Manchester City made a statement of intent in the Premier League with a simply sensational 5-0 win over Liverpool at the Etihad on Saturday. The Blues were amazing from start to finish and put five past the 10-man Reds to pick up three huge points.
Pep Guardiola and the players were obviously very happy after the match, and that comes off in their post-match reaction on social media and the manager’s press conference.
Here’s a summary of what the manager and the players had to say after the game:
SOCIAL MEDIA
Superb match and a massive victory against a major rival. Let's keep it up and think about the Champion's! C'mon City!
— Sergio Kun Aguero (@aguerosergiokun) September 9, 2017
And very proud to have become the top non-EU goalscorer in the PL. My thanks go to the club and teammates for making it possible!
— Sergio Kun Aguero (@aguerosergiokun) September 9, 2017
Call me if you need another assist @gabrieljesus33 pic.twitter.com/n1tSZ4XUwl
— Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) September 9, 2017
5 - 0! What a fantastic win for us ... ⚽ #inSané #LS19 #MCILIV @ManCity @premierleague pic.twitter.com/LZ8gzrTZZ7
— Leroy Sané (@LeroySane19) September 9, 2017
Hunger for victory !!! Thats the spirit! #SharkTeam pic.twitter.com/KKzMoiKOGl
— Benjamin Mendy (@benmendy23) September 9, 2017
Great team victory. #mancity 5-0 #liverpool .Speedy recovery Eder, we stand by you pic.twitter.com/MxfS83fuz0
— Nicolas Otamendi (@Notamendi30) September 9, 2017
Can't express how proud I am to finally be back in this amazing roster. What a win! #ThisIsCity #mcfc pic.twitter.com/ov52V38Mfz
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) September 9, 2017
PEP GUARDIOLA POST-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
“[De Bruyne] has quality and commitment, he is intelligent and he understands things quickly. He makes a huge amount of passes, he is quick and he always sees spaces where others do not.
“He is good with the ball at his feet and he finds space. He is a complete player and we are a lucky Club to have him with us. I am so happy with his performance – and not just for today.
“[Éderson] does not have a broken bone. That is important. Maybe he will be more beautiful after it!
“He is so important for us. There was no intention from Mané because he didn’t see but Éderson is hurt. Hopefully, he can walk but maybe he won’t play in the next game.
“We play so high that the ‘keeper has to play around the 60-yard mark to help us defend a little bit. It is not the first time (he has come out bravely). It was brave. Unfortunately, he is injured but hopefully, he will come back as soon as possible. Liverpool had one clear chance and Éderson showed how good he is.
“Having two teams at that level at 10 v 11 for 50 minutes is a good advantage. It had been even at 11 v 11. Sometimes it is not easy to play against ten men but we did it well. The second goal helped us a lot.
“We spoke at half-time and said: don’t let them run. We cannot play a game up and down. We have to find the right moment. We had wasted some minutes pressing.
“They attacked a lot in the channels. They are so fast and they have quality. They created problems. Hopefully, when we play at Anfield, we can solve that.
“It is important to touch the ball as much as possible. To control the counter-attacks, I thought we could defend better with three at the back than four. We changed at half-time – sometimes you can use both systems.
“The full-backs gave us a lot of energy. Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Danilo… they have a lot of legs! They can run and put in a lot of crosses. That helped us to hurt the opposition. It is a big step for us. We had patience and read the situation well.
“For a long time, City were unable to beat Liverpool but we did it today. It gives us confidence before our Champions League game.”
Source: ManCity