Manchester City have won their fourth consecutive Premier League title, sealing yet another success with a 3-1 home victory over West Ham on the final day of the season.
Phil Foden’s first-half brace and a second-half strike from Rodri got the job done at the Etihad Stadium, as Arsenal‘s 2-1 home win against Everton was rendered immaterial.
In doing so, Pep Guardiola’s side are the first team ever to be crowned English top-flight champions four years running, surpassing previous ‘threepeats’ by themselves, Manchester United (1998/99 to 2000/01 and 2006/07 to 2008/09), Liverpool (1981/82 to 1983/84), Arsenal (1932/33 to 1934/35) and Huddersfield (1923/24 to 1925/26).
City’s latest title is their sixth under Guardiola, their eighth of the Premier League era, and their 10th overall – taking them above Everton into fourth place on the all-time list.
Pep Guardiola has now won 12 league titles as a manager, in three countries (Image credit: Alamy)
It’s the second time in three seasons that City have had to wait until the final day to seal glory, but there was a certain inevitability about it as the campaign entered its business end.
The 2022/23 treble winners ensured they would head into game 38 out of 38 top of the pile by winning their game in hand against Tottenham on Tuesday night.
Beaten by Aston Villa on December 6, they didn’t lose a single one of their remaining 23 league matches. Arsenal, on the other hand, lost three, with their own defeat to Villa last month handing City the initiative in the title race.
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal must settle for second place behind Man City for the second season running (Image credit: Alamy)
By making it four Premier League crowns in a row, City have introduced English football to a kind of dominance it’s never previously known – and few would bet against them making it five on the spin next term.
Guardiola now also has the distinction of winning four straight titles as a player and manager, having achieved the latter as part of Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ at the beginning of the 90s.
As it happens, LaLiga is now the only one of Europe’s top five leagues not to have witnessed a team win four or more titles in succession this century.
