This season, Manchester City’s magic number is three.
By defeating Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday, they won the first continental Triple, becoming just the eighth team from Europe to do it, following nearby Manchester United in 1998–99.
They matched the achievement accomplished by Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United (twice) by winning the Premier League this season and completing a hat-trick of championships.
The number 115, which represents the amount of Premier League charges brought against City for alleged financial rule violations and which the club vehemently contests, will continue to be used as a talking point by its critics.
However, for City supporters, the only statistics that matter are the extraordinary ones that come from their team’s prowess on the field and which
show the most prosperous season in their history.
In order to give a picture of how Pep Guardiola’s team advanced to conquer Europe and complete their amazing Treble, BBC Sport looks through them.
We shall begin with the triumph that clinched it, one that City has been working toward ever since the group led by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan took control of them in 2008.
After Liverpool (six times), Manchester United (three times), Chelsea, Nottingham Forest (both twice), and Aston Villa, City is the sixth English club to win the European Cup at their 13th try.
The Blues have endured a protracted wait, with several heartbreaking close calls in previous seasons. Their first experience with intercontinental play was in the European Cup in 1968–1969, the year before they took home their first significant trophy outside of England, the 1970 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
After making a comeback to the European Cup (now known as the Champions League) in 2011–12, they have participated ever since, making it to three quarterfinals, two semifinals, and one final (which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in 2021) before their run to victory in Istanbul.
They maintained the status they have enjoyed since the group stage by entering Saturday’s match as strong favorites to win the trophy (Opta’s prediction model gave them a 74% chance of doing so), and they delivered by winning.
With an overall record of eight victories and five draws from their 13 games, they were able to finish the competition this season as the only unbeaten squad.
Leave a Reply