The Premier League records keep tumbling for relentless City

CHAMPIONS Manchester City equalled the record of number of wins in a Premier League season with a 4-1 victory at West Ham United yesterday and they are closing in on more milestones.

With the title wrapped up two weeks ago, City’s perfectionist manager Pep Guardiola has been keen to keep his players motivated and prove they are one football’s elite sides.

“I’m happy we will receive the Premier League trophy and (have) the chance to be the best team in history in England, with the most points,” Guardiola said. “We are going to try to do it next Sunday and get the record of 96 points at home when we receive the trophy in front of our people.”

The records have been tumbling for some time as City have brushed aside almost every opponent in a remarkable season. From Raheem Sterling’s last-gasp winner at Bournemouth in late August to City’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve, they won 18 Premier League games in a row, demolishing the 13-match record set by Chelsea in 2016-17.

After beating West Ham, City are on the verge of another record. With 30 wins, they are level with Chelsea’s number of victories in one campaign which they achieved last season.

City have also now equalled the record set by Chelsea in 2004-05 for away wins in a Premier League season, but they are not done yet. With three games left, City need two goals to set a new record for goals scored in a Premier League campaign, the 103 Chelsea netted in 2009-10.

“It is incredible,” Guardiola added. “The numbers are a consequence of what we have done.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger’s final match at Old Trafford as Arsenal manager ended in defeat as a stoppage-time header from substitute Marouane Fellaini earned Manchester United a 2-1 Premier League win yesterday.

Paul Pogba had given United a 16th-minute lead before Henrikh Mkhitaryan, signed from United in January, brought Arsenal level, six minutes after the interval.

It looked like a youthful, mostly secondstring Arsenal side had earned a respectable draw before Fellaini, pictured, nodded in a deep cross from Ashley Young to grab all three points for Jose Mourinho’s side and secure their Champions League place.

The Arsenal manager, who will leave the club at the end of this season, has not tasted a league victory at United for 12 years and Wenger has never managed to win away against a Mourinho team in the Premier League.

Wenger, who clinched the league title at Old Trafford in 2002, was centre stage before the game as he was presented with a gift by former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Mourinho, and the Frenchman was warmly applauded by the crowd.

But while the past was being generously acknowledged, Wenger also had an eye on the near future. With a trip to Madrid to face Atletico on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final, poised at 1-1, Wenger rang the changes, bringing in several fringe players and handing a debut to 21-year-old Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos. – Reuters