Was this Pep Guardiola's least-impressive Man City title win? Ranking the genius coach's Premier League triumphs

 Was this Pep Guardiola's least-impressive Man City title win? Ranking the genius coach's Premier League triumphs

The Catalan has made history by winning a fourth successive crown to make it six in total, but which was his best?

Champions again. And again, and again. Manchester City have a vice-like grip on the Premier League title, and good luck to anyone who tries to take it away from them. The Cityzens are celebrating their 10th English league title, their eighth in the Premier League era and their sixth under Pep Guardiola.

And this one is extra special, as they have become the first team in English football history to have won four consecutive crowns. Ever since winning their third title in a row last year, Guardiola had set his eyes on doing something that no team had previously achieved. And as he tends to do, the Catalan has pulled it off.

Not that he will be ranking it above any of his previous five title wins in Manchester, however. Two days before beating West Ham to secure the elusive fourth crown, Guardiola said: "Don't ask me which is more important because every one has been so important. All of the five Premier Leagues we won were so difficult and a there was lot of effort behind them."

But which was the most impressive? GOAL re-lives all six of Guardiola's Premier League triumphs with City, taking into account entertainment, difficulty and how enjoyable they were to watch...

    

62020-21: Emphatic turnaround

By their own ridiculously high standards, City made a terrible start to the 2020-21 campaign, dropping points in five of their opening eight games, leaving them in the unthinkable position of 13th place in the table. Having made such a bad start after surrendering the league to Liverpool the previous season, there was genuine uncertainty about Guardiola's future.

While the team were at their lowest ebb, however, City showed faith in their manager and gave him a new contract in November. It did not immediately galvanise the team as City dropped points in three of their next five games, but they started cooking up something delightful soon enough, winning 15 matches in a row, their second-longest winning streak ever.

Yet despite that ruthless run, which helped City wrap up the title with three games to spare, there was an underwhelming feel to this triumph. That was mostly due to the fact almost every game was played in an empty stadium due to coronavirus restrictions, but it was also the least impressive in terms of points (86). They also scored fewer goals than in any other season under Guardiola.52022-23: Haaland pounces on Arsenal

22018-19: Holding off Liverpool

After leaving all rivals in their wake the previous campaign, City had a very serious contender this time as Liverpool were becoming a formidable force under Jurgen Klopp. And Guardiola's side must have thought the title was gone when they trailed Liverpool by six points at the halfway stage of the season after losing at Leicester City.

But City crucially beat Liverpool by the finest of margins a week later when John Stones famously scrambled the ball off the line, and after losing at Newcastle at the end of January, Guardiola's side went on an astonishing run of 14 consecutive victories to reel Liverpool in and claim their second title under the Catalan.

They finished on 98 points, one clear of Liverpool after one of the most nail-biting title races the league has ever witnessed.

12017-18: The Centurions

Without question, this was the title win to end all title wins. Guardiola had faced plenty of questions about his suitability for English football before he joined City and there was plenty of schadenfreude in the English media and among many supporters when he failed to win a single trophy in his debut season.

But look how he responded. Guardiola addressed the team's biggest weakness, the defence, over the summer, signing three defenders and a goalkeeper, plus Bernardo Silva. And it took no time for his team to click as they won 19 of their opening 20 games.

The Catalan was up against his old adversary Jose Mourinho, but the battle between City and Manchester United was a title race only in name as City raced 11 points clear of the Red Devils after winning 2-1 at Old Trafford in December.

They clinched the title with five games to spare, one of just many records they set that season, including: the most away points (50), the biggest winning margin (19), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18). But most memorably, they obtained a mythical total of 100 points, earning them the nickname 'The Centurions'.This was the season in which Erling Haaland landed on English shores and immediately owned the league, scoring at a breath-taking rate and demolishing records each week. His 36 goals played a huge part in City winning a third-consecutive title for the first time in their history, while Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne all played their part in a stunning run of victories from February to May as City chased down Arsenal.

The 12-match winning streak put City back on track towards the title, yet they were helped by a dramatic collapse from the Gunners, who had been top of the table for 32 out of 38 weeks and held an eight-point advantage with nine games to go. Mikel Arteta's side let the pressure get to them and dropped points in six of their next eight games, chucking away two-goal leads to draw at Liverpool and West Ham, while also drawing 3-3 at home with soon-to-be-relegated Southampton.

The momentum was very much with City when they welcomed the Gunners to the Etihad Stadium in late April, and Guardiola's side hammered them 4-1 to take back control of the title race. They clinched it less than a month later when Arsenal were beaten by Brighton and then Nottingham Forest.

It was undoubtedly a stunning finish from Guardiola's side, spearheaded by Haaland, but Arsenal certainly lent them a hand.

42021-22: Who needs a centre-forward?

City had waved farewell to all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero in the summer of 2021 and played much of this season without a centre-forward. They did not get off to the smoothest of starts, either, dropping points in four of their opening 10 games and falling into third behind Chelsea and Liverpool. But soon enough they got into their usual groove, winning 12 games in a row between November and February.

They took top spot for the first time in December and never let it go, although Liverpool pushed them mightily close. City got off to a dreadful start in their final game of the season against Aston Villa, falling two goals behind, but they roared back to score three times in the space of six minutes, with substitute Gundogan starting and completing the epic comeback.

32023-24: Winning a three-horse race

City had experienced big changes over the summer of 2023 by parting with the serial-winners Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte. Then on the opening day of the season, they lost Kevin De Bruyne for more than five months to injury. But they shook off those difficulties by winning their first six games, equalling their best-ever start to a campaign, with Phil Foden finding the best form of his career.

Their longest wobble came while Rodri was suspended, the Spaniard missing all three of their Premier League defeats, the last of which came in December. The return of De Bruyne, meanwhile, was crucial and helped them get over the line, although at times it wasn't always pretty, such as in April's scrappy win at Forest. City also had an underwhelming record against their rivals, winning just two out of eight matches against the top five.

But this title was still hugely impressive, as they had to see off not one but two title contenders. Liverpool faded in April but Arsenal, unlike the previous season, pushed them right to the bitter end, showing none of the frailties they had previously exhibited. In the end, City just had more mettle and that's why they will go down in the record books as the first team in 135 years of English football to win four titles in a row.