In the 22nd round of the Premier League, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0. De Bruyne scored the only goal of the game, his fifth goal against Chelsea. Chelsea, now struggling in second place in the table, are one of the teams with the most goals scored by De Bruyne, tied with Arsenal. In this campaign, Manchester City set four records, pointing to the triple crown of the season.
Despite being called the top battle, City led second-place Chelsea by as many as 10 points in the pre-match table. Before this round, Manchester City had won 11 consecutive victories in the Premier League, and the strong momentum was difficult to stop. According to Opta, this is at least the fifth time Manchester City has won 11 consecutive games in the Premier League. However, the media also pointed out before the game that the home game against the strong opponent Chelsea may end Manchester City's winning streak record, because the previous three consecutive wins for Manchester City have ended at home.
The first half of the game was intense and exciting, and City's control of the attack failed to break the depth of Chelsea's defense, and Chelsea's performance was even worse, with almost nothing on the offensive end. Chelsea didn't even have a single shot on goal in the first half, the first time since Tuchel took charge of the Premier League's first half that he had a 0-shot on goal and the first since against Newcastle in May 2018. Not only that, but Chelsea also had zero corners in the first half. In the face of a dismal attack, Tuchel was once furious.
It can be said that in addition to Chelsea's lack of attack, it is also necessarily related to Manchester City's tight defense in the first half, leaving no room for the Blues to play. Manchester City's defense shows a strong integrity, the overall withdrawal of the defense to maintain a high tacit understanding, the attacking prediction of Chelsea is in place, not even a decent break, the number of yellow cards is also 0.
In the second half, Manchester City broke out at the right time. In the 70th minute, De Bruyne bypassed Kante and fired a long-range shot into the world, which was the only goal in the focus battle.
Manchester City have won 12 consecutive league games, the last time they lost was a 2-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace on 30 October last year. After the game, City led the table with a 13-point advantage and the Premier League title was almost steady.
First, after this campaign, Manchester City scored 56 points in the first 22 games, the second highest in team history.
Second, Manchester City doubled Chelsea in the Premier League for the fourth time.
Third, Manchester City have won 12 consecutive league games! For the ninth time in Premier League history, a team has won 12 or more consecutive games, and of those nine, Guardiola's Manchester City has accounted for four of them.
Fourth, since joining Manchester City, De Bruyne has scored 21 league goals outside the box, the most in the Premier League in the same period!
Only a team with a balanced attack and defense can become a champion team, and this season Manchester City has clearly done it. As of now, Manchester City ranks first in the goal list with 54 goals, and in terms of possession, Manchester City also ranks first with a composite index of 66%, while the number of goals conceded, Manchester City is also the least, conceding only 13 goals. Guardiola not only continued the coaching philosophy that emphasized control, but also had a strong effectiveness, and both offensive and defensive ends maintained the highest level in the Premier League.
At this time, Manchester City is almost the most mature Manchester City since Pep Guardiola took charge, and many people think that the goal of this team to achieve the treble is almost logical. Today, Manchester City are the number one favourites for the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.