The key moments in Manchester City’s march to the title

By Joseph Lubandi

Posted on April 16, 2018

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Over the weekend, Manchester City sealed the Premier League title off the field with five games to go after Manchester United’s shock defeat against relegation battlers West Bromwich Albion on Sunday evening.

However, City’s title tittle triumph did not come unnoticed because Pep Guardiola’s men have all season showed signs of worthy a champion. We take a look back at some of the most magical and memorable moments of the season.

Ederson signing and defense overhaul

During the summer transfer, Pep went for goalkeeper Ederson at a cost of £34.7million from Benfica, making him the most expensive. The Brazilian has lived up to the billing making sensational saves and it’s the reason he is only two clean sheets behind David De Gea who is on 16. Again in the summer, City spent £123million on full backs Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo as it showed exist to other full backs Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Aleks Kolarov and Gael Clichy. Still in January, Guardiola added Aymeric Laporte at a record fee of £57m. The citizens have only conceded 25 goals compared to the 39 last seasons.

18 games straight wins

After a 1-1 draw against Everton in the second game of the season, Guardiola’s men went on a riot of wining 18-games in a row which gave them hopes of taming the title.

Mourinho’s white flag: December 10

United’s manager conceded the title was ‘probably over’ after the derby defeat at Old Trafford, with City opening up an 11-point lead. The unseemly tunnel fracas that followed, instigated in part by City’s celebrations, showed just how frustrated United were and how domineering their neighbours felt. Pogba’s 74th minute red card rules him out of next week’s visit of Manchester City and exacerbates United’s central midfield issues. Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are already sidelined through injury while Nemanja Matic completed 90 minutes at Arsenal despite not being fully fit. The likelihood is United manager Jose Mourinho will rest Matic for the CSKA Moscow Champions League tie at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Rookie Scott McTominay could earn a start and Mourinho must decide whether to risk Ander Herrera ahead of the derby on December 10.

Sterling yet again: November 29

Games were coming thick and fast but Sterling continued to produce, this time in the sixth minute of stoppage time to sink Southampton 2-1. Guardiola was enraged by Southampton’s negative tactics. Having seen some of their rivals cut open by City in the early part of the season, teams began to adopt more defensive mindsets against them in the late autumn. It was a difficult spell, but ultimately City still prevailed, grinding out victories over Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham. The victory over Saints seemed psychologically critical, coming with a stunning Sterling winner deep into added time that sparked jubilant scenes.

Beauty in beating Stoke: October 14

Six scorers found the net in beating Stoke 7-2 but the man of the match was De Bruyne, who had a hand in four goals. One breathtaking assist, removing four Stoke players from the game in one arced swoop for Leroy Sane to finish, must surely rank as the pass of the season.

Win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge: September 30

This was not the result, or Kevin De Bruyne’s sensational winner, but the way in which City strangled Chelsea — the Premier League champions — in their own back yard. It was death by possession. As well as demolishing some sides, Pep Guardiola’s men showed they could prise open the most stubborn of opponents. Their slender victory at Stamford Bridge was just such a case. City dominated but it took a spectacular strike from Kevin De Bruyne to settle the affair.

December 10: Man Utd 1 Man City 2

The headlines may have been dominated by a post-match fracas outside the dressing room, but City took a decisive step towards the title by beating their rivals at Old Trafford to establish an 11-point lead at the top. David Silva and Otamendi capitalised on defensive mistakes to secure victory for dominant City either side of a Marcus Rashford strike.

December 16: Man City 4 Tottenham 1

De Bruyne produced an inspired display as City again showed their class by hammering Spurs. The Belgian got on the scoresheet after Ilkay Gundogan netted first while Sterling grabbed two more after Jesus missed a penalty.

March 1: Arsenal 0 Man City 3

The title race became a procession as Arsenal, for the second time in four days after losing the Carabao Cup final, allowed City to coast to victory at the Emirates Stadium. Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Sane were on target as sublime City effectively got the job done inside 33 minutes.

via: Matooke Republic