Trailing by eight points, Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to a comeback victory, completing a three-game Premier League title and five titles in six years, Manchester Evening News chief Manchester City correspondent Simon Bajkowski wrote about the secret of Manchester City's comeback victory.
The fact that the Premier League's more than 100 serious allegations are not the biggest hurdles they have to clear speaks volumes about the challenges City face this season.
Drive Cancelo away
In December, January, Guardiola put in a lot of effort to get his side back into form after the World Cup, but he became increasingly irritated and reached an unexpected boiling point on Cancelo. The relationship between the two was so bad that Cancelo had a heated argument with his manager during the preparations. Prior to that, he was frustrated by being excluded from the starting lineup several times.
The Manchester City boss won the battle as always, with Joao Cancelo dramatically sent to Champions League rivals Bayern in the winter window, surprising almost everyone in the Premier League. City's risky move weakened them as Arsenal, who were at the top of the table at the time, strengthened their squad in the winter window, but Guardiola did so to restore harmony to the squad.
During his time in charge of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has never faced a move from a player to openly challenge his authority. While Cancelo certainly won't beat his manager, with his credentials and popularity, it's enough to wonder if the team will be in as much trouble as it was in the fall. Manchester City were struggling at the time, Haaland looked in-form, and the untested youngster Rico Lewis even overwhelmed Joao Cancelo and Walker in the team.
Importantly, the club's top brass fully supported Pep Guardiola, despite City's subsequent defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, giving the impression that they were all but out of the title race. Whether it's Mubarak, Soriano or Begiristan who backed their boss and started thinking about turning things around. Hours later, when City were accused of Premier League accusations, the relationship proved crucial.
Accused by the Premier League
Following the accusations, City were shocked and upset at such unprofessional treatment, as it was extremely serious for City and the Premier League. With City accused of misrepresenting their finances for nearly a decade and failing to cooperate with the investigation, they have been forced to embark on a court "war" that is expected to take a decade, and once a conclusion is reached, someone in the club's management will surely be forced to resign.
The club gave the same assurances as they did when they were investigated by UEFA, and because of the close relationship with the club's management, Guardiola publicly supported the club, which exceeded all expectations. Within the squad, players generally agree that it makes no sense to focus on things they know little or can't control, especially when everyone agrees that there are more pressing issues to solve.
Coincidentally or not, the allegations from the Premier League have triggered a series of changes at Manchester City. Eliminating Southampton in the Carabao Cup was almost the worst performance of Pep Guardiola's era, and after the defeat to Tottenham, Manchester City fans have begun to embrace the idea of finishing second in the Premier League.
After a strong start, Manchester City have been up and down. Even before the World Cup, it felt like City were putting their minds in the wrong place. In a match against Liverpool in October, Guardiola was angered by the referee's decision.
After falling 2-0 down against Tottenham in January, fans booed their players and were criticised at half-time by Pep Guardiola. In the second half, the Manchester City players scored four goals in one go, however, it was not enough to stop Pep Guardiola from continuing to criticise the team in his post-match press conference, which he described as a "happy flower team".
Carragher's suggestion in February that Haaland had arrived at the wrong club was obviously excessive, but it also somewhat illustrated City's troubles with the 'goal machine'. Unsurprisingly, the underperforming De Bruyne was put on the bench precisely at this time.
Pep Guardiola has publicly defended the club, attracting a growing number of fans. City fans cheered for the first time this season against Villa and booed as they played the official Premier League theme song. With this power, Manchester City's victory over Villa has rekindled hopes of winning the Premier League.
The four-centre-back tactic is out
Three days later, Arsenal were held to a draw by Brentford in the north London derby. Pep Guardiola and many players agreed that despite their 3-1 win over Arsenal, they were not in better form at the time, however, the victory put them back to the top of the table on goal difference after one more game.
Everything was heading in the direction of City's victory, especially when Arsenal conceded two goals in the opening game against Villa, however, City had problems that had plagued the team for a long time against Nottingham Forest. In fact, it was one of their best performances of 2023, but the opponents took full advantage of the gap behind Bernardo Silva. Manchester City drew with their opponents and Arsenal returned to the leadership after a comeback victory.
This is another pivotal moment for the season. Pep Guardiola has never had Bernardo Silva a left-back since then, and the four-centre-back tactic he has used since then led to City's eventual victory.
Ake, Akanji, Stones and Dias formed the defence, while Walker and Laporte were forced to sit on the bench and watch most of the games that followed, and Pep Guardiola went against his key philosophy on both key options of full-back and point centre-back. Instead of using point centre-backs, he had four able-bodied centre-backs play at the same time to protect Edson's goal. You can attest that all four defenders are the most important players in City's comeback to win the title.
However, there are also Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Haaland, Grealish and Gundogan. Mahrez's contribution in the months following the World Cup cannot be forgotten, and the young Lewis has learned a lot from Stones and others.
That's the point, some players perform better than others, but everyone steps up in the moments that matter. After the defeat to Tottenham, City scored 40 of 42 points to complete the comeback against Arsenal. Mikel Arteta's side have been at the top of the table for 90% of the season, but adversity has inspired Manchester City one of the strongest.
Playing well also costs money
Some critics will complain that five titles in six years are inevitable given Pep Guardiola's available resources. The reality is that Arsenal could have easily won the title race and other teams squandered more money than Manchester City. However, no team will spend money or play better than Manchester City.
This season is another victory for Guardiola. Haaland is an extraordinary goalscorer, but getting him to perform at his best still requires a huge change in the way he and his team-mates are used to playing, and the bold use of Lewis and the change of Stones at the back can be seen as a major feat for Guardiola.
Even more impressive was Pep Guardiola's management of the dressing room, waking these players from hibernation to complete the comeback against Arsenal. In the face of Joaore's adjustments, Guardiola made a brutal decision that not only retained the momentum of the team, but also sounded the alarm for veterans such as De Bruyne and Walker that they returned to the bench without complaining.
Manchester City could not have lifted the trophy against Chelsea, as Chelsea have spent a lot of money on signings this season but have not worked well. Although Manchester City face tough battles on the pitch and in court, at the moment, all that fills Guardiola's face is the joy of lifting the trophy.