The Reds took the lead in the 12th minute through Cody Gakpo before Mohamed Salah secured the points from the penalty spot after half-time.

Salah’s goal sparked chants of ‘you’ll be sacked tomorrow morning’ from part of the Anfield crowd.

Guardiola responded by holding up six fingers, seemingly alluding to the number of Premier League titles he has won.

After the clash, the Spaniard admitted he didn’t expect to hear the chants at Anfield.

“Every stadium wants to sack me, it started at Brighton,” he told Sky Sports. “Maybe they are right with the results we got.

“I didn’t expect that at Anfield. They didn’t do it at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should have sung it in the past.

“I didn’t expect that from the people at Liverpool, but it’s okay, it’s part of the game and I totally understand. We’ve had some incredible battles together. I have respect for them.

“I’m here as a manager and I’m standing up for what we’ve done in the past thanks to them (Manchester City players) and more than ever I want to be with them and hug them.”

Guardiola believes his side could still succeed this season, despite a difficult run of results.

“There’s a point where it might click,” he added. “Today Kevin (De Bruyne) played good minutes, Jack (Grealish) played well in that position and Jeremy (Doku) played good minutes after a month of absence.

“Bernardo and Rico (Lewis) have a lot of minutes in their legs. Nathan (Ake) was exceptional against maybe one of the big wingers.

“I congratulate Liverpool, they deserve the victory and we accept the current situation, and we will build from that.”

The result means City are fifth in the Premier League table, without a win in seven games in all competitions, and 11 points behind league leaders Liverpool.

They face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, while the Reds travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United.

Arne Slot believes his side had to do their best to get all three points against Manchester City.

“If you want to win against City you have to be perfect in every part of the game,” Slot told Sky Sports.

“We came close to perfection. We weren’t perfect, but we came close to perfection. That’s the only way to beat City.

“I don’t think anyone, myself included, would have predicted this (debut). I knew Jurgen (Klopp) left the team in the right place.

“But still, against all the teams we have faced. We are not the only ones. I saw Arsenal yesterday and City, they will come back.”

Slot believes his side could have been more clinical in front of goal despite the impressive win.

“Yes (it was almost a perfect match), and if you look at the work rate, I think it was perfect,” he added.

“The number of chances we missed made it a tight end, but maybe that’s good for games like this.

“It should have been like that, but it would have been nicer to score the second goal earlier.

“We always press high, but they are very good in preparation. So you have to work very hard. Our players had energy. Apart from our players, the crowd was also fantastic today.”