Manchester City celebrated their Premier League title victory on Sunday, defeating Chelsea 1-0 at a sun-drenched Etihad Stadium thanks to an early goal by Julian Alvarez.
City have won 12 straight games in the Premier League, having wrapped up the title when second-placed Arsenal were defeated at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Forward Jack Grealish was asked if City, who trailed Arsenal by eight points in late March, had felt invincible in recent weeks.
“We have, yes. It’s crazy because I told some of the lads that to win the league, we’d need to win 12 games in a row,” Grealish told Sky Sports, with celebrations still going on on the pitch behind him.
“I’m not saying I didn’t think we could do it, but it was going to be difficult, but we have so much talent in this squad, and at the moment we just feel unstoppable.”
City has 88 points from 36 games, seven more than Arsenal, who has one match left. Frank Lampard’s struggling Chelsea are in 12th place with 43 points.
“It feels unreal right now, I’m so happy,” City’s goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland said as he danced away from the interviewer.
“The memories I’ll have for the rest of my life, we fought so hard.”
SCORING RECORD
Alvarez scored for a largely second-string City team in the 12th minute, slipping the ball under goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from a pass by Kyle Walker. He also had a goal disallowed for a handball in the build-up.
With Alvarez’s winner, City had scored 100 goals at The Etihad this season, tying the club’s record set in 2018-19 for most home goals scored in all competitions in a single season.
With nothing on the line on Sunday and two massive games on the horizon – the FA Cup and Champions League finals – City manager Pep Guardiola left his big guns on the bench for the majority of the game, including Haaland.
The Spaniard, who won his tenth major trophy with City, made nine changes to the team that thrashed Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
“I actually can’t speak highly enough of the manager,” Grealish said. “Listen, he’s a little strange in the way he seems to know everything; some games I’m thinking: what’s he going to come up with today?” And he devises new strategies for each game. It’s a pleasure to collaborate with him. “I adore him.”
Despite wholesale changes to the team, City dominated Chelsea, demonstrating that they are a well-oiled machine regardless of which parts their mastermind manager has to work with.
City were crowned champions for the third season in a row, and the fifth time in six years a day earlier than expected, after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Forest extinguished any remaining hope of catching them.
FESTIVE MOOD
On Sunday, the mood was festive. Chelsea provided a guard of honor for the City players, who had watched the Arsenal game together the night before, before kickoff, while thousands of fans rushed onto the field after the final whistle.
Rather than taking their time to enjoy the atmosphere, the players were ushered down the tunnel by security.
Despite announcements to leave the pitch immediately, no one was in a hurry, and a swarm of sky-blue fans lit flares and tugged at the goalposts. One fan waved a banner that read, “The Treble is On.”
Guardiola led the players to the trophy ceremony, high-fiving each member of the team staff along the way. Haaland received the loudest applause, while his smiling father Alfie, who once played for City, filmed with his phone.
Haaland came on as a late substitute and did not add to his Premier League record of 36 goals in a single season.
“I don’t know what to say, and I didn’t plan to say anything,” said Norway striker Haaland. “I feel a special connection with the fans… 36 goals, Premier League trophy, debut season, two finals left, not a bad start.”
Raheem Sterling came close to equalizing in the second half, but defender John Stones made a spectacular sliding save after the ex-City forward beat keeper Stefan Ortega.
Stones embraced fellow England international Sterling after his near-miss, and City fans applauded their former player with a standing ovation when he was replaced.
They could afford to be generous to their team as they basked in the glory of yet another domestic title victory.
