Manchester City Crowned Premier League Champions 2023/24.
No surprises in England. The Cityzens have clinched their 8th Premier League title in 13 years, marking their fourth consecutive triumph.
Join us as we review this season’s finale and question the competitiveness of the league.
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Index
The Championship Run-In – Manchester City Crowned Premier League Champions 2023/24
As mentioned earlier, it’s no secret that Manchester City has been dominating the English domestic scene for some time now.
It seems there’s no club capable of dethroning Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Image: Manchester City FC
The Premier League leadership changed hands several times this season.
We had reported that Liverpool, with Klopp in his farewell year, was expected to break this hegemony.
Not only due to their style of play but also their position in the table.
The Reds had a stellar start to the Premier League, taking the top spot in the 16th round when Arsenal, who were leading at the time, lost to Aston Villa. Liverpool had won away against Crystal Palace.
Despite brief fluctuations, Klopp’s side held the top position until the 27th round. The following match was against Manchester City, who were in second place.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Arsenal then overtook both after their victory over Brentford.
Was this the moment of redemption for the London side? The Gunners haven’t won the Premier League since the 2003/04 season.
However, that moment has not yet arrived. As mentioned in previous articles, Arteta’s team lacked the strength and capability to maintain the top position, even after securing it with 10 rounds to go.
A significant downturn for Liverpool was their sharp drop in competitiveness in the final stretch. They finished the Premier League with just 82 points, nine fewer than champions Manchester City.
When discussing the Cityzens, it’s clear the knowledge Pep Guardiola and many players in this squad have about the English Championship.
City had an inconsistent start and by the 15th round had suffered three defeats. At that point, they were in fourth place.
But therein lies the ability of a manager and a team that have known each other for a long time. From 6th December 2023 until the end of the competition, Manchester City maintained those same three defeats.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool showed enough quality to become champions. However, the decisive power of Manchester City compared to the others is significantly higher.
This is the result of long-term work, combined with the construction of a solid squad, assembled piece by piece.
Lastly, the presence of decisive players like Phil Foden and a team accustomed to making critical decisions.
Image: Getty Images
The Competitiveness of the Premier League
The media often proclaims the Premier League as the best league on the planet.
In some respects, this is justified. It is the most financially robust league. This is due to a framework of rules that better distributes television revenue among the teams compared to most other leagues.
This allows clubs to make significant investments and bring in high-level players.
As a result, the league indeed provides electrifying matches, with many goals and historic comebacks.
However, what’s the point of watching such a tournament if the outcome is almost always the same?
It’s incredible to see how Pep Guardiola has managed to build a team that will be remembered forever in football history. The Spanish manager repeatedly breaks records.
Yet, the question remains. Isn’t unpredictability one of the most interesting aspects of sport? The dominance of one team is not beneficial for the tournament.
The Bundesliga and Serie A, especially in the mid-2010s, were marked by the absolute dominance of Juventus and Bayern Munich, making the championships less attractive to viewers.
Is the Premier League heading down the same path?
During the same period of Juventus and Bayern’s supremacy, the Premier League enjoyed golden days. There were five different champions, including Leicester’s fairytale triumph that stunned the world.
Now, Manchester City have accumulated their sixth title in seven possible seasons.
Furthermore, in his eight years at City, Pep Guardiola has only missed out on the Premier League title twice. Once in his debut season and the other in 2019/20 when Liverpool were truly the best team in the world under Klopp.
Another point is the rest of the tournament. In the last 10 Premier League seasons, only three teams outside the Big 6 (Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United) have qualified directly for the Champions League. These teams were Leicester, champions in 2015/16, Aston Villa, and Newcastle in the last two seasons.
Finally, Manchester City could clinch another title, the FA Cup, which will be contested this Saturday (25th May 2024) at Wembley.
Do you agree that the Premier League isn’t as appealing to spectators as it’s claimed to be?
Image: X – @premierleague
Written by Vitor F L Miller.
