Pep Guardiola has recently affirmed that, of all the opponents he has faced as a coach, Liverpool is the biggest.
The two-horse race for the Premier League title between the two teams has become a legend. And coincidentally, in the 1,000th match of his coaching career, Guardiola faced The Kop at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City have shown their best form recently when they easily defeated the defending champions, thereby strengthening their position in the race with Arsenal.
If Guardiola can personally choose opponents, performances and results for the 1,000th match of his coaching career, it is difficult to imagine which scenario is more perfect than what happened against Liverpool.
The Citizens easily defeated Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad, a victory that could be considered the end of the defending champions' ambition to defend the title. At the same time, it also opened the door for them to reclaim their own throne.
This result helped City narrow the gap with leaders Arsenal to 4 points, after the "Gunners" were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland. Even though the season is still in its early stages, every sign shows that we could see a familiar two-horse race - like the previous two seasons - between Man City and Arsenal.
Looking back at the past instead of looking forward to the future is perhaps appropriate when talking about Guardiola at the 1,000-match mark as a coach.
The Spaniard has had brilliant spells with Barcelona (and youth teams Barcelona B), Bayern Munich and Man City, winning a total of 3 La Liga titles in Spain, 3 Bundesliga titles in Germany and so far 6 Premier League titles in England.
He has also won the Champions League three times - twice with Barcelona and once with Man City.
In total, Guardiola's teams have won 716 matches, achieving an impressive winning rate of 71.6%, drawing 156 and losing only 128 matches. These are numbers that clearly demonstrate the stature and stability of one of the greatest coaches of the 21st century.
Guardiola's time in England is currently the longest in his coaching career. In fact, more than half of the games the Spaniard has spent on the coaching bench (550 games - accounting for 55%) have been against Man City. Currently, he is only 12 games away from the 400-year mark with the Etihad team.
Guardiola's biggest win of his career was a score of 9-0 - an achievement he has achieved twice: with Barcelona against L'Hospitalet in the Copa del Rey (December 2011) and with Man City against Burton Albion in the League Cup (January 2019).
In contrast, his biggest failures have come by a margin of four goals, and have happened five times in his coaching career. Notably, 4 of those came when he led City - losing 0-4 to Barcelona, Everton, Tottenham and 1-5 to Arsenal.
Another confrontation with Arsenal will be a difficult challenge, but Guardiola has reason to be confident. The Gunners are the team he has beaten the most in his career - 20 times in 33 matches. On the other hand, Liverpool and Tottenham were the two opponents that caused him the most defeats, with 10 losses in 24 matches against each team.
When calling Liverpool his biggest rival, Guardiola was not only referring to the Merseyside side, but also referring to the decade-long struggle with Jurgen Klopp. The German has beaten him 11 of his 30 encounters, more than any other manager.
However, things are getting brighter for Guardiola in the Premier League this season. Among the five coaches he has beaten the most in his career, four - Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe, Marco Silva and David Moyes - are still leading the teams in this tournament.
No one knows if Guardiola will want to continue leading for another 1,000 matches, but it is certain that as long as he is on the sidelines, world football will still be witnessed as one of the most enthusiastic and sophisticated tactical minds of the era.
