Source: BBC Sport via Twitter
Manchester City blew their competition away in the Premier League last season to claim the title with a record number of points. Pep Guardiola’s men were truly dominant in the league, while they also claimed the EFL Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Arsenal. However, their quest for the quadruple was ended in the FA Cup by their stunning defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic, while Liverpool knocked the club out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
City were considered the overwhelming favourites to win the Premier League once again. They are among the contenders aiming to capitalise on Real Madrid’s tumultuous summer to prise the Champions League crown out of the hands of the Galacticos. Guardiola assembled a previously unstoppable unit at Barcelona in their run to three-straight La Liga titles between 2008 and 2011. The Spaniard was never able to clinch four crowns in a single season, although the Catalan club secured all three available titles in the 2008/09 term. Guardiola’s side came close in the 2010/11 campaign, winning La Liga along with the Champions League and the Supercopa Espana. However, Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike in extra-time denied Barca the Copa del Rey.
Guardiola has assembled a unit capable of capturing all four titles available to City this term. They started the new campaign in imperious fashion, dispatching Arsenal with relative ease at the Emirates Stadium. The Citizens barely had to break out of first gear to defeat the Gunners as goals from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva decided the contest. City opted not to spend lavishly over the summer, adding only Riyad Mahrez into their squad from last season in a £60m move from Leicester City. Despite their inactivity, Guardiola’s men are the outright favourites at 8/13 in the odds on Man City to win league 2019, becoming the first team since their bitter rivals Manchester United in 2009 to win back-to-back titles.
Source: ManCityMAS via Twitter
Liverpool appear to be their strongest challenges, but the depth City boast should see off a threat at least for this term. The same applies for the cup competitions, although they are vulnerable in one-off matches as their defeat to League One outfit Wigan proved in the FA Cup. Championship side Bristol City almost produced a stunning upset in the EFL Cup at the semi-final stage so there is a concern there. If City play to the peak of their powers in all three domestic competitions then they should have no problem claiming the three crowns.
The Champions League is their white whale and has become an area of struggle for Guardiola. Although he won Europe’s elite competition with Barcelona twice in three years. The Spaniard has not lifted the trophy since Barca’s win over Manchester United at Wembley in the 2010/11 term. He failed to get over the line in three years at Bayern Munich, while his first two years at City have ended in disappointment. There will be pressure on him to deliver, and the biggest threat could come from his two former teams, although Paris Saint-Germain also have a weight of expectation. To eclipse his performances at Barcelona, City and Guardiola will need to capture all four crowns, but most importantly the Champions League.
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