Manchester City won the title of the English Premier League in the 2021/22 season, after the unprecedented drama we saw in the last round at the Etihad. If you thought that the famous end of the season with Sergio Aguero's goal was the highlight, you were wrong. Amazing scenes all over England - when someone asks you why the English Premier League is so popular, just show them the events of the 38th round, in which the 2021/22 season is closed and City won the league. This is what only football in England can offer – passion, nervousness, euphoria, sadness, and epic endeavors, but you can get all that with matchbook offers for punters. Season 2021/22 in the Premier League ended in the most dramatic way ever. The trophy wasn’t the only thing that cheered Citizens before the start of the new season.
Manchester City was the club with the highest income in the world for the second year in a row in the 2021/22 season, in which fans returned to stadiums after restrictions due to COVID-19 were eased. City generated total revenue of 731 million euros, followed by Real Madrid (714 million euros) and Liverpool (702 million euros). City achieved a record Premier League commercial revenue of €373 million in the 2021/22 season, an increase of €65 million compared to the previous season.
Manchester City in the Champions League
The turning points in the season have come, and the candidates for all the trophies in the season stand out, including the most important one - the Champions League Cup. For seven years, Guardiola has been under such pressure that he completely changed his view of the entire situation and his attitude towards the trophy he won twice with Barcelona, but then he did not succeed either at Bayern or now at Manchester City, where he is in his seventh season. Although he says that he looks forward to every new participation in the elite competition, probably only he knows how he feels, given that he won the last trophy in this competition in 2011. Manchester City first struggled for a long time to reach the very end of the competition. He played in the semi-finals in the 2015/2016 season, when he was eliminated by Real Madrid, and the closest he came to the trophy was in 2021 when in his historic final in Porto he was defeated by Chelsea (0:1) with a goal by Havertz in the 42ndminute. Last season, Guardiola's team was once again defeated by the powerful Real Madrid, while this season the Citizens are still undefeated, as they came out of Group G as the first-placed team with a score of four wins, two draws, and a goal difference 14-2. In the round of 16 City destroyed RB Leipzig and in the quarterfinal, City knocked out Bayern Munich. Citi’s win rate in the UCL is 60%. In the semi-final Manchester City will have a chance to take revenge against Real Madrid. Now the question arises - is it even possible for Pep to finish his longest run in one team (until 2025) without winning the Champions League?
Manchester City in the Premier League
Although Citizens had a quite solid gap, the champion of England does not have to wait for Arsenal's new stumbling in order to take over the top of the table. Pep Guardiola's team has everything in their hands before the decisive quarter of the championship. Because in addition to having a game less played than the Gunners, City will welcome Mikel Arteta's team at the Etihad in two days and if they win both matches, the Manchester team will take over the leadership position. However, as City will play the delayed match against West Ham at the beginning of May, it is clear that by then a lot could change in the standings, and the schedule of the two leading teams could play a significant role in the final outcome of the championship race in the Premier League. He is, at least at first glance, on City's side. Citizens in the remaining eight rounds, if we exclude the direct clash with Arsenal, have three games with teams from the upper part of the table, of which only the seventh-placed Brighton is the best ranked. Fulham is in a sharp decline (having five defeats), and Brentford is as well (four matches without a win). When it comes to rivals from the lower house, the best ranked is Chelsea, which represents the only true derby in City's calendar, although since the Manchester team won in each of the previous five meetings between them, the question is how much Arteta can count on the services of the city rival. All other teams – are fighting for surviving. From West Ham, through Leeds and Everton. We should not forget, however, that City already has commitments in Europe. He is waiting for the semi-final double-header with Real Madrid in the Champions League, and then the final of the FA Cup against Manchester United. In 30 matches so far in the Premier League, this team has 22 wins, 4 defeats, and 4 draws. They scored 78 goals and conceded 28, with a win rate of over 70%.
One name - Erling Haaland
And yes, we haven't even mentioned Erling Haaland in this whole story. The Norwegian makes a difference from round to round, he is getting closer to numerous records and the question is whether he even plans to stop. In the match round of sixteen in UCL Manchester City won 7:0 (3:0) at the "Etihad" against Leipzig and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a total of 8:1. It was the historic party of Erling Haaland, who at only 22 years and 236 days had an anthology performance at "Etihad". A goal-scoring night that will be remembered in modern football history and documentaries, or memoirs, about his career. He scored five goals, a hat-trick in the first half, and broke two records. The youngest player and also the fastest to score 30 goals in the Champions League. He reached that number in only 25 games. In the match against Leicester Erling Haaland equaled the Premier League record for the number of goals scored (32), which was in the 2017/2018 season set by Mohamed Salah. Haaland reached a record that has been counted since the Premier League moved to a season with 32 matches. However, it seems certain that he will succeed in surpassing Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, who were in the 1993/1994 seasons and 1994/1995. each scored 34 goals in the Premier League, which had 42 rounds. The Norwegian reached this number in his 28th match, and in total, he scored 47 goals in 40 games in all competitions. City has eight matches left in the Premier League season.