Pep Guardiola became the fastest manager in Premier League history to accrue 500 points with Manchester City's 1-1 draw against Southampton on Saturday.
The Catalan coach, who first took charge of City in August 2016, reached the milestone figure in 213 matches – 18 fewer than previous quickest Jose Mourinho.
Jurgen Klopp is next on the list having reached 500 points in 236 games with Liverpool, while legendary Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson needed 242 matches to do so.
Arsene Wenger (249 games) completes the top five, with Rafael Benitez (267), David Moyes (340), Martin O'Neill (351), Mark Hughes (367), Sam Allardyce (386), Harry Redknapp (392) and Steve Bruce (441) also members of the 500 club.
City have taken more points against Arsenal (34) than any other opponent under Guardiola, followed by Burnley, West Ham (both 31), Leicester City and Watford (both 27).
Reigning Premier League champions City have put together four runs of 12-plus victories in the competition in Guardiola's five-and-a-half-year tenure, the most recent of which came to an end with their draw against Southampton.
The Citizens dropped points for the first time in 13 matches in a run stretching back to a 2-0 home loss against Crystal Palace on October 30, leaving them 12 points clear of second-placed Liverpool having played two games more.
Kyle Walker-Peters fired Southampton into an early lead with a sensational outside-of-the-boot strike – just the third first-half goal City have conceded in the league this term – but the visitors hit back through Aymeric Laporte's header.
Despite his side's losing run coming to an end, Guardiola was pleased with their display at St Mary's Stadium.
"We played really well. Unfortunately, in the first half we conceded a goal, but I think this was one of our best performances of the season, by far," he told Sky Sports.
"They were incredibly organised and this is one of the best performances we played against them. Yes, the result was not good, but in terms of performance and the way we played, it was excellent.
"We played better than in the Arsenal game, when we won, and today we drew. Sometimes you deserve it and you don't win, but the way we played here was excellent.
"Southampton are a really good team. They are organised, they play 4-4-2, long balls, good pace in counter-attack, good build up. But we were brilliant today.
"Why should we lose belief in what we have done? It was a good performance. We are going to drop points, but the way we behave is very good."
Liverpool could move to within six points of City should they win their games in hand, while the sides still have to meet at the Etihad Stadium in April.
"People will say the Premier League race is not over and that is good for this side," Guardiola added. "We have many tough games ahead of us, but we will try to behave until the end.
"I would like to have a 40-point lead ahead of Liverpool, but that is not possible in January. I didn't expect to have this lead, but now we will rest and come back as best as possible."
'We are lucky to have him' - Guardiola admits Ederson exit was close
Pep Guardiola admitted that Ederson came close to leaving Manchester City in the transfer window but stayed because a fee could not be agreed.
The Brazilian was linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in the off-season, with both Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad both reportedly interested in his signature.
Since joining the club in June 2017, Ederson has kept 113 clean sheets in 257 Premier League appearances, more than any other goalkeeper in the competition since his debut.
He has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a Champions League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Ederson has played in all seven of City's Premier League matches so far this season, keeping just one clean sheet and conceding eight goals from an expected goals on target (xGoT) of 8.54.
Guardiola is delighted that he was able to keep hold of Ederson, who continues to play a pivotal role in the team.
"He is an important figure with our team," Guardiola told the club's website.
"We are lucky to have him, and I hope he is happy. Eddy knows us really well and what we have to do.
"He knew from day one that I didn't want him to leave. The truth is the offer didn't come. The real offer.
"They make an offer but the keeper, who won four Premier Leagues in a row, he has a value and a price. Otherwise, he cannot leave.
“If the offer did come, maybe he should not be here. This is the truth.
"Ederson is so strong, but when he changed his mind, in one second he said he is here, and he is going to do his best."
Injury forces Militao out of Brazil's World Cup qualifiers
Eder Militao will miss Brazil's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru due to a thigh injury.
The defender, who also missed September's fixtures due to a leg injury, first felt some discomfort against Atletico Madrid on September 29.
Though he has featured for Real Madrid since, he flew out to Sao Paulo to undergo checks on the issue, where the national team confirmed the extent of the injury.
"[Militao] underwent tests this Sunday... which revealed a minor muscle injury in his left thigh that will prevent him from playing," the CBF said in a statement.
He is the second Madrid player to pull out of the Brazil squad, with Vinicius Junior also unfit to play after suffering a neck injury.
Brazil sit fifth in South America's qualification table after eight matches, with 10 points.
Premier League MD7: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
There were plenty of thrills and spills across the board in the Premier League as matchday seven ran its course.
Manchester City and Arsenal both had to come from behind to beat Fulham and Southampton respectively at home, while there were eight goals scored as Brentford overcame Wolves 5-3, with six of those strikes coming in the first half in west London.
Liverpool kept themselves ahead at the summit thanks to a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while Manchester United stopped the rot by holding Aston Villa, albeit they have now tallied up their lowest points total after seven games of any Premier League season.
Leicester City, meanwhile, grabbed their first win of the campaign, while Anthony Gordon endured a miserable return to Goodison Park with Newcastle United. In the final fixture of the weekend, Brighton stunned Tottenham, forging a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.
So, after all that, who were the unlucky, and lucky, teams based on the underlying metrics?
Lucky winners: Leicester City
Leicester finally got their first top-flight win of the season on the board, as they edged out Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to Facundo Buonanotte's excellent run and finish.
But, it's fair to say it was something of a smash-and-grab for Steve Cooper's team at the King Power Stadium. Leicester had just six shots, with only two of those hitting the target, and they tallied up just 0.79 expected goals (xG).
On the other hand, Bournemouth had 19 attempts, creating five big chances (a tally bettered only by Brentford's eight and West Ham's nine this week) and accumulating 2.16 xG.
Bournemouth only have themselves to blame for wasteful finishing – they got just two of their efforts on target – but the Cherries can still consider themselves unfortunate.
Unlucky losers: Newcastle
Determined to impress against his former club, Gordon fluffed his lines when his big moment arrived as Newcastle drew 0-0 with Everton on Saturday.
With James Tarkowski having conceded a penalty by recklessly pulling the shirt of Sandro Tonali, Gordon stepped up to the spot, but Jordan Pickford guessed the right way.
While Everton wanted a penalty of their own in the second half, the Toffees were largely second-best and that is backed up by the metrics. Even discounting Gordon's spot-kick, Newcastle finished with 1.26 xG and 14 shots. The hosts accumulated 0.67 xG and had eight attempts.
Lucky winners: Man City
It's not often that the champions are given a run for their money at home, but Fulham did just that.
Indeed, Fulham finished with 2.6 xG at the Etihad Stadium, the fourth-highest total across the league this weekend, while they created five big chances.
Pep Guardiola has said he is not concerned by Man City's unusually open defence, but he will want to see better from his team in that regard after the international break.
Going forward, City benefited from three excellent finishes - two from Mateo Kovacic and one from Jeremy Doku. Their 1.57 xG came from 20 shots, though they created only one big chance.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
