Manchester City’s 2019 Premier League Title Is Even Sweeter Than the Last
I’ve always believed that the villain makes the hero. After all, what is triumph without a struggle, victory without adversity? For those searching for narratives through which we can enjoy a game centered around kicking a leather ball into a net, the answer is: a historically lopsided win is historically boring.
Pep Guardiola and co. had a record setting campaign last season, scoring more points in the table than any Premier League squad ever, while also closing the title race by more points than any team before them. But the accomplishments rang a bit hollow with the inescapable feeling that this team was not truly pushed by any opponent other than their own mental hurdles.
This season, playing the role of the Houston Rockets to Man City’s Golden State, Liverpool felt they were up to the challenge. Setting records in the transfer market, they matched City’s wallet to give Klopp the firepower needed to deploy his relentless style for a full campaign. To go along with the personnel changes, Liverpool got the necessary breaks for a real title challenge.
Kevin De Bruyne’s injury absences left a Kevin Durant sized hole in City’s midfield for large portions of the season. Couple that with Mendy’s constantly nagging injuries and Fernandinho’s trouble down the stretch, and you have a Guy Fiera-quality recipe for a new Premier League champion.
Halfway through the season, Liverpool had the lead, and City had the adversity. To me, it was hard to see this injury-plagued team close the five point gap and win the league. Like a cartoon character trying to plug every hole in a sinking ship all at once, Pep and his boys found solutions to nearly every problem presented to them.
Timely goals and lucky breaks began to fall City’s way, and they managed to reel off 14 straight wins to close the campaign — a number that somehow feels more impressive than the record-setting 18 straight wins they had in 2017–18 due to the enormous pressure applied by Liverpool.
I know that many read the first sentence in this story and quickly thought of City as the villain, and Liverpool the hero who fell short. City are the found-money little brothers of the Premier League, with nearly as many financial scandals titles (and heartbreaking UCL exits). But what City accomplished this year, on a human and sporting level, is remarkable regardless of the eternal controversy surrounding this team. They beat a squad that legitimately was championship material, who may in fact end up being crowned champions of Europe. In any other season but last year, the Reds would’ve been lifting the trophy themselves. They pushed City to the breaking point this year, and City responded with steadiness, execution, and the ballsiest 40 yard rocket you’ll ever see.
This team could have, and maybe should have lost, but they found a way to overcome their own injuries, the pressure of defending a championship, and, most importantly, the greatest title challenger in Premier League History.
Say what you will about City and Pep (it’s all for sure, 100% true), but this Beverly Hillbillies-story soccer/football organization did something no other team in Premier League history could have done: topple this 2019 Liverpool team.
That feat alone makes this title one of the most impressive wins we’ll ever see.
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