Five players that led Manchester City to Premier League glory
Here, AFP Sport looks at five of the key players that led Pep Guardiola’s men to the title:
Sergio Aguero
City have now won the title in four of the past eight seasons and one of the few common strands has been Aguero’s goals.
The Argentine has shrugged off the doubts Guardiola had about his suitability for the Catalan’s style of football when he first arrived in Manchester to reinstate himself firmly as City’s first-choice striker.
Aguero has now scored at least 20 Premier League goals in five straight seasons, the first player to do so since Thierry Henry.
And many of his 21 this season were the most important ones in City’s run to the title.
His instant response as Brighton threatened a final-day surprise settled nerves on Sunday; he bagged hat-tricks against Chelsea and Arsenal; scored the opener at home to Liverpool; and the winner in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Burnley by forcing the ball a mere 30 millimetres over the line.
On such small margins, the title race was won.
Aymeric Laporte
The French defender was signed for a then club-record £57 million ($74 million) in January 2018 and after settling in during the second half of last season, has become the mainstay of Guardiola’s defence.
The 24-year-old has played more minutes in the Premier League this season than any other City outfield player and was rightly rewarded with a place in the PFA’s team of the year.
Laporte’s ability to distribute the ball accurately from the back is why Guardiola was so keen to bring him to the Etihad from Athletic Bilbao, but he also possesses the pace and physical power to cope with the rigours of the Premier League with ease as he showed in scoring the goal that put City in front at Brighton.
Fernandinho
City’s strength in depth has been key to holding off Liverpool’s charge despite going deep in four competitions, but if there is one player that Guardiola’s squad does not have a natural replacement for it is Fernandinho.
The Brazilian’s presence was badly missed in December defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester that threatened to kill off City’s title defence.