Treble to Trouble

Over the past decade, Manchester City have been the embodiment for success in soccer. Led by Pep Guardiola, arguably the greatest manager of all time, the side has completely dominated the sport in England and finally added a European championship to their already impressive list of accolades. Since the 2017/18 season, Man City has won the English Premier League six times out of seven, an unprecedented feat in a well-rounded league with several strong sides. 

In 2023, City took down an impressive Inter Milan side in the Champions League final, marking their first Champions League victory in club history. In their European campaign, Manchester City players dominated the stats leaderboards. Star Norwegian striker Erling Haaland bagged 12 goals, winning the golden boot in the competition. The next highest scorer was winger Mohammed Salah of Liverpool, who only managed eight. City’s playmaker, Kevin de Bruyne, led the assist leaderboard with seven, and their defensive midfielder, Rodri, led in ball recoveries with 72. 

However, Man City’s success can be attributed to much more than their star players. Since taking over City, Guardiola has revolutionized the tactical side of the sport, establishing dominance through his possession-based style of play. He also popularized inverted fullbacks, where wide defenders shift into the midfield when in possession to create a numerical advantage. Guadriola’s side is known for picking opponent defenses apart by suffocating teams with thousands of passes before finally sending in crosses to their strikers to score. 

In addition to their robust tactical system, Manchester City have also proven their ability to produce talent through their academy. Most notably, midfielder Phil Foden, a product of the academy, has played a crucial part in the team’s success over the past few years. Last season Foden registered 19 goals and eight assists, winning the EPL Player of the Year Award. Manchester City’s academy also produced Rico Lewis, a top talent who has earned great praise for his calmness and ability on the ball. Former England player Joe Cole called Lewis “an outstanding footballer,” being left in awe by his debut with the English national team.

However, despite having built a football dynasty, Manchester City have seemingly crumbled over the past couple of months. Going into the 2024/25 season, the betting odds for the club to be relegated to the Championship (the second tier of English soccer) were 12:1, an abnormally high number for a team who has just won the championship four times back to back. The high odds are thanks to the financial fair play trial which City find themselves in, facing a potential 116 charges. 

In addition to facing financial trouble, City have lost arguably their most influential player, defensive midfielder Rodri, to injury. The Spanish midfielder recently won the Balon d’Or, the award for the best player in the world over the past year. Rodri’s passing range and understanding of space combined with his relentless defensive abilities make him the heart of Manchester City, often at the center of play. However, during City’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal, Rodri collided with the Gunners’ midfielder Thomas Partey while attempting a shot. During this collision Rodri tore his ACL, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

While there has been doubt surrounding the club due to these trials and injuries, very few would have questioned the club’s play going into the season. City began the season as expected, going on an undefeated run through September and the majority of October. That was until October 30, when they faced off against Tottenham Hotspur—a side that has inexplicably had great success against the perennial champions—in the Carabao Cup. Within five minutes of the first whistle, Spurs’ German winger Timo Werner put Tottenham ahead. 20 minutes later, Tottenham midfielder Pape Matar Sarr doubled the lead with a strong strike from outside the penalty area. Matheus Nunes earned one back for City before the half, but it was not enough to keep them alive in the competition. 

Next up for City was a Premier League match against an on-paper winneable fixture: Bournemouth. City were large favorites to win this match, hoping to bounce back from their previous loss. However, their start was less than ideal. Again, they found themselves trailing within 10 minutes after a go-ahead goal from Bournemouth winger Semenyo. 64 minutes into the match, striker Evanilsion doubled the Cherries’ lead, scoring his first career Premier League goal. A late headed goal from the Croatian left-back Joško Gvardiol again was insufficient to salvage a draw for City, resulting in their second consecutive 2-1 loss. 

City were then thrashed in the Champions League by high-flying Sporting CP of Portugal, where Sporting’s red-hot Swedish striker, Viktor Gyökeres, bagged a hattrick in a 4-1 victory. City’s fourth consecutive loss then came against Brighton, another mid-table Premier League club. An uncharacteristic losing streak was beginning to become increasingly problematic for Manchester City, but they had a chance for redemption as they faced off against Tottenham again in the Premier League. 

On November 23, the two met again, in Manchester this time, with much anticipation. Again, the match was won by Tottenham. This time, however, it was not even close. The London club dominated, winning by a shocking score of 4-0. City then went on to draw against the Dutch side Feyenoord, another team they would have been expected to beat. In his interview after the match, Guardiola was seen with red marks on his head and nose, resulting from him scratching himself from stress. 

Unfortunately for him, this stress would continue. City were set to face the league leaders, Liverpool, on the first of December. Over the last six years, both teams had shared an epic rivalry with Liverpool often falling just short of Man City in the Premier League. However, this was a showing to forget for Man City. Despite maintaining 53 percent possession of the ball, City failed to create attacking opportunities at the same rate as Liverpool, who led the match in every offensive stat. Liverpool managed 18 shots on goal as opposed to Man City’s eight, and two goals for Liverpool from wingers Cody Gakpo and Mohammed Salah earned them a 2-0 victory, raising concerns over Man City’s ability to continue to compete with the highest levels of opposition.

Finally though, City managed a victory in their next match, beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in a confident manner, with a big performance from midfielder Kevin de Bruyne who registered both a goal and an assist. It seemed as though City were turning things around and began to momentarily look like themselves once again. They had a chance to prove this once again in their next match where they would face off against Crystal Palace, a side currently sitting in 17th place out of 20. Again, though, City were down within five minutes. Haaland was able to respond, 30 minutes later, and two second half goals left the sides even with five minutes to go. Then, City talent Rico Lewis picked up a second yellow card, putting City down to ten men. This ensured that they did not pull through with a victory, continuing their poor run of form. 

Despite this streak, City are still in fourth place in the Premier League, and have plenty of time to turn things around. It is unclear whether this is just an unfortunate streak for the reigning champions or whether this is indicative of real change within the club. Regardless, this has opened up a window for other clubs to make title charges. Liverpool currently are at the top of the table, but strong Arsenal and Chelsea sides are beginning to look increasingly threatening. This has renewed some of the depth that the Premier League is known for, with more than just one dominant side.