And so, some 136 years after the founding of the Football League, England finally has a team that has made the quartet. City of Manchester It is the first team to be champion in four consecutive seasons. Pep Guardiola has a historic achievement – another, given the rare and unique distinctions he has engineered and accumulated amid his own record of unparalleled success. There is debate over whether this City team is the best England has ever seen, but it can claim to be the most ruthless. Since the Club World Cup, they have taken 57 points from a possible 63. If Arsenal’s excellence left little room for error in the contest, City made none, finishing with nine consecutive victories, each by at least two goals. They turned winning into a routine: over games, months, seasons and an era.
What remains is the strange juxtaposition of 115 accusations still unheard and the brilliance of local Phil Foden, but for now, the latter has proven to be the determining factor. Anyone who subscribes to the idea that West Ham could give Arsenal the title, the Premier League a seismic disturbance, and David Moyes a glorious farewell was quickly disillusioned with it. Although City have already faced drama on the final day, Guardiola’s prediction that this would be like the last stressful game against Aston Villa in 2022 proved very wrong. Mohammed Kudus was a late contender for goal of the season, but only when City were already on the rise. One goal up in 80 seconds, two goals up in 20 minutes, this was a walk in the sun. City were dominant, Foden unrestrained, and their first two goals were yet another illustration of their ability to score goals that are important and excellent.
Although Guardiola’s remarkable managerial career brought 12 league titles in 15 seasons, at the age of 23, Foden won the Premier League for the sixth time. It underlines the scale of City’s success in recent years that only five Manchester United greats – Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Denis Irwin and Roy Keane – now have more winners’ medals. It was also symbolic that City’s goal that day came from their two best players of the season. Foden made decisive contributions, often in spectacular style. He illustrated why he was named Footballer of the Year. Rodri, who finished third in the voting, scored the third goal; top scorer in the Champions League final victory a year ago, he added another telling goal. It was thanks to a goalkeeping error, with Alphonse Areola merely pushing his low shot away, but his ninth goal of the campaign is an excellent return for a defensive midfielder.
Foden has three times as many, his 27, including 14 in the last 14 league games. He led City to glory and, in the end, he was likely to shine. He began with an immediate indication of why he received the personal awards. There was something clinically devastating about his opening goal: receiving Bernardo Silva’s pass, beating James Ward-Prowse with his first touch and firing into the top corner with his second. He doubled the score with an equally confident finish, again with his left foot. The first came from outside the box, the second almost from the penalty spot, with Foden connecting with Jeremy Doku’s low shot.
Duly boosted, City threatened a defeat. They had 10 shots on goal in the first half; with the notable exception of Foden, they were wasteful. A couple of mistakes from Erling Haaland – a mistake wide when the goal was open and a high shot when assisted by Doku – offered a snapshot of his season; the Golden Shoe came among the opportunities to score even more. But Guardiola’s decision to sign Doku was rewarded, with the winger in danger. He tested Areola twice with strong blows. Kevin De Bruyne also came close twice.
City’s only shock came without warning. Although Moyes’ style of football was a factor in his departure, he made some precious signings for West Ham, and the last goal of his reign was wonderful, with Kudus scoring a magnificent header. There was a time in the past when City’s propensity for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory would have made this the start of a comeback. Those days seem distant now, however, and not just because Tomas Soucek’s late goal was disallowed for handball: this was the third time that Guardiola’s City had won the title in the final game, remaining calm on each occasion, and Rodri scored the third. . That made events at the Emirates irrelevant, although Foden’s quick goal had already highlighted their ability to demoralize their rivals.
“Are you watching, Arsenal?” came the chorus after Foden’s second goal. More often, though, the soundtrack was “Champions Again.” And again, and again. And in the years since 1888, no one had put together four in a row. Until now, and until Guardiola City.
