Rise of the City dynasty
AFTER their team’s shock loss to West Brom on Sunday, Manchester United fans woke up to news that their powerful neighbours, Manchester City, aim to impose a dynastic rule over the EPL.
MANCHESTER City are setting their sights on establishing a dynasty in English football and finally conquering Europe after their relentless march to a third Premier League title in seven seasons.
Pep Guardiola’s men have already matched one of the greatest sides of the Premier League era by winning the league with five games to spare to equal Manchester United’s record in 2000/2001.
The Premier League points and goals records are also likely to be smashed but the true test of whether City deserve their status in the list of all-time greats will be what comes next.
“I want to see the reaction from us next season as I’ve never been able to retain a title,” said club captain Vincent Kompany.
City’s latest Premier League triumph lacked the drama of Sergio Aguero’s winner with virtually the last kick of the season in 2012, but the Argentine is relieved to have won the title with five games to spare.
City also claimed the title on the final day of the 2013/14 season, but Aguero believes his third league winner’s medal in England is just reward for the best football he has been involved in since joining from Atletico Madrid in
• THREE wins from five gives them the most points in a Premier League season.
• THOSE three wins would also give City the most victories of any title winner.
• ANOTHER 11 goals would make them the Premier League’s highest scorers.
• IF they improve their aggregate by four they would have the best goal difference.
• FIVE more points on the road would surpass Chelsea’s record of 48 set in 2004-05 under Jose Mourinho.
• GAINING another three points on their closet rivals would make this the biggest titlewinning margin of the modern era.
2011.
“This is my third title with City and it’s just a relief not to have to wait (until) the final day this time,” Aguero said.
Since City’s Abu-Dhabi owners started pouring in hundreds of millions to the club’s coffers a decade ago, Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini have also delivered titles but never sustained success.
This year’s title triumph is just the fifth in the club’s history, putting them well behind fierce rivals United, with a record 20 titles, but Guardiola’s side are now the pre-eminent team in the city and in the country.
“Retaining a title is the next step and City were not in the right state of mind,” said United’s former boss Alex Ferguson after retiring in 2013, having won the title back from City.
“When I won the league for the first time in 1993, I didn’t want my team to slacken off. The thought appalled me.”
Fortunately for City, they now have a coach as relentlessly dedicated to winning as Ferguson was.
Guardiola has now won seven league titles in nine seasons as a senior coach in three countries after conquering La Liga and the Bundesliga with Barcelona and Bayern Munich on multiple occasions.
Backed by a level of spending never seen before in English football, Guardiola has amassed a squad capable of dominating for years to come.
Seven trophies have been won since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover, but one glaring one is missing. Even Guardiola’s record-breakers have fallen short again in the Champions League, losing 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
“Sooner or later it’s going to happen,” insisted Guardiola, who has consistently stated City’s need to grow gradually on the European stage, having made the Champions League semi-finals just once in their history.
Guardiola has taken City back to the pinnacle of the English game. Keeping them there and finally breaking through their Champions League glass ceiling is now the challenge.