BEVERLY HILLS, May 01, (THEWILL) – It is almost here, the moment that Manchester City will officially become winners of the English Premier League for the 2020/2021 season and confirm their “champions elect” status with which they have been conferred for long periods since the turn of the year.
The Cityzens made certain of this with a controlled 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday. This implies that they are one win away from popping the champagne bottles that have been left in the coolers for quite some time.
The way it has played out for a Pep Guardiola’s side is such that the may not need to kick another ball before taking the title as victory for Liverpool in their trip to Old Trafford later on Sunday against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils will be sufficient to hand City a third Premier League title in four years.
As was expected of the team selection, Guardiola shuffled his side with an eye on next week’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals second leg fixture against the French champions Paris Saint-Germain, which they currently lead 2-1 from the first leg. There were eight changes to the team that started that UCL game.
The truth remains that Mauricio Pochettino’s Les Parisiens will present a stern test once more in Manchester come Tuesday, but the Cityzens are on the cusp of the Premier League title in a season that could get even more special. This is so especially with the away victory they secured in midweek against an impressive PSG side that they comfortably contained throughout coupled with the prospect that Pochettino’s key striker Kylian Mbappe may be injured.
On Saturday against Palace, even though City did not exploit all the chances they created, the visitors looked the more potent side the longer the game went. The changes to the side expectedly meant their natural fluidity suffered until they were able to break the deadlock through the outgoing Sergio Aguero after the interval. From there on out, there was no stopping them.
In his final days as a City legend, Aguero gingerly made his way into this contest and once he settled, he was every inch that striker to be wary of, and one determined to go out with a flourish. His opener, which incidentally is his second of the season, was his 182nd goal in the Premier League. It puts him second only to Wayne Rooney, whose 183 goals at Manchester United is the record for the most goals for a single club in the division.
Glorious will be the occasion if, with the matches remaining in the season, the Argentine can add the glory of surpassing Rooney’s record to his already accomplished career at the Etihad, with the very honourable achievement of a fifth winners’ medal all-but secured at the moment.
The champions-in-waiting now have a record-equalling 11 consecutive Premier League away game victories, which is a solid showing for a widely successful campaign that did not look like anything like it was going to end so beautifully earlier on in the season.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
