Pep Guardiola’s transformation of Manchester City is complete after securing his first Premier League title thanks to Manchester United’s 1-0 home loss to West Brom. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 74th minute through Jay Rodriguez and stood tall.
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A side meticulously molded and prepared by Pep Guardiola won a record 18 straight Premier League games from August to late December, and they’ve put up plenty more impressive numbers.
City’s form away from home has been remarkable this season, but in what would surely be one of the best games the Premier League has ever seen, 1998/99 United’s irresistible knack for an injury-time victor proves too strong for their rivals.
Taking a giant step towards the title at the expense of Manchester United was a sweet moment for City, whose mature performance at Old Trafford was the season’s signature moment. On the whole, they do.
In many ways, Manchester City’s battling win over Tottenham was the ideal response to their troubling week.
City’s possession average of 65.9 percent is way ahead of Arsenal, in second, with 58.9 percent. Their next match is at home to Swansea City on Sunday. But having surrendered leads to United and Liverpool in the previous seven days, the visitors could have stumbled once more when Christian Eriksen brought Spurs back into the game before the break.
What do you get when you combine the world’s most coveted coach, financial backers with bottomless pockets, and the most talented group of players in the country? Because if it was done they would not play the way they play.
Sergio Aguero is a genius, a top player, ‘ said Guardiola.
“Any player who has played under him has had success because of him and because of the way he has improved them as individuals and enabled them to unlock their full potential”. “In other times we almost threw it away”.
Guardiola’s first City team last season had a number of weaknesses, but the most glaring in that work-in-process was in goal, where Claudio Bravo struggled hugely after joining from Barcelona.
“And, fingers crossed, he will go to Russian Federation injury free and still in good form, and as a Premier League victor to boot”.
But they moved within touching distance of the title in the 72nd minute.
One defensive area where they haven’t excelled is Opta-defined errors.
“You could see the difference in attitude with some players compared to other weeks”. You can’t take risks without any consequences. That will be achieved by United losing at Bournemouth on Wednesday or if Jose Mourinho’s side draws with both West Brom and Bournemouth.
Beating an English rival, though, proved beyond City in the Champions League – going out in the quarterfinals to Liverpool on Tuesday. “But the Premier League is one of the nicest and most important”. They averaged more shots in total and on target than City, but Guardiola’s side have the advantage on those stats in defense. It’s one of the best by far.
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Jonathan is ESPN FC’s Manchester City correspondent.
