Man City have lifted their fifth Premier League title in six seasons, but Kyle Walker may have slightly oversold the historical implications of his team’s achievements.
Arsenal‘s defeat away at Nottingham Forest handed Pep Guardiola’s side their third consecutive league title, giving them the opportunity to lift the trophy in front of their fans after the 1-0 victory over Chelsea.
An early Julian Alvarez strike was enough for the hosts to seal all three points at the Etihad, but the celebrations were set to commence regardless of the result.
Walker was asked after the game about how familiar the winning feeling is becoming at Man City, but it appears he underestimated the number of teams that had gone before them.
“It all feels the same, especially with what we’ve done over the last six years of me being here, winning five,” explained the defender.
“But this one, to win three in a row, I think only one team have done it other than us, so we needed to go out and make sure that we finished on a high in front of our own fans today and then we’ve got bigger things to look forward to now.”
While it is unquestionably a major achievement to lift three successive titles, briefly setting aside the overhanging 115 Premier League charges for rule breaches, Walker might be best advised to fact-check such statements in future.
Man City in fact became the fifth team to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Huddersfield, Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool.
The Reds secured three First Division crowns in a row in 1981/82, 1982/83 and 1983/84 in a run which saw the league title come to Anfield seven times in the space of nine seasons from 1975/76.
Man City‘s period of dominance still has a long way to go to outdo the great Liverpool side of the 1970s and 1980s, who became champions of England 11 times in 18 years before the inception of the Premier League in 1992.
Liverpool were made to wait for their first title of the Premier League era, with a 30-year hiatus coming to an end in record-breaking fashion in 2019/20.
The Citizens will be looking to complete a treble of honours with victories in the FA Cup and Champions League finals, the first of its kind since Man United in 1998/99.
But they will do so with the looming threat of sanctions, having attempted to dispute the Premier League‘s charges due to the involvement of an Arsenal-supporting barrister.
Fan Comments