Manchester City win record-breaking fourth Premier League title in a row
Pep Guardiola's side have made history on an afternoon which brought disappointment for second-place Arsenal - while Jurgen Klopp managed his last game as manager of Liverpool.
Sunday 19 May 2024 19:50, UK
Manchester City have won a record-breaking fourth Premier League title in a row after beating West Ham 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season.
A wondergoal from Phil Foden put the Sky Blues ahead after just 79 seconds before the England international scored again in the 18th minute.
City looked set to cruise into the history books before an acrobatic bicycle kick from Mohammed Kudus pulled one back for the Hammers before half-time.
However, a goal from Rodri just before the hour mark left West Ham with a lot of work to do if they were to spoil Man City's party.
Pep Guardiola's side are now the first English side to win four top flight titles in a row since the first edition of the football league started in 1888.
This season ends with more disappointment for Arsenal who have finished second in the Premier League for the second year in a row.
The Gunners beat Everton 2 - 1 at the Emirates Stadium but needed City to lose in order to lift Premier League trophy.
They have finished two points behind Man City in a title race that went right to the final day of the season.
It means Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, previously Guardiola's assistant coach at Man City, will have to try again if he wants to knock his former employers off their perch.
City supporters had attempted to run onto the pitch to celebrate during stoppage time as players encouraged them to remain in the stands this afternoon.
However, the pitch was filled with the sky blue shirts of supporters after the final whistle blew and ended another successful Premier League campaign.
It marks another historic year for City after they became only the second English side to win the Treble - lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies - last season.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool won 2 - 0 on manager Jurgen Klopp's final game in charge.
Man City have achieved unprecedented dominance - but judgement day awaits off the pitch
Not even Sir Alex Ferguson's all-conquering Manchester United managed this – four titles in a row.
Never before, in fact, in the 136 years of history of England’s top division.
Manchester City keep setting new standards for Premier League supremacy, dominating the division like never before.
Pep Guardiola's side created history on a day Arsenal could not overcome the weight of history.
After a 20-year drought, their wait for the trophy goes on.
Mikel Arteta’s men were unable to match the Gunners of 1989 in overhauling the leaders on the final day.
It's so difficult it has never been done since then.
And it's even more difficult when coming up against the City's £1bn squad with the Erling Haaland goal machine and Premier League player-of-the-season Phil Foden.
Spending that is enabled by their Abu Dhabi investors that has fuelled unprecedented dominance but also an unprecedented Premier League investigation.
Amid the celebrations this is a club fighting 115 charges from the Premier League on alleged financial rule breaches stretching back to 2009.
Judgement day awaits, though maybe still months away.
Talk of punishments – this season saw Everton and Nottingham Forest docked points for overspending – is on hold.
So for some is the verdict on this entire period of such superiority on the pitch.
But there's no doubting the scale of City’s achievements and the scintillating football overseen by the genius of Guardiola.
They’d won the league only twice up to 1968 until 2012.
Now there’s little stopping the juggernaut for the 10 times champions of English football – on the pitch at least.
During his eight-and-a-half years in charge of the Reds, Klopp led them to glory in the Champions League in 2019 and their first-ever Premier League title in 2020.
Liverpool have finished this season in third place - seven points behind Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi watched his side lose 2 - 0 against Manchester United in his last game in charge.
Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United all played their last Premier League game for at least another season after being relegated to the Championship.