After holding off a team that had one of the greatest seasons in English top-flight history on their way to consecutive Premier League titles, it’s time to acknowledge that Manchester City’s title defense may be England’s best ever.
They are the champions!
What looked like a long shot in the cold, dreary days of December, when they were seven points adrift of the league summit, Manchester City just won consecutive top flight titles for the first time in their history!
Manchester City won 14 games on the bounce to end the season. That feat, which ties the second longest league winning run in England’s history, led them to win the league by a solitary point over Liverpool.
Their feat of accumulating 98 points this season, after finishing with 100 points the year prior (first time in English history that a club reached that mark), means City have finished the past two seasons with an average of 99 points.
Prior to the past two seasons, no team in modern Premier League history had ever gotten more than 95 points in a single season.
Manchester City’s points totals in consecutive seasons is even a new height of achievement for their decorated manager: Pep Guardiola. Guardiola’s Barcelona sides reached some of the greatest heights any club side ever has. Even they weren’t able to average 99 points over any two seasons he was there (their best was when they averaged 97.5 points per season between 2009-10 (99), and 2010-11 (96)).
The shear scale of Manchester City’s accomplishment, however, is only beginning to set in. Though there have been many incredible sides that have graced a pitch in England, an argument could be made that this Manchester City side’s title defense may be the greatest in English top flight history.
Let’s take a look at some of the factors lending in City’s favor.