Manchester City's 4-1 win over Liverpool was a memorable game, for both the collective and certain individuals, as Pep Guardiola and Riyad Mahrez made Premier League history in Saturday's early kick-off.
The Cityzens returned to action with their highly-anticipated clash with the Reds. However, while many expected a tight affair irrespective of Liverpool's struggles this season, the home side tore Salah and Co. apart en route to a convincing victory.
It was the visitors that broke the deadlock, with Salah scoring after 17 minutes. However, the home side equalized 10 minutes later through Julian Alvarez before Kevin de Bruyne gave them a 2-1 lead immediately after the break.
Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish also got on the scoresheet, with the English attacker, in particular, scoring a lovely team goal. As a result, Manchester City slashed Arsenal's lead at the top to five points — the gap could be restored to eight if the Gunners beat Leeds.
Not only that, but this game also saw Pep Guardiola break Arsene Wenger's long-standing Premier League record. Saturday's victory was Man City's 100th Premier League win at home under the Spanish tactician, with Pep achieving this in 128 Etihad Stadium outings. This makes him the fastest manager to reach this milestone, beating Arsenal's iconic Frenchman (100 wins in 139 matches) by 11 games.
100 - Man City gained their 100th Premier League home win under Pep Guardiola, in their 128th such match at the Etihad Stadium (D16 L12). It's the fastest a manager has reached 100 home wins in the competition, beating Arsène Wenger's previous record of 139 games. Century. pic.twitter.com/JeTKU58qIc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 1, 2023
As for Riyad Mahrez, he did not get on the scoresheet. However, the Algerian set up De Bruyne's crucial goal right after the break and thus surpassed Didier Drogba as the African player with the highest number of Premier League assists (56 to Drogba's 55).
Riyad Mahrez has now provided more assists than any other African player in Premier League history, overtaking Didier Drogba:
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 1, 2023
274 appearances
82 goals
56 assists
Magical Mahrez is a record breaker. pic.twitter.com/HVnloiU0ul
Nonetheless, what matters most is the result. Manchester City continue to put pressure on league leaders Arsenal as they look to usurp the Gunners in the table in the final 10 games of the season.
Next up for Guardiola's men is next weekend's trip to relegation-battling Southampton. The Cityzens' UEFA Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Bayern Munich then takes place three days after their St. Mary's Stadium visit.
