Manchester City had a historic comeback over Aston Villa, this Sunday (22), to win the Premier League title, in a match for the last round of the competition. Pep Guardiola’s team won 3-2 in a fantastic comeback. He was trailing by two goals until the 30th minute of the second half and got the victory by scoring three times in five minutes.
City ended the championship with 93 points, just one point ahead of Liverpool, who beat Wolverhampton 3-1, also on a comeback, in a match held at the same time. Midfielder Gündogan came off the bench to become the hero of Guardiola’s team, scoring two of the home team’s three goals.
It was City’s fourth title in the last five seasons – the team was runner-up in 2019/20, behind now second-placed Liverpool. This Sunday, the triumph was confirmed over an opponent led by the historic idol of the Reds Steven Gerrard and who had no more goals in the league, but who gave the home team a lot of work.
In common during this period, in addition to the massive investments of the UAE royal family and some players who have become pillars of the team, such as Kevin De Bruyne, was the presence of coach Pep Guardiola on the sidelines.
Signed in February 2016, the Catalan quickly made his mark on the English team. Coming from three seasons at Bayern Munich, it took him a season to adjust his ideas to the new English reality and stamped City with the objective and engaging football he has built since his Barcelona days.
In the current tournament, threatened in fact only by the Reds of Jürgen Klopp, his rival already in the Bundesliga running Borussia Dortmund, Guardiola took City to the last round depending on himself to expand hegemony in the English.
The new Premier League achievement also marked the farewell of Brazilian Fernandinho, another pillar and idol of the Manchester team in these years of titles.
The midfielder said at a press conference in April that he intended to return to Brazil and took Guardiola by surprise. Before the game on Sunday, the player was honored with a mosaic in the club’s training center, where he has played since 2013.
Obviously celebrated by the fans, the title of the current season lives, however, under the shadow of failures in the European Champions League, the team’s main objective since receiving the financial support that linked it to the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008.
Since the 2016/17 season, already with Guardiola, the team is on the way in the tournament. The new coach’s debut marked his worst spell in the continental championship, with elimination to Monaco in the round of 16.
From there, quarter-final defeats to Liverpool, Tottenham and Lyon, until the 2020/21 final, lost to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
In the current tournament, another elimination, and quite dramatic: after winning 4-3 at home and taking the lead at the Santiago Bernabéu, they conceded two goals from Rodrygo in extra time in the second half, another one from Benzema in extra time, and said goodbye. to the Champions League dream again.
Liverpool, on the other hand, ride a better wave and don’t see second place in the Premier League as much of a disappointment. Champion of the English League Cup in February and the FA Cup in May, Klopp’s team is in the Champions League final and was flirting, until this Sunday, with the quadruple crown in an impeccable season. The decision of the Champions League, against Real Madrid, will be on Saturday (28), in Paris.
But City has not given up on the Champions League, and intends to attempt the unprecedented title with Guardiola. Earlier this month, the team hired Norwegian Erling Haaland, a coveted forward for Borussia Dortmund who was also quoted at Real and Paris Saint-Germain. The top scorer arrives to occupy the space in shirt 9, sought by the Catalan coach in the last two seasons, without success.
The next attempt, however, may be the last. Right now, Guardiola’s contract with City runs until the end of the first half of 2023, when the English team could be celebrating their first Champions League title — or looking for a new coach.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
