STAND BY FOR A LONG DOMINATION BY CITY

THERE was an excellent symmetry about Pep Guardiola’s choice of golf as a way of passing the time yesterday while waiting to see if Manchester United could stall his side’s wait for the title for a week longer. Sir Alex Ferguson took the same kind of refuge on a Sunday afternoon in May, 25 years ago. He was on the 17th green at Cheshire’s Mottram Hall club when someone screeched to a halt and jumped out of a vehicle to reveal that the only challengers, Aston Villa, had lost to Oldham and United had won the title at last. ‘God what a feeling!’ Ferguson reflected years later. It was to become a very familiar one, as United won eight titles in 11 seasons, and the question for today is whether any of those trailing in City’s wake can step up to prevent them enjoying similar domestic hegemony. It felt very much a coronation in tone from Guardiola on Saturday night, even with the subsequent Old Trafford outcome so unlikely. He was happy to speak as if the Premier League was won — reflecting on whether this was his greatest title and discussing how it can inculcate the kind of vaulting self-belief that United have possessed historically. ‘That is important — to build up the club,’ Guardiola said. ‘It is important to believe because Manchester City is not like United or Chelsea or Arsenal, the big clubs in England who have a big history behind them. So sometimes you have to do these kinds of things to think, “Wow, we are good too, like the other ones”.’ Tottenham’s anaemic failure to apply pressure to City’s jugular after scoring was not the evening’s only poor aspect. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t look remotely disappointed. It was defeatism from him. The challengers will need vastly more intensity if City are not to become the first side since Ferguson’s United, nine years back, to retain this title. Yet Arsenal and Chelsea are in flux, Spurs don’t possess a champion’s psyche, Liverpool sell their top stars and United exist under the brooding negativity that Jose Mourinho so often projects. If there is a chink to exploit, then it is the City central defence. The club’s director of football Txiki Begiristain has not bought well in that department these past six years. Guardiola pinpointed September’s 1-0 win at Chelsea as the most important one. ‘It gave us a feeling of, “OK, against the last champions, we are able to come here and play”.’ But that observation had to be coaxed from him. The youth of his front line gives the others most cause to fear. ‘They are so young — 21, 22,’ said Guardiola. When Saturday’s race was won, Guardiola joined the City players who celebrated before their fans like champions-elect. But he was rapt in conversation with Kyle Walker when leaving the field and, in the midst of it, began gesturing animatedly towards the area of the field the full back had just spent 45 minutes occupying. A TV cameraman loomed up, intruding on this tutorial. Guardiola shoved him away. There, in a moment, was the intensity pretenders to City’s crown are up against. ‘We can’t just stop at one Premier League title,’ Walker said when the stadium had fallen quiet. ‘It needs to be a number of years before we can be regarded as one of the top teams ever to have played in the Premier League.’