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City have had bumps in the road this season with defeats to Brighton, Tottenham and Aston Villa, but two of those losses came back in August.
A summer of change saw the departure of old guard such as Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson after playing a key role in their final years of success.
But a run of losses once in the last 14 matches shows that City have regained the consistency of results that led them to six titles in eight years and the holy grail of the Champions League.
Led by goal machine Haaland, the striker’s unstoppable goal has taken his impressive goal total to 28 for club and country in just 18 appearances so far this season.
After losing to Villa last month, Guardiola asked his midfielders and wingers to score goals, and Nico Gonzalez and the in-form Jeremy Doku answered that call against Liverpool.
In Rodri’s absence, fellow Spaniard Gonzalez developed into a number six position and had more touches of the ball than any City player, while left-back Nico O’Reilly restricted Mohamed Salah superbly for long periods of the contest, winning the most tackles (five) than any other player on the pitch.
“Nico O’Reilly was amazing,” Guardiola said. “In general, everyone was exceptional because they are still the champions.”
Guardiola also singled out praise for Bernardo Silva, saying the midfielder “was there” even though he was “struggling” last season, adding: “He was a great signing for us and the way we played.” [against Liverpool] He’s a master.”
The Portuguese, along with team-mate Phil Foden, ran more than 12.5 kilometers on Sunday – only twice has any player been able to cover more ground in a Premier League match.
Former Premier League striker Dion Dublin said: “Guardiola has got his team where he wants them again. This is the old City. This is the City we remember, the ones who dominate games.
“I think Liverpool, on this occasion, were outplayed by a team that showed us they shouldn’t be written off.”
The Reds have dropped to eighth in the table, eight points behind Arsenal, and coach Arne Slott said he feels five defeats are “too many” and “the last thing we should be thinking about now is the title race.”
But Guardiola and City will do exactly the opposite.
Additional reporting by BBC Sport’s Chris Collinson
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