Chapter 602: Four Titles in Five Years, Manchester City Secures the Premier League Title Seven Rounds Early!
"That kid wearing number 47, his name is Foden, right? He looks way too young. Is he really 18?"
On the bench, a few of Manchester City's main players were pointing at the young player on the field, with his baby face, looking more like a kid than a professional footballer.
"He's almost 18, I think. He was born in May 2000, so he'll turn 18 in a few months."
"This kid's got good footwork. Sometimes he pulls off some impressive moves, but he's weak in physical confrontations. Still, he's got a good attitude—he runs a lot and puts in a lot of effort."
At 18, Foden wasn't yet the brilliant player he'd become in five or six years. Right now, he was still an immature rookie, needing more game time to gain experience. He needed to learn from his mistakes, understand his weaknesses, and play to his strengths. Only then could he stand out in the fierce competition.
This wasn't something that could happen overnight, especially for a player expected to become the team's midfield maestro or attacking core. Foden still had a long way to go.
"So, what do you think of him?" Lin Quan nudged De Bruyne, who was sitting next to him, and asked.
Foden's position on the field was similar to De Bruyne's, but their styles were quite different. Foden played more advanced, almost like a false nine, getting involved in more attacking plays and taking on fewer organizational duties. His role on the field was somewhat similar to Lin Quan's.
"He's fast, has good spatial awareness, and his off-the-ball movement is great. Sure, he's not strong enough yet, but for his age and build, he's already doing pretty well."
De Bruyne was optimistic about Foden's future. After all, he was someone Guardiola had high hopes for, and if he'd caught Pep's eye, he was definitely special.
Lin Quan agreed with De Bruyne's assessment. Foden wouldn't become a playmaker, but he could grow into an attacking core. In the future, he would likely be Lin Quan's substitute. However, with only a four-year age gap between them, Foden might have to wait a while before taking over that role.
...
Guardiola's anger during the match had its intended effect. After being chewed out, the substitutes on the field woke up and started playing with more intensity. In the 51st minute of the second half, Bernardo Silva received a through ball from İlkay Gündoğan, cut inside the box, and scored from a tight angle to make it 2-1.
However, Basel quickly responded. In the 71st minute, Foden made a mistake, and Basel capitalized with a quick counterattack. Their forward held off a City defender and laid the ball off to an overlapping wingback, who fired a shot into the net. The score was now 2-2.
This time, Guardiola didn't yell at his players. Instead, he subbed Foden off.
Foden walked off the pitch with his head down, knowing he had messed up. He felt anxious, wondering if his mistake would lead Guardiola to lose faith in him.
"Don't worry, the coach usually doesn't yell at players," Lin Quan reassured him.
"Yeah, unless you make a super huge mistake. But when he does start yelling, he can't stop!" Agüero chimed in dryly, making Foden's face fall even further.
Oh no, I'm doomed!
Foden could already see his bleak future.
After Foden left the field, the score remained unchanged for the rest of normal time, and it looked like the match was headed for a draw. However, in the second minute of stoppage time, City's new signing from Athletic Bilbao, substitute defender Aymeric Laporte, rose high in the box and headed the ball into the net, scoring his first goal for the club.
Thanks to Laporte's goal, Manchester City won 3-2, narrowly beating Basel.
This victory gave City a 7-2 aggregate win, securing their place in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The next day, after the final matches of the Round of 16 were played, the quarterfinal lineup was confirmed. The teams were Manchester City and Liverpool from the Premier League, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla from La Liga, Juventus and Roma from Serie A, and Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga.
Although all five Premier League teams had made it to the knockout stages, most of them didn't make it past the first round. Tottenham, whose squad depth was a bit thin, lost 3-4 to Juventus in a hard-fought battle. Chelsea were humiliated, losing 1-4 to Barcelona. As for Manchester United, they were handed a favorable draw against a relatively weaker Sevilla, and after holding them to a draw in the first leg, everything seemed to be in their favor. But in the second leg at Old Trafford, United lost 1-2, watching in frustration as Sevilla advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the end, La Liga was the biggest winner in the Round of 16, with all three of its teams advancing, a 100% success rate. The Premier League, despite all the hype, didn't live up to expectations.
However, once the quarterfinal lineup was set, attention quickly shifted to the upcoming draw. Fans were eagerly anticipating the possibility of a Manchester City vs. Real Madrid clash.
Over the years, rumors had circulated that UEFA manipulated Champions League draws to create more dramatic matchups. Some believed that certain draws were scripted to maximize excitement and viewership, and a quarterfinal rematch between last year's finalists, Manchester City and Real Madrid, would be a blockbuster. A clash of these two giants, fueled by their revenge narrative, would surely grab global attention.
Even neutral fans would have a hard time resisting the temptation to watch such an epic showdown.
However, UEFA didn't deliver on this rumored script. They seemed to be concerned that an early meeting between these two heavyweights could reduce the excitement and viewership for the semifinals and the final.
Instead, the quarterfinal draw played out as follows:
Real Madrid would face Italian giants Juventus. While Madrid had a slight advantage in terms of overall strength, Juventus had been improving steadily over the years, making this match highly unpredictable. It was considered a 60-40 split in favor of Madrid.Bayern Munich drew the weakest team left, Sevilla. This match was expected to be a straightforward win for Bayern.Barcelona got another favorable draw, facing Roma, a team they were widely expected to defeat. Most predicted Barça would comfortably make it to the semifinals.Lastly, Manchester City would face Liverpool, setting up an all-English clash that neither club's fans wanted to see.
When the draw was announced, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. Liverpool had just fought a grueling match against City in the Premier League, and now they would meet again in the Champions League. It wasn't a favorable matchup for Liverpool, and it seemed like their bad luck continued.
Among the remaining teams, City was the one Liverpool least wanted to face. They would have preferred facing Real Madrid rather than City, because at least Madrid hadn't played against them as often. City, on the other hand, knew Liverpool inside out, as both teams played in the same league and were geographic neighbors. Liverpool had no secrets from City, making it nearly impossible to spring a surprise.
While Klopp was laughing ruefully, Guardiola wasn't particularly thrilled either. Liverpool was a tough, scrappy team that could suddenly find their form and become unstoppable. No one wanted to face such an unpredictable opponent.
Still, the draw wasn't all bad news for City. The short distance between Liverpool and Manchester meant there wouldn't be the usual travel fatigue, giving City's players a physical advantage. They also wouldn't have to deal with hostile fans disturbing their rest in a distant city. Liverpool was only a few dozen kilometers away, so City could simply travel by bus before the match. Even if Liverpool fans wanted to cause trouble, they couldn't come all the way to Manchester.
There was still about a month before the Champions League quarterfinals, giving both teams plenty of time to prepare. For now, both clubs needed to focus on picking up points in the league. City were aiming to secure the title early, while Liverpool were fighting to stay in the top four and secure a spot in next season's Champions League.
...
On March 13, Manchester City returned to Premier League action with a 2-0 away win over Stoke City, extending their winning streak to seven matches. Liverpool, however, were less fortunate. In their heated rivalry match against Manchester United, they lost 1-2, missing the chance to extend their lead over Chelsea. Instead, Chelsea closed the gap by three points. Now, Liverpool led Chelsea by only four points with eight matches left, leaving their position in the top four in jeopardy.
In Round 31, City kept their momentum going, defeating Brighton 3-1 at home, making it eight consecutive wins. Meanwhile, Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham, widening the gap between the two teams once again.
After 31 rounds, City had 29 wins, 2 draws, and no losses, with 89 points. United, with 20 wins, 6 draws, and 5 losses, had only 66 points. With just seven matches remaining, City's 23-point lead meant they had secured the Premier League title seven rounds early.
Unfortunately, Manchester United's match was played after City's, so the trophy presentation had to be delayed.
On April 1, at Goodison Park, Everton's players lined up in the tunnel to form a guard of honor for the newly crowned Premier League champions, Manchester City. This is a Premier League tradition—when a team wins the title early, the host team must honor them as they enter the pitch.
Everton's relationship with City was neither good nor bad, so while some players genuinely admired City's incredible achievement of securing the title with seven rounds left, others were filled with envy and resentment. After all, Everton hadn't won the league in over 30 years.
It had been so long since they'd tasted victory that their desire for a title had become almost unbearable. In contrast, City had won four Premier League titles in the last five years—almost as if the trophy belonged to them exclusively.
It truly was a case of "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer."
While Everton's players maintained a respectful attitude, the fans in the stands were far less courteous. From the moment City stepped onto the pitch, they were met with a chorus of boos, which continued non-stop.
This irritated City's players, sparking a fire in them, and Everton paid the price.
Within the first 20 minutes, City were already 3-0 up. Mbappé opened the scoring in the 4th minute, Agüero added a second in the 7th minute, and Lin Quan's free-kick in the 17th minute made it 3-0.
Finally, the boos from the Goodison Park crowd stopped. The Everton fans were in shock.
This isn't a dream, is it?
It feels like I'm watching my team being butchered, completely unable to fight back.
The dream felt so real that they started to question whether it was really happening.
They had no doubt that if the match continued at this pace, a complete disaster was inevitable.
Wayne Rooney, now 33 years old, stood with his hands on his hips, breathing heavily as he looked blankly at the scoreboard. He couldn't understand it. Back when he was dominating with Manchester United, City had been a minor team.
How had they grown so powerful in just a few short years?
The pace of change in the world was simply too fast for him to keep up with.
With these thoughts swirling in his head, Rooney suddenly considered retirement. Years of hard living had taken their toll on his body, and he found himself struggling to keep up with the intensity of Premier League football.
Instead of dragging himself along like this, maybe it was time to bow out gracefully.
Rooney had always been a proud man. After all, he had once stood on top of the football world.
Seeing his team dominate, Guardiola was pleased but didn't want his players to exhaust themselves, so he instructed them to manage the game and conserve their energy.
After all, they had many tough matches ahead, and with the result already decided, there was no need to push themselves any further.
End of chapter.