LONDON (AFP) - Manchester City became the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League on Sunday (May 12) as a 4-1 victory at Brighton capped a remarkable 14-game winning run which saw them edge out Liverpool in a thrilling title race.
Here, Agence France-Presse Sport looks at five of the key players that led Pep Guardiola's men to the title:
Sergio Aguero
City have now won the title in four of the past eight seasons and one of the few common strands has been Aguero's goals.
The Argentine has shrugged off the doubts Guardiola had about his suitability for the Catalan's style of football when he first arrived in Manchester to reinstate himself firmly as City's first-choice striker.
Aguero has now scored at least 20 Premier League goals in five straight seasons, the first player to do so since Thierry Henry.
Â
And many of his 21 this season were the most important ones in City's run to the title.
His instant response as Brighton threatened a final-day surprise settled nerves on Sunday; he bagged hat-tricks against Chelsea and Arsenal; scored the opener at home to Liverpool; and the winner in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Burnley by forcing the ball a mere 30 millimetres over the line.
On such small margins, the title race was won.
Aymeric Laporte
The French defender was signed for a then club-record £57 million (S$101 million) in January 2018 and after settling in during the second half of last season, has become the mainstay of Guardiola's defence.
The 24-year-old has played more minutes in the Premier League this season than any other City outfield player and was rightly rewarded with a place in the PFA's team of the year.
Laporte's ability to distribute the ball accurately from the back is why Guardiola was so keen to bring him to the Etihad from Athletic Bilbao, but he also possesses the pace and physical power to cope with the rigours of the Premier League with ease as he showed in scoring the goal that put City in front at Brighton.
Fernandinho
City's strength in depth has been key to holding off Liverpool's charge despite going deep in four competitions, but if there is one player that Guardiola's squad does not have a natural replacement for it is Fernandinho.
The Brazilian's presence was badly missed in December defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester that threatened to kill off City's title defence.
He was rushed back to steady the ship and was outstanding in the 2-1 win over Liverpool on January 3 that ultimately proved the difference between the sides.
Bernardo Silva
The diminutive Portuguese playmaker had to wait patiently for his chance to shine, having spent most of his debut season on the sidelines, but from the first game of this campaign Guardiola claimed his preferred line-up was "Bernardo and 10 more".
Silva's seven goals and eight assists in the Premier League have helped make up for Kevin De Bruyne's lengthy absences.
However, he is far from a luxury player who adds a final flourish. In the decisive January victory over Liverpool, he ran 13.7 kilometres, then a season-high for distance covered by any player in the Premier League.
"I love him, it's simple like that," said Guardiola.
Raheem Sterling
His status as a frontline campaigner in the fight to rid football of racism played a big part in his crowning as the football writers' player of the year.
But the England star has grown in stature both on and off the pitch this season.
His 23 goals in all competitions matches his personal best for a single season and Guardiola's insistence in using him in almost every game, despite having Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez in reserve, speaks volumes of how important Sterling has become to City's fortunes.
Crystal Palace piled further pressure on Leicester City manager Claude Puel on Saturday with a comprehensive 4-1 Premier League win over his team, who have now gone seven games without a victory.
Palace rout Leicester to step up pressure on Puel - Football
Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk both scored twice as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a dominant performance against Watford to stay top of the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp's side were 2-0
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford 5-0 to stay top of league
Jürgen Klopp's pre-match prediction proved to be spot on - all good things do come in threes.And after the match he warned again: Liverpool's sixth UEFA Champions trophy is only the beginning under his watch. "It's like this is still only the start," he said. "This club is about winning.
'This is only the start', says Jürgen Klopp after Liverpool's
Mauricio Pochettino took his share of the blame for "sloppy" Tottenham's 1-0 Champions League semi-final first leg defeat against Ajax after admitting he used the wrong tactics. Pochettino's side made a dismal start as Donny van de Beek put Ajax ahead after just 15 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
Football: Aston Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom Aston Villa's Jack Grealish (left) and John McGinn celebrate after winning the penalty shootout against West Bromwich on
Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Qatar punished unwelcoming hosts United Arab Emirates 4-0 in a politically charged clash marred by disgraceful behaviour from shoe-throwing fans on Tuesday (Jan 29) to reach
Qatar thrash UAE amid shoe barrage to reach Asian Cup final
newburghgazette.com/2019/01/30/qatar-thrash-uae-amid-shoe-barrage-to-reach-asian-cup-final/
A regional boycott of Qatar, led by Saudi Arabia, has impacted the team's logistics at the Asian Cup and made it hard for the country's fans to attend games. Qatar banned products originating from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, in May 2018.
Qatar thrash UAE amid shoe barrage to reach Asian Cup final
Football: Kramaric nets late winner as Croatia beat Azerbaijan 2-1 ZAGREB (REUTERS) - Croatia were forced to dig deep as they came from behind to beat unfancied Azerbaijan 2-1 at home in their opening Euro 2020 Group E qualifier after forward Andrej Kramaric scored a 79th winner on Thursday (March 21).
Andrej Kramaric nets late winner as Croatia beat Azerbaijan 2
23 1978, The Times, #60264, UK (en)_djvu.txt
Search the history of over 357 billion web pages on the Internet.
Loot.co.za: Sitemap
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu was naturally disappointed that his side missed out on a winning a fifth Asian Cup title on Friday but believes the improvement of the squad augurs well for the future. The Samurai Blue went into the final as warm favorites to clinch the continental crown but…
Japan coach disappointed but pleased with progress at Asian Cup
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association for kicking a bottle which hit a Brighton fan during last week's Premier League match between the sides.
Arsenal boss Emery fined £8,000 for kicking water bottle
Teenage sensation Moise Kean scored the winner to put Juventus one step away from an eighth consecutive Serie A title on Saturday as a 2-1 comeback win over AC Milan pushed the champions 21 points
Moise Kean puts Juventus on brink of Serie A title - Daily Nation
We lack rub of the green: Simeone, Football News & Top Stories April 7, 2019 John Football 0 BARCELONA • It was all going to plan for Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Yahoo
Newport manager Michael Flynn says beating Manchester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday would represent the biggest shock in the history of the competition. County are 82 places
Victory over Man City would be biggest FA Cup shock ever
Women's World Cup: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria
Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal as Arsenal dispatched Napoli 1-0 on Thursday to advance to the Europa League semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate. Lacazette's stunning 36th-minute free-kick put
Arsenal win in Napoli to reach Europa League semi-finals
0 comments:
Post a Comment