Manchester City managing yet another premier league title has hardly surprised anyone. They have made winning a habit as the latest one happens to be their sixth in the last 11 seasons. Among other things, City managed to prevail over the others in the premier league without even a bankable striker. So, let us get into some interesting features in the successful campaign of Pep Guardiola’s men this season.
Devoid Of A Striker
What makes this victory all the more special for City is the fact that they have won this time without a credible striker. Astonishingly, the City even finished as the top-scoring team with 99 goals. This is unbelievable for a team that hardly has players of the calibre of Ronaldo, Mbappe, Benzema etc.
It implies that their mid-fielders have compensated adequately for the lack of defenders in their ranks by exerting immense pressure on the opposition teams. The script might take a different turn next season as they have already signed Haaland to fill the vacuum of the striker but the experiment this time around has worked perfectly for them, especially for Guardiola.
League Cup Exit A Blessing In Disguise
When City lost to West Ham in the League Cup in October last year several tears were shed but in the end, it helped them in a big way in their quest for the Premier League. After the loss, their schedule got less cluttered compared to Liverpool and Chelsea and as a result, City got a good chance to organise themselves for the matches ahead. As a matter of fact, the 12 consecutive wins later on only proved that the League Cup loss only worked to their advantage.
Crucial Victories
The City have had several victories this season, however, some of them proved to be very critical in their campaign this time. Though not entirely convincing, the 1-0 twin against Chelsea drove home the fact that Guardiola’s men mean business this time. The other notable triumph happened to be the one against Everton in February this year when the rub of the green went City’s way as Everton were denied a penalty following a clear handball by Rodri. Last but not least was the victory over Villarreal in the dying moments with City looking absolutely down and out for most of the match time.
De Bruyne Finishes Off In Style
Kevin De Bruyne had two diverse phases this season. In the first phase, he was clearly not in his element as he had just recovered from an ankle injury. However, he made it up for the lacklustre start with a near-perfect second phase where he helped City grab several significant moments in the premier league games. Bruyne played critical parts in City’s victories over Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool and put the club in the driver’s seat. These apart, De Bruyne also found the net 15 times in 30 games and he is still in the race to be English soccer’s player of the year for the third season in a row.
