When Manchester City scored their third goal against Aston Villa, it was not just an amazing comeback but a title winning performance. Up and down the country especially in the great city of Liverpool, with fifteen minutes to go the feeling must have been the 2022 English Premiership title was going to Liverpool.
But then goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri brought the title within City’s grasp. And indeed another Ilkay Gundogan goal clinched the title for Manchester City. Amazing.
There are many reasons for City’s phenomenal success over recent years. In Guardiola, they have an amazing manager and every player in the squad wants to do well. With this in mind, let’s look at Manchester City stars who will have a golden future. At the moment they are never far from the football news, and no doubt this will be the case for many years to come.
So who were the five City players who were influential in the team’s title win.
Portuguese international Ruben Dias sorted City’s defensive issues last season and this transformed the club’s performances. This transformation gave City the 2021 title and in turn the 2022 title as well.
He was awarded the Etihad Player of the Season award in his debut season. Dias’ defensive capabilities and his ability to organise the back four as a defensive unit, have led to several cups adorning the Manchester City trophy cabinet in addition to two title wins.
At the start of the season, rumours were abound that Portuguese star Bernardo Silva was unhappy. Whether he was, is or isn’t, his performances on the pitch were unaffected. Statistically, he has had his best Manchester City season to date. The man has scored eight goals in the English Premiership and achieved three assists.
That doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as his performances in his 32 appearances have been energetic, intelligent, and it is fair to say he was one of City’s most influential players.
At the start of the 2021-2022 season, Pep Guardiola had a major problem at left-back. Luckily, despite many pundits believing Cancelo was going to leave Manchester City for pastures new, he slotted into the role shoring up the defence.
Not only was his season stellar he created six Manchester City goals with his sublime pass to Raheem Sterling during the Everton home game, entering the history books as one of the best assists in the club's history.
Should Cancelo win the Ethiad player of the Year award, not only will it be well deserved, he will be the second fullback to win the award. The first was Pablo Zabaleta who scooped it in 2013.
Rodri who scored in the title winning Aston Villa game was one of City’s best players this season and it is fair to say he will feature strongly in Guardiola’s plans in the future. Hailing from Spain, he has scored seven times in 33 matches in the 2021-2022 season despite playing in a defensive role.
At the start of the season, he was almost dismissed by many pundits but he has proved them all wrong with his ability to shut down attacks from the opposing team.
Great sides have always had that midfielder that is like a rock in the middle of the park, and in Rodri, City has that kind of player.
It is fair to say there aren’t many Reds fans lining up to buy him a drink, and Manchester City players love that.
Needing no introduction, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is regarded as one of the best players in the world. His fifteen goals in thirty matches in the 2021-2022 season combined with eight assists, he has always been one of the club’s most influential players.
Kevin De Bruyne is one of those players that you like to watch because when he is on form everything he does is spectacular.
As always, he was one of the most prolific creators during the 2021-2022 season and if you remove penalties from the equation, he rivals Salah as one of the best goalscoring midfielders last season.
No doubt, Guardiola will want to hang on to the Belgium for many seasons to come.
Manchester City’s 2021-2022 season was like the season itself – thrilling! It came down to almost the very last kick for City to pick up its sixth Premiership league title. The club didn’t set the league on fire at the beginning of the season. As it wore on, however, they just got better and better, stronger and stronger.
Their big players stepped up and held their nerve. This is shown beautifully in the 3-2 comeback to clinch the title.
The players, the manager, and the coaching staff at the club are in tune, and this makes them one of the most dominant club sides in the world.
The player here are already legends, and we will see them delivering for the club every season.