Winners tend to be disliked eventually — especially serial winners — but it’s different with this Man City team that clinched its fifth Premier League title in six seasons. Nobody quite knows what to feel.
— They already had the huge “Three in a Row” celebratory banner hanging over the main entrance at the Etihad Stadium prior to Manchester City’s latest coronation as Premier League champions. They don’t waste any time updating the list of achievements at City, but then again, it’s becoming an annual occurrence when it comes to Pep Guardiola’s team.
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Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening confirmed City as champions without a ball being kicked against Chelsea on Sunday, so for the third time in three years — and fifth time in six seasons — the Etihad was dressed for a title party. There were celebratory scenes inside and outside the stadium, the smoke from blue flares accompanying the City team bus as it arrived for the game, but away from this blue corner of Manchester, City’s latest success has been greeted with apathy and suspicion in equal measure.
Winners tend to be disliked eventually, especially serial winners, but it’s different with this City team. Nobody quite knows what to feel.
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On the one hand, Guardiola’s team are arguably the best the Premier League has ever seen. They decimate opponents with ruthless consistency, playing a brand of football that makes them unbeatable on their day. Just ask Real Madrid, the reigning European champions, who were destroyed in a 4-0 Champions League semifinal second leg last Wednesday.
But City are also under the cloud of more than 100 Premier League charges for allegedly breaching financial regulations. The club vehemently deny all charges and have committed to fighting to overturn each of them, but the charge sheet is so lengthy and comprehensive that nobody outside of the Etihad is prepared to toast Guardiola’s team as being simply the best.
