With their victory over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City celebrated winning the Premier League for a record third time in a row.
After Nottingham Forest defeated Arsenal on Saturday, City were crowned champions without even taking the field. This allowed manager Pep Guardiola to make nine changes from the team that thrashed Real Madrid to advance to the Champions League final.
Julian Alvarez, filling in for Erling Haaland, gave City the lead after 12 minutes with a precise finish as their ecstatic supporters waited for the trophy presentations and celebrations.
City showed strength
The pressure was off for the hosts after winning the championship, and manager Guardiola was able to play some of his shadow team on a day when most supporters were content to wait for the final whistle to applaud their heroes.
With just a glance at City’s substitutes bench, Guardiola’s selection illustrated the vast resources of talent he has on hand. At the start, the City sub bench was warmed by Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones, Jack Grealish, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, and goalkeeper Ederson.
Although goal scorer Alvarez spent a large portion of the season in Haaland’s shadow, he’s had an amazing season and been a key player to the squad, with the chance to add the Treble to his World Cup victory with Argentina.
Manchester City has reclaimed the Premier League once more, while their next two games are in Wembley and Istanbul.
Chelsea needs to prepare to make changes
Chelsea may have had some good chances against the newly crowned champions and only lost by one goal, but they still give off the impression of a team and club desperate for the season to be over.
While Chelsea’s players wait for the arrival of new manager Mauricio Pochettino, Frank Lampard is spending his remaining time on the sidelines before leaving for the second time as manager.
Although the Blues have quality, the new co-ownership of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali hasn’t helped much to steer the team in the right direction. It’s now time to start making the important choices.
Pochettino will arrive at Stamford Bridge with minimal expectations, but if given the freedom to do things his way, there are resources to work with. Over time, his aggressive attacking approach may help this club develop into a top-tier one.
Chelsea, though, must now finish the formalities of a terrible season that currently has them in 12th position, and for good reason.
