This has not been the league campaign that anyone associated with Manchester City could have anticipated.Â
For the past two seasons, Pep Guardiola’s men have been nothing short of sensational in their two title wins.
A first league title under Pep saw City suffer only two defeats and ended the season with 100 points. Then, in the second title victory, they ended the season with only four defeats with 98 points.
However, this season has seen City lose more than the last two seasons combined with nine defeats. In terms of an end of season points total, City cannot finish with more than 81 points, and that is if they do win their last two games.
During the season many fans have been able to pinpoint the moment where they knew Man City had lost the league.
With that in mind, I have looked through the season and selected my top five moments where the title was lost.
1. City suffer heavy defeat away at Anfield
The 3-1 defeat away at Liverpool on November 10th came with a sense of inevitability that Liverpool would run away.
That was City’s third defeat already and left them nine points behind the Reds. With only one game left to take points from Liverpool, the gap just seemed too big and Liverpool just kicked on from there.
2. Laporte suffers long term injury.
A 4-0 victory at home against Brighton on August 31st should have had City fans walking out of the Etihad. Instead, fans eagerly anticipated Pep’s post-match interview to hear about Laporte’s knee injury.
The Frenchman was forced to have knee surgery which saw him miss 17 games courtesy of the injury. Of those 14 games he missed, City lost four and drew two. That left midfielder Fernandinho having to play at centre-back.
3. Kompany leaves a hole that can not be replaced.
The departure of club skipper Vincent Kompany has had a detrimental effect on this City side. The former defender was able to drag his defence through tough times but this season City have lacked that leader at the back.
It is never easy to replace a club legend but City’s inability to replace the Belgian may have been the worst piece of business last summer.
4. City suffer shock defeat to new boys Norwich
The first game without Laporte brought Manchester City’s first defeat of the new season.
Without a doubt, this was the shock of the season.
This was the game that showed if you had a go at City their defensive frailties were highlighted for the rest of the league to see. It should be noted that Norwich also had eight first-team players injured for this game.
5. City surprised at home against out of form Wolves
Man City had been undefeated at home since their 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in December 2018. But this game was yet another example of City’s inability to defend since the injury of Laporte and exit of Kompany.
Wolves at the beginning of the season only had seven points from seven games at the time. The away side showed the rest of the league a blueprint on how to counter against City’s possession-based game.
