Manchester City’s fourth title in the English Premier League. Arsenal and Manchester United have dropped out of the contenders. For the next Premier League(PL) seasons, the absolute dominance of Liverpool and Manchester City is inevitable.
The celebration and parade of Manchester City
Manchester City delivered a comeback for ages. They overhauled a two-goal deficit to beat Aston Villa by 3-2 and claim their fourth Premier League title in the last five seasons. Sergio Aguero’s 94th-minute strike sealed their first-ever Premier League title. Ten years on, Manchester City found themselves in a similar situation, trailing Aston Villa by 2-0. With 14 minutes remaining, Ilkay Gundogan came off the bench and scored twice in five minutes to complete the turnaround.
Pep Guardiola showered praise on Gundogan, who was also his first signing at the club. He said: “Gundogan is the best inside runner we have. We were arriving down the sides, and we needed a player with the sense of tempo in the box, and he’s the best.” Liverpool, meanwhile, also came from behind to beat Wolves by 3-1. A wave of ecstasy in Anfield soon after Philippe Coutinho’s strike put Aston Villa two goals ahead of City. But it didn’t last for long, as all it took was five minutes of madness to blow away the lead. “The best I lived since I was here. Today was so special. Hopefully, tomorrow [at the victory parade], we will celebrate with cigars and beer – I’ll bring my cigars, don’t worry,” said Guardiola of the atmosphere at Etihad.
The parade came a day after Manchester City added another incredible comeback story to its history, scoring three goals in about five minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and edge out Liverpool to the title by a single point. “It was the plan, 0-2, calm, calm,” Guardiola said with a laugh. “And after we scored, it was a great night. Everybody knows what has happened is an incredible achievement. This is the toughest league; we had four in six years since we arrived.
The happiness on all the faces is the greatest reward we can get.” İlkay Gündoğan struck two late goals, either side of Rodri’s equalizer, to give Manchester City the win. “It was a tough moment,” Guardiola said. “Always the players show again; it was incredible to come back. There was much tension in the last month after (Manchester City’s Champions League loss to Real Madrid) and many difficult games. “We never give up, and we have to be proud of the group.”
Manchester City Goalkeeper Ederson sprayed more than one of the fans clinging to lamp posts from a bottle, while Jack Grealish offered to buy everyone on the roadside a shot if they wanted to meet him in town later on. Kevin De Bruyne was far from alone in sporting dark glasses, admitting to being a “little bit drunk.” The event also became a farewell party for Manchester City captain Fernandinho, who will return to his native Brazil this summer after nine years and 12 trophies with the club. “When I came here for the first time and met someone from Manchester City, they said, ‘Listen, we want you to be one of the leaders, we want you to be a champion,” the 37-year-old Fernandinho said. “When I look back, all of the titles we won are special.”
Manchester City Aim To End Liverpool’s Quadruple Bid In Premier League Climax
Manchester City has the destiny of the Premier League title in their hands heading into Sunday’s final day showdown, with the defending champions holding a slender one-point lead over quadruple-chasing Liverpool. Pep Guardiola’s men will claim a fourth English title in five years of a dominant era for Manchester City with victory over Aston Villa. “It’s difficult to control your emotions when you know what you are playing for,” said City manager Guardiola. “The players are human beings, but it’s football; it is not over when you think that it is over.” The City knows that their cost has been minutes away from the Champions League final to blow a two-goal lead in their semi-final, second leg against Real Madrid earlier this month. “The importance is unnecessary to tell them,” added Guardiola. “They know it; they feel it.”
Liverpool will instead face Real in next weekend’s battle to be crowned champions of Europe in Paris as they remain in contention for an unprecedented haul of four major trophies in the one season. Jurgen Klopp’s men have already lifted the League Cup and FA Cup. “Imagine somebody tells you before the season you’ll be in all three cup finals and want to fight for the league,” said Liverpool manager Klopp. “The boys did it –- fed by the people here in the building, our supporters, and all these kinds of things. “It’s a fantastic time for a Liverpool supporter, and now we have to make sure we enjoy the last two games as well,” the German added.
The presence of Liverpool great and now Villa manager Steven Gerrard on the opposition bench at the Etihad adds extra intrigue to the decisive day in the title race. Gerrard famously never won a league title in his 17-year career at Anfield but could deliver one on a plate to his old club. Anything other than a City win will allow Liverpool to take the title with victory at home to Wolves. “We’ll go out at the weekend and give it everything we’ve got to try and get points for Aston Villa and our supporters,” said Gerrard. “If that inevitably helps Liverpool, fantastic, but my priority is to try and get points for Aston Villa.”
The dominance of Liverpool & Man City is inevitable for the next PL Seasons
With either Manchester City or Liverpool winning four of the last Premier League titles, it’s safe to say that these two sides have been the most dominant forces in English football over the years. On Sunday evening, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s men locked horns for the coveted crown again, with Manchester City sitting just a point above their title rivals after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Speaking during an exclusive interview with Martin Blackburn of The Sun centred around the mammoth clash of the weekend, Manchester City skipper Fernandinho has highlighted the pair’s supremacy in the English game and discussed how their reign could continue for years to come. “In the last few years, both (Manchester) City and Liverpool have made their intentions clear and taken their place above the other Premier League teams,” he explained.
“Both have reached a tactical and physical level above the other teams, and results they achieve in the league are testament to that.” Fernandinho said, “The ambitions of both – results and goals are very similar. It is no coincidence that these are the two top sides. It’s a healthy rivalry, and I believe both can continue to lead the way in the domestic league for many seasons to come.” Pep Guardiola held a similar belief to the Brazilian midfielder in stating that the Sky Blues and the Reds have ‘raised the bar’ of Premier League football, as the numbers showcase that they boast two of the highest points tallies in the history of the competition. While the extravagant summer business conducted by Manchester United and Chelsea in comparison to City and Liverpool’s underwhelming transfer windows led several pundits to tip a new winner for the league title, nothing could have been any further from how things ultimately panned out.
Conclusion
Ten years from that unforgettable moment from Sergio Aguero at Queen’s Park Rangers, City picked themselves up off the floor again and mustered another late comeback to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and clinch the Premier League title. This time, they didn’t need a goal with the last kick of the game, but they did need to rally from 2-0 down to get the points required to hold off Liverpool’s challenge and clear the final hurdle of the thrilling race. Manchester City’s fourth title in the English Premier League. Arsenal and Manchester United have dropped out of the contenders. For the next Premier League(PL) seasons, the absolute dominance of Liverpool and Manchester City is inevitable.
