CITY ON ANOTHER PLANET
LONDON. — Manchester City’s fifth Premier League title in six years and the manner in which it was achieved must send a sense of dread through those seeking ways to unseat Pep Guardiola’s magnificent champions.
City retained their crown as Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal on Saturday and it will be ominous for any rivals looking for signs of a reduction in their ravenous appetite for success.
Indeed, City’s desire to sustain their supremacy appears to be sharpening, rather than offering any hints that familiarity with silverware is breeding contempt.
City are the first team to win the Premier League for three seasons in succession since Manchester United in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
They are also on course to emulate United’s historic feat of 1999 and become only the second English side to secure the title then also win the FA Cup and Champions League.
Guardiola’s genius has built a dynasty that will only get stronger.
This is a machine without an obvious weakness assembled by one of the greatest managerial figures the game has known.
The club were charged earlier this year by the Premier League with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules between 2009-2018, but City, who have always denied financial wrongdoing, say they “look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all”.
They will already be strong favourites to win the title again next season - so other clubs with their eyes on the prize have a short summer window to come up with a plan to knock this seemingly unstoppable footballing juggernaut off course.
City’s relentless ability to exert pressure and break even the strongest challengers has become their trademark, a 24-game unbeaten run securing the league and setting up an FA Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley before a Champions League final meeting with Inter Milan in Istanbul.
Their track record exerts such a psychological hold on their challengers, in recent years Liverpool and this season Arsenal, that a draw can drain emotions like a defeat.
Liverpool’s brilliant resurgence under Jurgen Klopp has brought only one title - admittedly their first in 30 years - in what is justifiably regarded as a golden Anfield renaissance.
The Reds twice lost out by one point on the final day - to a streak of 14 straight City wins in 2019 before three late goals in five minutes saw Guardiola’s side come from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa on the final day last term.
Arsenal were pursued this season, beaten twice by City in convincing fashion, before being worn down and overhauled with a growing sense of inevitability.
It is not just a football strain that City put on their rivals.
It is also mental and physical.
Who will step up to rival City next year?
Liverpool may have fallen off the pace in title terms this season, ending the season empty-handed after winning the FA Cup and League Cup - during their chase for an historic quadruple - last year.
At the start of next season, however, expect Liverpool to be rejuvenated and refocused with fresh faces in a midfield requiring renewal, the recovery already under way with a string of victories towards the end of this campaign.
Arsenal have had a taste of a title charge, albeit one that carried bitterness after slipping up with a first Premier League since 2003-04 in their own hands, and will now want more.
Manchester United have made slow strides towards emerging from the wilderness years overseen by the likes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under Erik ten Hag this season.
They won the League Cup, the first trophy since 2017, while chasing a top-four place and reaching the FA Cup final, but far more strengthening needs to be done before they can challenge City over a long title quest.