The disappointment of losing a tie you deserved to win can often be crushing. Football history is replete with teams whose seasons have been derailed by such a defeat. So, when Manchester City exited the European Champions League in the quarterfinals – beaten on penalties by Real Madrid – there was plenty of speculation about how it might impact their hopes of winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-tier title.
We can debate style and efficacy till the cows come home, but the reality is that City couldn’t see off Real over two legs in which they had two-thirds of the possession. Carlo Ancelotti, the Real coach who beat Liverpool in a Champions League final while having just two shots on target (2022), once again confounded experts and fans who marvel at his ability to get results without having a clear playing philosophy like, say, a Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp.
On the domestic front, too, City didn’t look as formidable as they had while winning the treble last season. On December 7, 2023, they went to Birmingham and were comprehensively outplayed by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. The 0-1 loss was their third in 15 league games, and it left them six points adrift of Arsenal at the top. Even Villa were two points clear in third.
It speaks volumes of City’s resilience that they have bounced back to such an extent that they are once again favourites to do what no English football team ever has. That they have done so without their closest challengers falling away in the home stretch makes City’s achievement even more praiseworthy. Arsenal thumped Chelsea 5-0 in midweek to maintain their title charge, and though Liverpool’s hopes are almost certainly over after a first derby defeat at Goodison Park since 2010, the Merseysiders were top of the table after 30 games.
If City do win a fourth straight crown, they would definitely have done it the hard way. Pivotal matches against Liverpool and Arsenal in March were both drawn, with the feeling being that the champions had surrendered the initiative. Since then, though, they have thumped Villa 4-1 at home, beaten a revitalised Crystal Palace 4-2 away, thrashed Luton Town 5-1 and beaten an accomplished Brighton side 4-0 on the south coast.
The Brighton game on Thursday night was seen as a big banana skin, especially with Roberto De Zerbi, their coach, one of those conceivably in the frame to replace Klopp at Anfield. But a wonderful, and rare, diving header from Kevin de Bruyne sent City on their way, and Phil Foden then showed why he’s a shoo-on for Young Player of the Year with another virtuoso performance and two goals.
Three of the five teams City have left to play have almost nothing at stake. Fulham and Wolves are safely mid-table, while West Ham United’s European qualifications hopes have almost faded. Only Nottingham Forest, still scrambling for survival, and Tottenham Hotspur, chasing Villa for the last Champions League spot, have incentive to try and go toe to toe with the champions.
Spurs, and Ange Postecoglou, their Australian coach, will play each of the top three in the coming weeks. If they beat Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday, City will pretty much have a hand on the trophy. But Spurs also travel to Liverpool on May 5, and then host City in the penultimate round of matches on May 15. Spurs’ season may have tailed off, thanks largely to mid-season injuries to key players, but the Postecoglou project has breathed life into a club that was going nowhere after the Mauricio Pochettino years.
For Klopp, there will be no fairy-tale farewell. From sitting pretty a fortnight ago to the derby meltdown was a sobering reminder of how this is a team in transition, which punched well above its weight just to stay in the race so long. No, if City are to be pushed to the wire, that challenge will come from Mikel Arteta, who learned his trade from Pep Guardiola, the master, himself.
Arsenal have outscored City and Liverpool, and have the best defence in the league. The acquisition of Declan Rice last summer has transformed a side that had a soft middle and lacked a leader. Martin Odegaard has shown the form that made him a Real player at 16, and Kai Havertz has blossomed in recent weeks thanks to the faith shown in him.
Given their experience of winning the big prizes, City are prohibitive favourites. But let’s see what Postecoglou – the joker in the pack who grew up supporting Liverpool with his Greek father in Melbourne – has in store for us, starting with the Arsenal game on Sunday.
For more sports content: https://revsportz.in/