THE COMEBACK

From 13th place to runaway champions, Pep’s third Premier League title is the unbelievable triumph of a winning machine that entertains but still surprises us all

FOR drama, nothing will beat Sergio Aguero’s intervention on 93 minutes and 20 seconds in 2012.

Pre-pep, the sprint to the title after Steven Gerrard’s slip in 2014 was sweet and your local rivals being beaten by the bottom club to confirm another title in 2018 must have tasted good for Manchester City fans.

Pep Guardiola was on the golf course with Tommy Fleetwood when West Brom’s win over Manchester United confirmed his first Premier League crown.

The second was his hardestfought, trading blows with Jurgen Klopp for 38 rounds before landing the knockout punch with a 4-1 win at Brighton on the final day of the season.

After the disappointment of the home defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, last night’s coronation, courtesy of Leicester City’s win over Manchester United, felt almost anti-climactic.

But, in a way, it was fitting. After City finally found their range just before Christmas, not a single challenger has been able to lay a serious glove on them.

And that was after Klopp and Liverpool, with their 18-point triumph, looked to have pummelled Guardiola and City into submission last season.

The after-effects were still evident in the first few months of this campaign. After a set of midweek fixtures in December, a fifth draw of the campaign – this time, against West Brom – had left City in eighth place, eight points behind Liverpool.

Since then? Sixty points from 23 Premier League matches.

Twenty wins and three losses. Fifty-four goals scored in those games, 14 conceded.

Everyone expected Liverpool to again go toe-to-toe with City but, after the exertions of recent seasons, it is Klopp who has hit a wall. City did it this season but it will be hard for Liverpool to rebound from this.

On recent evidence, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea look likely to emerge as the main adversaries.

But it will still take some effort to seriously challenge City’s dominance.

After the signing of Ruben Dias and the re-emergence of John Stones as a world-class centre-half, the Blues suddenly have the most efficient defence in English football.

Dias is only 23 and is a captain-in-waiting. He is the heir apparent to Vincent Kompany.

Ederson is the league’s outstanding goalkeeper.

Guardiola has been fortunate this season, to the extent he has not had to deal with a glut of injuries.

Aguero and Nathan Ake have been long-term absentees but to have a fully-fit squad of 20plus players at the beginning of May is remarkable and a testament to the professionalism of the medical department at the Etihad. Don’t underestimate how significant a contribution the doctors and physios make to a successful team.

But what is more remarkable is how Guardiola has again fashioned a winning machine that defies the norm.

With 12 goals, Ilkay Gundogan is their top scorer in the Premier League.

That just about sneaks him into the overall top 10.

Yet Guardiola’s teams have now scored over 700 goals in all

competitions since he took charge in 2016. That is an average of almost two and a half a game. That is entertainment.

And that is Manchester City. Do they have the advantage of being lavishly-funded? Yes, absolutely.

Can any other team name the sort of bench Guardiola can and still cruise to victories? No, of course not. But their greatest triumph under Guardiola is that they remain a joy to watch.

For a football-lover, they remain the hottest ticket in town. What is not to like about Kevin De Bruyne gliding over the park? Or Phil Foden piercing defences?

Such is the array of talent at his disposal, Guardiola’s toughest challenge next season will be to keep all his players happy. Let’s hope he does, because the Blues are setting phenomenally high standards.

And watching others try to match them would make for a very compelling Premier League.