Man City win historic fourth consecutive Premier League title in style

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have secured a historic fourth-straight Premier League title after blowing out West Ham 3-1 in the season’s final game at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

City, with a two-point cushion, only needed to win to be sure of the title, and that was what they did even though their title rivals Arsenal snatched a late win against Everton.

The Cityzens had a dream start, with Phil Foden thumping a finish high into the net from a Bernardo Silva pass.

The EPL Player of the season was on hand to double City’s lead in the 18th minute

Doku delivered a lovely pass, and Foden, well-placed, simply passed the ball into the net from 14 yards with his left foot.

But what initially looked like one-way traffic changed when Ghanian forward Mohammed Kudus pulled one back for the Hammers.

It was a stunning overhead kick from the West Ham player, who took one touch from the corner before thumping the ball into the net with a brilliant finish.

With the game delicately poised at 2-1, City knew they still had work to do in the second half.

After toiling in the early exchanges, they found a way to double their lead just before the hour mark.

The ball broke to Rodri on the edge of the box, and the Spaniard literally passed the ball into the net from 18 yards to make it 3-1 for City.

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With Sunday’s success, City now have the sixth title in seven seasons under Guardiola, making the competitiveness of the world’s most-watched league now being questioned.

Arsenal second best again

Unfortunately, Arsenal, who finished second last year, couldn’t finish any better this season despite a fiercer contest and a remarkable performance which saw the Gunners breaking a couple of records.

Mikel Arteta’s men needed to beat Everton at the Emirates Stadium and hope City fail to win if they are to end their 20-year wait

Though they picked a 2-1 win over the Toffees, it wasn’t enough to swing the title race in their favour.

Going into Sunday’s match, Arsenal were nearly flawless in 2024, with 15 wins and one draw away to City in 17 league matches.

However, the Gunners’ costly 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa last month proved to be decisive in a thrilling title race that also involved Liverpool until their recent stumbles.

Other matches

In the other Sunday matches, Chelsea finished the season on a winning note as they snatched a top-six Premier League finish with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Moises Caicedo’s spectacular strike from just inside the Cherries’ half set the ball rolling, and Raheem Sterling made it 2-0 just after the restart, but Benoit Badiashile’s own goal ensured a tense conclusion at Stamford Bridge.

At the Gtech Community Stadium, Frank Onyeka and his Brentford teammates were overpowered 4-2 by Newcastle

The Magpies needed a late strike from Bruno Guimaraes to fend off a Brentford fightback to secure the three points, which saw them finishing the season in seventh place.

Elsewhere, a 2-0 win at Brighton could not prevent Manchester United from recording their lowest finish of the Premier League era.

Goals from Diogo Dalot and substitute Rasmus Hojlund inside the final 17 minutes secured three points, but that was only good enough for eighth place.

The Red Devils will miss out on Europe altogether if they fail to beat City in next weekend’s FA Cup final – a result which would hand Newcastle a Europa Conference League berth.

At the other end of the table, Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina ended the season on a winning note with
Nottingham Forest

Chris Wood eased the team to safety with two goals inside the opening 14 minutes as they won 2-1 at relegated Burnley, for whom Josh Cullen scored.

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The season also ended on a bright note for the Nigerian duo of Alex Iwobi and Calvin Baseey as Fulham thumped Luton 4-2 at their home ground.

Raul Jimenez’s double and further goals from Adama Traore and Harry Wilson saw the Craven Cottagers cruising to victory.

Though no trophy in his final season, Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Liverpool ended with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield, with Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah doing the damage after Nelson Semedo’s first-half dismissal.

Aston Villa’s magnificent season ended on a disappointing note as they were trounced 5-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Mateta’s treble was accompanied by a double for Eberechi Eze, which edged the Eagles to a top-10 finish.

Nonetheless, Villa will be proud they will be participants in next season’s Champions League.