Written By: Robin Van Paassen
Edited By: Irtaza Khan
With the Premier League success of the last decade, you could argue that Manchester, for the first time, is blue rather than red. After several decades of trailing far behind Sir Alex Ferguson's illustrious 13 titles since the Premier League's inception in 1992, Manchester City has finally come into form. Winning four titles and finishing in the top five every season of the last decade, Manchester City undoubtedly was the most consistent side in the English topflight.
Immersed in investments by the newfound owner Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City has been completely transforming their status from average to a legitimate title contender every season.
Spearheaded by the high-flying coach and former Barcelona deep-lying playmaker Pep Guardiola since 2016, Manchester City has won an impressive eight domestic trophies thus far.
Continuing the winning form of back-to-back Premier League titles before the decade's end, Guardiola's men eyed to make it a three-peat in 2020. However, a mere one-point table difference between table standings in the previous campaign was not enough to ward off the newly crowned Champion's League winners, Liverpool, for yet another season. A pandemic delayed season saw Manchester City fall 18 points short of the serial winners. Back to the drawing board.
The clean slate of the 2021 season was the start of another opportunity to revitalize winning ways. Bolstering their options and replacing a few weak links, Manchester city signed promising players such as Rúben Dias, Nathan Aké, and Valencia product Ferran Torres over the prolonged summer transfer window.
Despite displaying a well-rounded team with quality substitutes for just about every position, translating this to success in the immediate moment was deemed unfruitful. The ball was yet to start rolling. Weakness showed early on, given a 5-2 thrashing by Leicester City. After the ninth matchday, Manchester City was a staggering 9th in the table. Handed a 2-0 loss at the hands of table leaders Tottenham Hotspur, change was necessary.
9th place saw the worst start in over a decade for Manchester City. They conceded 11 goals while only scoring a mere 12 goals in return. Adjustments were imminent. Utilizing an attacking 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1 formation alongside the often used 4-2-3-1 presumed to have brought a flourish for newfound results.
A glimpse of a rebound emerging came in a 5-0 trouncing of relegation-bound, Burnley. Despite lackluster draws against Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City set on a rampant climb to the top.
Opening up into a top-five spot came with a little luck, as several title-contending teams saw their fortune run low in favour of the in-form Manchester City. Inconsistency issues at both Manchester United and Tottenham saw them falling off the race for a first-place lead. Chelsea had their manager sacked after numerous poor domestic results. Dramatically, Liverpool lost their star defender Virgil van Dijk alongside other crucial players spiraling into a domino effect, ultimately resulting in a miserable team mentality. This made way for Manchester City to pounce.
An irrepressible Manchester City picked up 39 points, winning all of their last 13 outings. Clearing the table 10 points ahead of Manchester United and Leicester City, the Manchester blue may well run away with it, if their current form continues.
Major credit goes to a spotless defense conceding a league-low four goals since the ninth matchday. By matchday 25, Manchester City has held 15 clean sheets averaging two goals a game, netting only three less times than Manchester United's 53 goals. Arguably, Rúben Dias has become the Premier League's most prominent center-back with his impeccable performances in combination with Rodri for the most passes in the competition. The backline has combined to allow just 1.92 shots on target per game. Synergy has been ever apparent with league-leading 17,019 passes with a 92.3%, 92.1%, and 73.5% success rate of short, medium, and long passes, respectively. Manchester City is playing as a complete unit, free flowingly dismantling opponents, as six players have three or more assists. Despite missing star striker Sergio Agüero due to injuries, the offensive end has been nothing less than remarkable since the revival in form.
On the offensive, Manchester City sits second with 140 shots on target, creating a ratio of 2.8 shots per goal. Furthermore, Manchester City outclasses their opponents with 25.35 shot-creating actions per 90 versus their opponent's total of 10.76. Firing on all cylinders with immense striking qualities, Manchester City has six players with three or more goals. Possessing a goal + assist - penalty kicks made per 90 of 3.24 versus a meager 0.64 from opponents, Manchester City is a force to be reckoned with in the final third.
Back at the helm, Manchester City sits at the top of the table with 59 points, searching for their seventh title. The indestructible side sits at a record-breaking 13 consecutive wins in the Premier League and an 18-game winning streak in all competitions. A resurgence in Guardiola's men has them knocking on the door outside of domestic competition as well. Yet to have won their first illustrious Champions League trophy, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain are the only real threat to this lethal side. Can Manchester City be the first English side to win the treble this century? Only time will tell.
References
Comments