Kop rising but City were flying in 2018

DESPITE two December defeats, defending champions Manchester City were easily England’s outstanding side of 2018.

Pep Guardiola’s side sent a host of records tumbling as they romped the Premier League, finishing 19 and 25 points clear of northern rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

Incredible margins over the north’s two most successful clubs.

Guardiola (below) had already claimed his first trophy in England in

February, guiding

City to Caraboa

Cup success.

But

Champions

League finalists Liverpool kicked on impressively in the second half of the year to prove themselves the main threat to

City’s designs on back-to-back Premier League titles.

The warning signs that Jurgen Klopp’s (above) side are a coming force were most emphatically delivered with a 5-1 Champions League thrashing of City in April.

They may have come up short in the May final against a Real Madrid side. But, as 2018 drew to a close, they had long replaced the now Mourinho-less United as the side City fear most. Mo Salah was the outstanding player of 2017/18, but, over the calendar year of 2018, I made his Liverpool colleague Andy Robertson top man.

Marco Silva lifted entertainment levels at Everton. But, to improve on last term’s eighth place, his side need more away points

Burnley boss Sean Dyche deserved a medal in May for making the Europa League, but the second half of 2018 saw an alarming slump.

Huddersfield and Newcastle rallied impressively late last season to preserve the North’s seventeam Premier League representation.

Toon boss Rafa Benitez worked wonders, despite being starved of realistic funds by owner Mike Ashley.

Having watched Burnley and Town recently, I’m convinced they are in real danger of the drop. They need to regain last season’s dogged fighting spirit.

But, all in all, it’s been a largely satisfying 12 months for the North’s top-flight clubs and their fans... especially for those of a sky blue persuasion.