By far the hardest and most draining title, says Kompany
MANCHESTER CITY were whisked back north on three planes last night to share their triumph with thousands of supporters at the Etihad Stadium.
They flew out of Biggin Hill, renowned for its role in the Battle of Britain, which felt apt given this titanic tussle with Liverpool.
City lifted the trophy with fans at just gone 10pm, with celebrations continuing in the stadium’s premier hospitality suite, the Tunnel Club, long after.
‘This was by far the hardest and most draining,’ Vincent Kompany said, comparing it to their title win in 2012. ‘The first one happened in the last minute but this was constantly knowing you have to win and perform. We defeated one of the all-time great teams in England.’
Pep Guardiola was equally reflective, claiming retaining this title was the toughest assignment of his illustrious career. ‘It was the most difficult one,’ he said. ‘The most difficult one because of the quality of Liverpool. We made 100 points last season and had to make 98 this season.’
Guardiola and his players claimed they were not aware of Liverpool’s score against Wolves, although Brighton’s home crowd made sure it was voiced.
The jubilation inside City’s dressing room was just as loud. Renditions of ‘Allez, Allez, Allez’ were pumped out by the players, so too ‘Campeones’. The tens of champagne bottles did not go to waste either. Noel Gallagher joined them, still with sunglasses on, after spending the afternoon in the away end.
‘I knew we could win back-toback titles straight away,’ Kompany said. ‘The first meeting of the season it was all about how we tried to get back to back. Pep’s done it before and I felt we could do it from the first moment. I felt the desire. The manager starts everything. He sets the standards.’
Raheem Sterling was also effusive in his praise of Guardiola. ‘The manager is about mentality and it’s about winning no matter what,’ the forward said.
‘How we can win every game, it’s a credit to him and how he sets us up. I’m just happy to be under his wing. This is exactly what I came here for to win these trophies.
‘ It’s about having multiple players in every position and having them challenge. No one is comfortable and everyone gets their chance. Riyad Mahrez gets his chance here and I knew he would score.’
Guardiola laughed when asked about the lack of weaknesses in this team, suggesting there is much to be done at set pieces. ‘I am the tallest guy — in the set pieces it is go to the church to pray,’ he said. ‘It is a drama. We did it well in Burnley, we didn’t concede one and that is the target.’
Bernardo Silva, who could take the club’s player of the year award, insisted they did not believe this level of consistency was possible when the season started.
‘After last season we didn’t think we could get close to the points that we did last season,’ Silva said. ‘That was great, we still have the FA Cup and that’s very important, we want the Treble. No one has done that and we want to do it.
‘After the Newcastle game where we lost away we thought it was very difficult, but then 14 wins in a row is incredible.
‘Our season has been amazing. We are still frustrated with the Champions League but that’s normal. Two titles so far and hopefully we get three.
‘It’s very physical football in England, all teams play direct football with very strong players and set pieces. It’s always very difficult to defend and we are so happy with our last two seasons.’