Guardiola Is Proud Of Manchester City For Breaking Anfield’s ‘eeriness’ After 18 Years
JAKARTA - Pep Guardiola admits that he is proud that Manchester City has finally been able to break Anfield's eeriness after 18 years, after winning 4-1 over Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday local time (Monday Indonesian local time).
The result was City's first win at Anfield, after the last time they felt it in 2003.
"The most important is still three points. But of course, I am proud of the players who broke the bad record for so long, hopefully, we can do it again when the stands are filled with supporters", said Guardiola after the match was reported by City's official website.
"Anfield without spectators is completely different because I can imagine when they scored 1-1 and how the fans would have influenced Liverpool players at that time", he added.
After wiping out a penalty in the first half, Ilkay Gundogan made up for it by putting City ahead four minutes into the second half before being offset by Liverpool through Mohamed Salah's penalty.
However, Alisson Becker's mistakes were like a windfall exploited by Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, before Phil Foden ended his stellar display with a beautiful goal to seal a 4-1 win.
"We reacted very well, none of our players lowered their level of playing, they improved with extraordinary character. Raheem Sterling was brilliant like last season, even more phenomenal", said Guardiola.
"The commitment of the players who are on the bench can also be seen when they cheer on their colleagues. Three important points and I am very grateful, but tomorrow we will back preparing to face Swansea", he concluded.
The victory makes City increasingly firm at the top with a collection of 50 points, five points ahead of closest competitor Manchester United, and away from Liverpool by 10 points.
Manchester City will next host Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday, February 13, but three days earlier they will travel to second-tier Swansea City for their FA Cup fifth-round tie.