Manchester City since Pep Guardiola arrived.
In this post, I will write about Manchester City since Pep Guardiola arrived.
When Pep Guardiola joined , Manchester City the season from finished 4th level points with rivals Manchester United in the Premier League. Reached the Semi Finals, of the Champions League for the first time. Won the League Cup against Liverpool on penalties but got knocked out by Chelsea in the 5th Round Of the FA Cup.
Before the start of his reign, new players such as John Stones were signed, etc. Club legend Joe Hart was loaned out because he didn't meet the the style of play of Guardiola of keepers playing with his feet so Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo was signed.
Pep Guardiola first Premier League game resulted in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland. For the first 10 games in the Premier League, Manchester City was top of the league. After that, it went downhill. Raising questions about whether Guardiola style of play is suitable for the English game.
Pep Guardiola in his first season, finished 3rd, reached the Round Of 16 of the Champions League before being knocked out by Monaco 5-3 on aggregate. This was a big disappointment for Guardiola who normally finished as semi finalists or champions with Bayern and Barcelona. City were also knocked out in the FA Cup Semi Final by Arsenal and were eliminated by rivals Manchester United in the League Cup 4th round. This was Pep's first trophyless season his management career.
In Pep's second season, City signed many players like Kyle Walker, etc. Many players also left like club legend Pablo Zabaleta who's contract expired.
These new players helped Manchester City, to be consistent in the Premier League, beat the league points record by finishing the season with 100 points. City also beat Arsenal 3-0 in the final to win the League Cup to win the first trophy in the Pep Guardiola reign but were defeated by Wigan in the 5th Round Of the FA Cup. In the Champions League, City were eliminated by Liverpool 5-1 on aggregate in the Quarter Finals.
Overall , it was miles better than the first season showing that the style of play was suitable for the English game. The season finished with 2 trophies.
In Pep's third season, the first team just had one addition which was Riyad Mahrez from Leicester. In the first game , the Community Shield was won against Chelsea with a 2-0 victory. In the league, City had to fight off a fight from Liverpool in order to win the league by one point.
In the FA Cup, City thrashed Watford 6-0 to win the FA Cup for the first time under Pep. The League Cup was won again on penalties 4-3 after a 0-0 draw against Chelsea. In the Champions League, City were knocked out in the Quarter Finals by another English club Spurs on away goals after drawing 4-4. Thus, making it a hat trick of awful campaigns in Europe. The season ended with 4 trophies.
The 4th season, big names like Rodri and Cancelo was signed. This was the first season without club legend Vincent Kompany. The season, began with a trophy with victory over Liverpool on penalties 5-4 after a 1-1 draw.
In the league, City never were top and were second best to champions Liverpool who won the Premier League for the first time. The absence of Vincent Kompany was felt in central defence and this may have been the reason the league was lost. However, for the third season in a row- City won the League Cup against Aston Villa by winning 2-1. In the Champions League, City were eliminated in the Quarters yet again but this time to Lyon 3-1 in a one off game because of the COVID pandemic. In the FA Cup, City were knocked out by Arsenal in the Semis- so the season ended with 2 trophies.
The next season, David Silva club legend was no longer at the club. Players like Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake were signed. In the league, City were poor for a short while of time. They were at one point 14th place but constantly winning resulting in them winning the league and overtaking local rivals Manchester United. In the League Cup, City beat Spurs 1-0 in the final to win it 4 years in a row. In the FA Cup, City reached the Semis only to be eliminated by Chelsea 1-0. For the first time in the history of the club , City reached the Final of the Champions League but were defeated by Chelsea 1-0. This resulted in another season where 2 trophies were won. This was Sergio Agüero's last season at the club, leaving as an legend but with heartbreak because of the final defeat to Chelsea.
The next season, players like English international Jack Grealish was signed for a club record £100m from Aston Villa. The season started with a defeat to Leicester in the Community Shield. Because of the departure of Sergio Agüero, this season City had no striker thus Pep used false 9 regularly. In the league, City won it again defending their crown but with difficulty as they had to hold off Liverpool to finish one point above them like 2018/19. In the FA Cup, City were knocked out in the Semis yet again, losing to title rivals Liverpool 3-2. In the League Cup, City were knocked out by West Ham 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw . In the Champions League, City failed to win it again under specialist Guardiola after being knocked out by Real Madrid 6-5 on aggregate. The season ended with just one trophy.
The season after, players like marquee striker Erling Haaland was signed from Dortmund and Julian Alvarez was signed from River Plate. Players like Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling departed from the club.
The season started with a 3-1 defeat in the Community Shield to Liverpool. The World Cup was played during the season in Qatar which Julian Alvarez won with Argentina. the league, City had to rely on Arsenal dropping points towards the end of the season as well as working hard themselves to win it for the third year in a row. The FA Cup was won against local rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the final. In the League Cup, City were knocked out by Southampton 2-0 in the Quarters. For the first time, in the history of the club, City won the Champions League defeating Italian giants Inter 1-0. This meant Guardiola won the Champions League for the first time at City and the third time in his career after he won it in 2009 and 2011 while managing Barcelona. The season ended with City winning the treble, first English club to do it since Manchester United in 1999. Haaland and Alvarez turned out to be successful signings with both scoring 69 goals between them.
Gündogan lifting FA Cup at Wembley.
Gündogan lifting Premier League.
Gündogan lifting the Champions League.
The season after players like Croatia Internationals Mateo Kovacic and Gvardiol were signed from Chelsea and Leipzig respectively. However, club captain Gündogan left on a free transfer to Barcelona after his contract expired.
Mateo Kovacic
The 2023/24 season began with Manchester City losing to Arsenal 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. However, the first trophy of the season was won against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup after a 1-1 draw which resulted in a penalty shootout which City won 5-4 on penalties.
In the League Cup, City were knocked out in the 3rd round after a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. The second trophy of the season was won in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup. City beat Fluminense 4-0 in the final.
In the Champions League, Manchester City failed to defend it. They were knocked out by Real Madrid on penalties 4-3 after drawing 4-4 after 2 legs despite being the better team over the 2 legs and extra time. In the FA Cup, City are due to play Manchester United in the final for the second season running. In the league, City are fighting Arsenal , for the second year running in the title race, as well as Liverpool, who have been competitors for many years. It's in City hands to claim the 4th League title in 4 years , can Pep claim another one? We will have to wait and see!
Thu far as of 29th April 2024.City under Pep Guardiola have played 467 games : winning 339 times , drawing 66 times and losing 62. Scoring 1,149 goals, conceding 386. Win percentage is 72.6% to 1dp , goal ratio for is 2.5 to 1 dp and goal ratio against is 0.83 to 2dp. This is has resulted in 16 trophies: Premier League-X5 17/18,18/19,20/21,21/22,22/23.
League Cup-X4-17/18,18/19,19/20,20/21
Community Shield-X2-18/19,19/20.
FA Cup-X2-18/19,22/23.
Champions League-22/23.
Club World Cup-23/24.
Super Cup-23/24.
Right, that's all. Stay tuned for more! Comment your thoughts!
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