in those seven seasons.
The first game, in March 2017, saw a 1-1 draw and he followed that up with three successive wins – a 5-0 in September 2017, a 2-1 in January 2019 and a 4-0 in July 2020.
Then it was on to two draws – a 1-1 in November 2020 and 2-2 in April 2022 - before Saturday’s latest game seeing a hugely impressive 4-1 victory over Jurgen Klopp’s men.
The win over the Reds also means we’re now seven games unbeaten in the top-flight.
It’s also four wins in succession – the first time we’ve achieved that in 2022/23.
We haven’t lost since the 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in February 2023, beating Aston Villa 3-1, Arsenal 3-1, drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest, beating Bournemouth 4-1, Newcastle 2-0, Crystal Palace 1-0 and Liverpool 4-1.
HELP IS AT HAND
Kevin De Bruyne is No.1 for assists this season in the Premier League.
Following his set-up of Jack Grealish in the 4-1 win over Liverpool, De Bruyne has moved to 12 assists across 2022/23 and is four ahead of No.2 on that list, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka, who have 8.
There are four players in joint No.4 spot on 4 – Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Everton’s Alex Iwobi.
Of the 12, De Bruyne has set up Erling Haaland five times, Jack Grealish three times, Phil Foden three times and Bernardo Silva once.
KDB’s 12
West Ham 0-2 City | 07.08.22 | For Erling Haaland
City 4-0 Bournemouth | 13.08.22 | For Phil Foden
Newcastle United 3-3 City | 21.08.22 | For Bernardo Silva
Aston Villa 1-1 City | 03.09.22 | For Erling Haaland
Wolves 0-3 City | 17.09.22 | For Jack Grealish
Wolves 0-3 City | 17.09.22 | For Phil Foden
City 6-3 Manchester United | 02.10.22 | For Erling Haaland
City 4-0 Southampton | 08.10.22 | For Phil Foden
Manchester United 2-1 City | 14.01.23 | For Jack Grealish
City 3-0 Wolves | 22.01.23 | For Erling Haaland
Arsenal 1-3 City | 15.02.23 | For Erling Haaland
City 4-1 Liverpool | 01.04.23 | For Jack Grealish
DOMINANT DISPLAY
It wasn’t just the scoreline that made for good reading, all the major stats favoured City in Saturday’s win.
We enjoyed 68% possession to Liverpool’s 32% while expected goals were 3.0 to City and 0.3 to Liverpool.
We had 17 shots to Liverpool’s 4, with 8 shots on target to 1 for the Reds.
We had 896 touches to Liverpool’s 477 with 754 passes to Liverpool’s 350.
City also earned 7 corners to Liverpool’s 1.
The victory also represented our 20th win in the Premier League this season as we moved to 64 points.
MAGIC MAHREZ
No sooner was Riyad Mahrez back in the team than he was breaking an illustrious record of his own – surpassing Didier Drogba in the process.
Courtesy of his set-up of Kevin De Bruyne’s goal in the 4-1 victory over Liverpool, Mahrez became the leading African player in Premier League history in terms of assists.
That was Mahrez’s 56th assist in the top-flight, taking him beyond Drogba, who had 55 and now lies in No.2 spot.
Mo Salah is the nearest challenger still active, at No.3, with 54 while former Reds forward Sadio Mane is in No.4 on 38.
Former City striker, Emmanuel Adebayor is No.5 on the list with 36.
Mahrez will be eager to move up the ‘assists and goals’ table for African players, though, as he lies No.4 on that illustrious list.
Salah is No.1 on 186, Drogba is No.2 on 159, Mane is No.3 on 149, Mahrez is behind him on 138 while Adebayor is No.5 on 133.
AWESOME AKE
While so much emphasis was focused on the attacking intent of the team, the defence also produced a standout display against a forward line to be respected.
And one man, Nathan Ake, in particular, impressed with his figures when analysed post-game.
They showed just how involved Ake was during the 4-1 victory over the Reds.
Ake enjoyed a 97% pass success rate – No.1 in the stats above John Stones on 96%.
Our Dutchman also enjoyed top billing in total passes with 97 and he was also No.1 for touches with 110, ahead of Rodri with 109.
Ake is proving to be a valuable asset in the backline.
