Pep Guardiola has warned Manchester City’s Premier League title rivals that his side are back to their best after Sunday’s victory over Liverpool.
A 3–0 thumping of the reigning champions saw City move four points behind league leaders Arsenal, who dropped points 24 hours earlier after a stoppage-time equaliser from Sunderland.
It felt like a statement showing from a City side that were well off the pace last season but have now lost just once in their last 14 games across all competitions, and Guardiola insisted he is now seeing the sort of quality from his side that was produced during their four-straight title triumphs between 2021 and 2024.
“I have the feeling the energy [is] back,” Guardiola confessed as he celebrated his 1,000th game in management. “We are more unpredictable in the way we attack and defend and that is good that the opponents don’t know what we are going to do.
“Last season it didn’t happen, we didn’t handle it well because apparently we didn’t have another target to fight. Nobody had done four titles in a row and we did it and we thought, ‘What’s next?’
“I think the four Premier Leagues in a row affected us in a really bad way. It can be understandable a little bit. We tried to push each other but we were not able to do it.
“Since the Club World Cup, I felt something different in general. It’s nice to still have the feeling that we are back in terms of many things.”
Gary Neville: Man City’s Title Challenge Stronger Than Liverpool
While Arsenal remain in a comfortable position atop the standings, pundit Gary Neville backed City to keep up the pressure for the rest of the season in pursuit of a Gunners collapse reminiscent of their fall-off at the end of the 2022–23 campaign.
“You would come into [City] games knowing the outcome, but now when you watch City you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen,” he told The Gary Neville Podcast.
“They are imperfect. They are a lot more physical... they’re very different in terms of not being as methodical, not as good at playing out from the back, but they are still a very good side.
“If City can keep some momentum going, they’re going to be really, really dangerous towards the end of the season because of their experience.
“Pep Guardiola will be thinking, ‘Come on, let me hang on Mikel Arteta’s shoulder until March, let me be close enough to him to apply that pressure.’ He’s the one you wouldn’t want near you.
Reaching 1000 games in style: Pep Guardiola oversees a demolition of the champions on his milestone day. pic.twitter.com/pGEwhCWVHK
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 9, 2025
“It’s going to be really interesting what happens with City. I would say that they’ve still got to convince me that they’re going to win a title—Arsenal are the better team—but they’re the one team and the one manager I wouldn’t want on your shoulder going down the back straight.”
Neville did, however, refuse to rule Liverpool out of a dramatic title charge over the remainder of the season.
“If it clicked, something could happen,” Neville said of Liverpool’s title ambitions.
“If they can pull it together with the manager who had a great first season and get something going with the younger players, maybe they can still do something.
“But today was a worry because it was a really, really poor performance. They need to have a good look at themselves and they’ll know they’re nowhere near it at this moment in time.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pep Guardiola Sends Ominous Premier League Title Warning to Arsenal.
