The hunger for the title was evident all across the pitch and central defender Aymeric Laporte rose above the Brighton defence to put City in the lead in the 38th minute. It was all one way traffic from there and Riyad Mahrez put the tie beyond question with a long range effort in the 63rd minute. German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan applied the icing on the cake with a superbly taken freekick in the 72nd minute as Guardiola tasted success against his bitter rival Jurgen Klopp, yet again.

Despite winning 2-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, thanks to a brace from Senagalese forward Sadio Mane, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool finished second by a solitary point, after an incredible season that saw them lose only once. Liverpool’s strikers Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane finished as the League’s top scorers along with Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang while defensive mainstay Virgil van Dijk was selected as the Premier League Player of the Season.

Liverpool let go of a 7-point lead that they had over City during the Christmas period, to surrender a title that looked to be theirs for large stretches of the season. Guardiola’s wards showed incredible character and fighting spirit to claw their way back into the title race and to hold onto their lead despite disappointments in the Champions League.

In this article, we explore the 5 key reasons why the Spanish tactician reigned supreme over the German master.

#5 - Multiple Goalscoring Threats

One of the reasons why Manchester City has scored an incredible 95 goals in 38 league games, compared to Liverpool’s 89 is that their goal threat can come from any player from any position. They have had an incredible 16 different goal scorers this season, with 8 players with 5+ goals! The same numbers for Liverpool stand at 14 and 3, with the goalscoring burden heaped on their attacking trident of Mohammed Salah-Roberto Firmino-Sadio Mane.

Liverpool lacked the goalscoring threat from midfield that City possesed in the form of David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez, one of the key reasons why they were held to 7 draws compared to Manchester City’s 2.

Manchester City’s Top Goal Threats

Sergio Aguero - 21 goals, 8 assistsRaheem Sterling - 17 goals, 10 assistsLeroy Sane - 10 goals, 10 assistsBernardo Silva - 7 goals, 7 assistsDavid Silva - 6 goals, 8 assistsRiyad Mahrez - 7 goals, 4 assistsGabriel Jesus - 7 goals, 3 assistIlkay Gundogan - 6 goals, 3 assistsAymeric Laporte - 3 goals, 3 assistsBenjamin Mendy - 5 assistsKevin de Bruyne - 2 goals, 2 assistsFernandinho - 1 goal, 3 assistsJohn Stones - 2 goalsKyle Walker - 1 goal, 1 assistOleksandr Zinchenko - 2 assistsVincent Kompany - 1 goalDanilo - 1 goalPhil Foden - 1 goalFabian Delph - 1 assist

Liverpool’s Top Goal Threats

Mohammed Salah - 22 goals, 8 assistsSadio Mane - 22 goals, 1 assistRoberto Firmino - 12 goals, 6 assistsTrent Alexander-Arnold - 1 goal, 12 assistsAndrew Robertson - 11 assistsVirgil van Dijk - 4 goals, 2 assistsDivock Origi - 3 goals, 1 assistJames Milner - 2 goals, 2 assistsGeorginio Wijnaldum - 3 goalsXhedran Shaqiri - 1 goal, 3 assistsDaniel Sturridge - 2 goals, 1 assistFabinho - 1 goal, 2 assistsNaby Keita - 1 goalDejan Lovren - 1 goalJoel Matip - 1 goalJordan Henderson - 1 assist

#4 - Better On-Pitch Leadership

City as a team has much more experienced players than Liverpool and the difference in leadership between teams was very evident in the title race. The contrast between a tough tackling, dominating Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and the limited abilities of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson came to the fore in the business end of the season.

While Kompany was able to lead from the front, for example his majestic long range winner against Leicester in the penultimate game of the league, Henderson could not muster many inspiring captain’s performances in the long campaign. Henderson also found himself on the bench for large portions of the league, starting just 21 out of Liverpool’s 38 games in hand.

City’s leadership again is not confined to Kompany. Aguero leads from the front, providing City key goals when they look creatively starved. Fernandinho provided steel and determination in midfield, necessary to close out crunch games. A more able captain who could have rallied his troops would have probably prevented Liverpool from being held to 7 draws, as compared to Manchester City’s 2. Ultimately, that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

#3 - Team made up of Perennial Winners

A consistent winning mentality is something that cannot be coached into players. It has to come from experience. And Pep Guardiola had a distinct advantage in that respect over Klopp in that he had a team made up of winners, with players who have won the European Championships (twice) and the World Cup like David Silva, to youngsters who have performed at the highest level in their age group like Phil Foden who not only won the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup with England, but was also given the Golden Ball for the Best Player in the Tournament. The below tabulation of the list of major titles won by players of both teams paints the true picture.

Manchester City-Player’s Previous Titles (before 2018-19 season)

David Silva - FIFA World Cup 2010, Euro 2008 and 2012, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 EPL Titles, 1 FA Cup, 3 EFL Cups, U-19 Euro 2004Sergio Aguero - 1 UEFA Europa League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 EPL Titles, 3 EFL Cups, 1 Olympic Gold Medal, 2 FIFA U-20 World CupsClaudio Bravo - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL Cup, 2 Copa Americas, 2 La Liga Titles, 2 Copa Del Reys, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World CupDanilo - 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, 2 Portuguese League Titles, 1 Copa Libertadores, 1 La Liga, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup 2011, 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupVincent Kompany - 3 EPL Titles, 1 FA Cup, 3 EFL Cups, 2 Belgian First Division TitlesFernandinho - 6 Ukranian League Titles, 1 UEFA Cup, 2 EPL Titles, 3 EFL Cups, FIFA U-20 World Cup 2003Nicolas Otamendi - 1 Argentine League Title, 3 Portuguese League Titles, 1 UEFA Europa League, 1 EPL Title, 2 EFL CupsBenjamin Mendy - FIFA World Cup 2018, 1 Ligue 1 Title, 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL Cup,Bernardo Silva - 1 Portuguese League Title, 1 Ligue 1 Title, 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupPhil Foden - 1 EPL Title, FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, 1 EFL CupEderson Moraes - 2 Portuguese League Titles, 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupGabriel Jesus - 1 EPL Title, 1 Olympic Gold, 1 EFL Cup, 1 Brazilian League titleIlkay Gundogan - 1 Bundesliga Title, 1 DFB Pokal, 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupRaheem Sterling - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupKyle Walker - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupJohn Stones - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupLeroy Sane - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupOleksandra Zinchenko - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupAymeric Laporte - 1 EPL Title, 1 EFL CupFabian Delph - 1 EPL TitleRiyad Mahrez - 1 EPL Title

Liverpool- Players’ Previous Titles (before 2018-19 season)

Daniel Sturridge - 1 EPL Title, 2 FA Cups, 1 UEFA Champions LeagueJames Milner - 2 EPL Titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 EFL CupAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 3 FA CupsMohamed Salah - 2 Swiss Super League TitlesVirgil van Dijk - 2 Scottish League TitlesNaby Keita - 2 Austrian League TitlesGeorgino Wijnaldum - 1 Dutch League Title, 1 Dutch CupAlberto Moreno - 1 UEFA Europa LeagueFabinho - 1 Ligue 1 TitleSadio Mane - 1 Austrian League TitleJoel Matip - 1 DFB PokalDejan Lovren - 1 Croatian League Title, 1 French CupJordan Henderson - 1 EFL CupJoe Gomez - UEFA U17 Euro 2014Roberto Firmino-NilAndrew Robertson-NilAlisson-NilDivock Origi-NilAdam Lallana-Nil

#2 - City’s Early Exit from the Champions League

Manchester City, regarded by many as one of the favorites to lift this season’s UEFA Champions League trophy, were shockingly eliminated by fellow Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur in the Quarterfinals. In the first leg at White Hart Lane, South Korean striker Son-Heung Min scored the winner as Mauricio Pochettino’s men succeeded in keeping City scoreless.

In a sensational second leg that saw seven goals scored, Manchester City won the game 4-3 only to see Tottenham progress thanks to their 3 away goals. Raheem Sterling had given them a 4th minute lead, only to see Son-Heung Min nullify it with two quickfire goals in the 7th and 10th minute. Bernardo Silva made it 2-2 in the 11th minute before Sterling again stepped up to score.

Sergio Aguero made it 4-2 on aggregate in the 59th minute and City seemed destined for the semi-finals only for Spanish forward Fernando Llorente to deal the hammer blow, scoring in the 73rd minute for Spurs, to send them through.

The UCL ouster however became a blessing in disguise for Pep Guardiola’s team as the players could afford more rest in betweeen games, in the business end of the season. Liverpool could not afford any such luxuries as they had to face a classy Barcelona outfit in the Champions League semis and the taxing schedule took its toll on the players, with star strikers Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino succumbing to injuries.

Even though Guardiola will look on the Champions League elimination as a failure, the fact remains that it was a blessing in disguise that helped City win the Premier League title.

#1 - Squad Depth

As illustrated in point number #5 in this article, Manchester City had an incredible 16 different goal scorers this season, with 8 players on 5+ goals! The same stats for Liverpool stand at 14 and 3 respectively, with the goalscoring burden heaped on their attacking trident of Mohammed Salah-Roberto Firmino-Sadio Mane.

In every part of the pitch, Pep Guardiola had world class replacements for every player. It is not an easy task to replace a World Cup winner, but Oleksandr Zinchenko slotted in effortlessly at left back when Benjamin Mendy got injured.

The fact that City’s most talented player, Kevin de Bruyne being injured for large sections of the title race is the ultimate testament of Guardiola’s squad’s depth as the creative burden was borne by Bernardo Silva and David Silva. While Liverpool relied heavily on Virgil van Dijk for defensive steel, Guardiola had four top class center backs to call upon in Vincent Kompany, Aymeric Laporte, Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones.

Another key injury absence of midfield lynchpin Fernandinho did not affect the Cityzens at all, with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva splitting the central midfield burden amongst themselves. Manchester City’s strength in depth and lack of pressure on any one player ultimately outshone Liverpool’s over-reliance on players like Salah and Mane.

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