Josep Guardiola 0525 by Thomas Rodenbücher (CC BY 2.0)
Manchester City have so far enjoyed a truly dominant season in the Premier League, blowing teams away with their attacking prowess and avoiding a defeat on their impressive record.
Under former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, the Sky Blues finally look to have got going properly, after they started strongly but ultimately faded out in their manager’s maiden campaign in charge during 2016/17.
Guardiola earned immense plaudits and shot to managerial stardom with success with Barcelona, rallying to three consecutive La Liga victories from 2008 to 2011 and also claiming an incredible two Champions League triumphs.
The Spanish tactician is famed for having invented ‘tiki-taka‘ football while at the Nou Camp, where he won a total of 14 major honours, before going on to also clinch three Bundesliga titles among other trophies with German giants Bayern Munich.
He then arrived in England with extremely high hopes and expectations on his shoulders, but it proved to be too much as his Man City side struggled to operate under his reign. That has swiftly changed this current campaign, though, as they continue to fire themselves towards top-flight glory once again.
The blue club of Manchester are now the runaway top-tier leaders and are seen as the odds-on 1/8 favourites in the Premier League betting to eventually lift their first title since 2014 come next May.
So can Man City continue to batter their domestic rivals and steamroll their way to success this term? It looks more than likely with such a strong squad of players and a manager who is finally getting the best out of his current crop.
Stars like Sergio Aguero and David Silva have maintained their usually high standards so far throughout this season, but Guardiola has also managed to get the best possible performances out of players that had previously come under criticism for lacklustre showings in the Premier League.
This includes former £50 million signing Raheem Sterling, who is now showcasing exactly what he can do on the pitch following a previous slow start since arriving from Merseyside outfit Liverpool in 2015. The England international winger has been simply superb so far this term, chipping in with plenty of assists and netting crucial winning goals which have kept up his club’s rampant run towards silverware success.
There’s also the possibility that Manchester City could emulate Arsenal’s famous 2004 Invincibles side and go the entire Premier League campaign without tasting a single defeat. However, that won’t be an immediate aim for Guardiola, with silverware simply his target for his in-form squad of players this season.
Man City have claimed four league titles in their history, with two of those coming in the Premier League era in both 2012 and 2014, but they look more than capable of making 2018 their most impressive crowning victory so far.
After such a devastatingly strong start to proceedings this term, Man City still have a long way to go, but based on the early signs under Guardiola they look set to go all the way next year.
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