Manchester City won the 2023/24 Premier League title on Sunday after beating West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The reigning champions showed no signs of panic early on as Phil Foden’s brace put them in the lead inside 20 minutes. Mohammed Kudus hit a scintillating overhead kick to make things interesting before Rodri pulled two goals back in the second half.
City’s midweek victory over Tottenham Hotspur put them in the driving seat in Gameweek 38, overtaking Arsenal in first place. The Gunners fell behind at home when Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye struck but Takehiro Tomiyasu equalized and Kai Havertz scored the winner in the 89th minute.
However, it is not enough to pull it past City.
It is City’s tenth English title and eighth in the Premier League, and they become the first team to win the division four times in a row. They have now finished in the top six of the last seven seasons.
The 2022/23 treble winners made a strong start to their title defence, winning their first six games before losing to Wolves in late September. They also lost key player Kevin De Bruyne on the opening weekend, with the Belgian not back in action until early January.
A late defeat to Arsenal before the October international break knocked City out of top spot and they even fell behind Aston Villa as the Gunners and Liverpool enjoyed spells in first place.
A four-game winless run from November to December that included defeat at Villa Park looked set to hand their rivals the title, but City have not tasted defeat since. De Bruyne’s return to fitness helped them recover from their poor run, drawing just four games while winning the others.
Due to their involvement in other competitions, City have been trailing Arsenal for most of the campaign. However, that extra pressure had no effect on the champions, who won nine games in a row during their title run.
Despite criticism from some corners in his second season at the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland has been a key figure with 27 league goals while his teammate Phil Foden has collected individual awards in recent days thanks to his brilliant campaign.
De Bruyne still holds double digits in assists despite his injury concerns, while last summer’s signings Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Jeremy Doku have all impressed alongside the much-beaten Matheus Nunes.
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