MANCHESTER: Manchester City win the English Premier League title after second placed city rivals Manchester United suffered a shock home defeat against bottom club West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
City had overcome a resilient Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday at Wembly but were expected to wait for yet another match until United’s unexpected loss gifted them the trophy earlier than expected.
Jose Mourinho’s side had to at least find a draw in Old Trafford to keep the title race mathematically alive but they were defeated when Jay Rodriguez headed home after the break.
Our Time. Our City.
Premier League Champions 17/18 ?#mancity pic.twitter.com/lztlN3lWFW
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 15, 2018
United who are also in contention for the FA Cup, their only realistic chance for a silverware in the season are now 16 points behind Pep Guardiola’s side with only five games left to play.
It is City’s third title in seven seasons and a fifth top-flight crown – their first under the Spaniard in his second campaign in charge.
The Blues made their recent woes into the backyard as they recovered from three defeats in a turbulent week as they surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to United and squander the chance to wrap up the title in perfect style against their arch-rivals before bowing out of the Champions League with back to back defeats against Premier league rivals Liverpool over the two legs of the quarter final.
The Abu Dhabi owned club has set a number of records in their way to the title. They registered 18 consecutive wins and have beaten every other side in the League this season at least once.
#PL Champions @ManCity still have records in their sights… pic.twitter.com/gx3WjO9JLp
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 16, 2018
Their match at Everton saw them retain 82.13% possession, the highest recorded in the Premier League, and they broke passing records, completing over 900 against Chelsea.
City has now joined the three teams that have won the English top flight with five games to spare.
Pep Guardiola who missed the proud moment due to his golf activity said he is proud to be Manchester City manager and hailed his players “awesome” this season.
“It’s incredible the way we played and I am so glad to be here and be part of this club,” the Catalan said after the 3-1 win over Spurs at Wembley. “These guys are fantastic, awesome – they are incredible and this club is absolutely amazing in all terms.”