Man City outclass Liverpool to cut Arsenal's lead, Aston Villa on the up

MANCHESTER :Manchester City laid down a clear statement of intent in Pep Guardiola's 1,000th game as a manager with a crushing 3-0 defeat of Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday.

First-half goals by Erling Haaland and Nico Gonzalez and a stunning effort by Jeremy Doku after the break crowned a superb City display against lacklustre opponents.

The result not only allowed second-placed City to slice Arsenal's lead to four points, but also showed that Guardiola's side are fast evolving into serious title contenders again after last season's hiatus when they were dethroned by Liverpool.

Earlier, Aston Villa thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 to move into sixth place in a tightly-packed top half in which only four points separate third-placed Chelsea and 12th-placed Brentford.

Newcastle United's poor domestic form continued as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford in a game in which they ended with 10 men after Dan Burn was sent off.

Nottingham Forest ended a winless Premier League run stretching back to the first weekend of the season as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground.

Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion shared the spoils in a dour 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

Sunderland's last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday offered both City and Liverpool the opportunity to start exerting some pressure on Mikel Arteta's side.

It was City who seized that opportunity by outclassing a Liverpool side who have now lost five league games this season.

Haaland had an early penalty saved by Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili but City shrugged that off to beat Liverpool for the first time in two and a half years and make it a special milestone occasion for Guardiola.

Haaland made up for his