No final day drama as Foden double writes City into history books
Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
PHIL Foden underscored his status as the Premier League’s player of the season with two first-half goals that inspired Pep Guardiola and Manchester City to create football history.
Not in 135 years, and 124 seasons, of league football has a club ever won four straight titles - in fact, only six times times has a team, including this City side, ever won three in succession.
But victory over West Ham, which featured a mildly anxious few minutes after the visitors pulled a goal back, saw City do precisely that, winning the Premier League for the sixth time in the last seven years in the process and holding off an impressive Arsenal effort.
The win also cemented Guardiola’s status as, surely, the greatest manager in football history as he won a league title for the 12th time in his 15-year managerial career with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.
It took 78 seconds for City to rip the heart out of West Ham, and any notion David Moyes’ team might have had of ruining this title party.
The news of the opening goal, when it filtered through to the Emirates, would have had a similar effect on Arsenal and their dreams of a first league title in 20 years.
Kyle Walker found Bernardo Silva on the right and his short pass allowed Foden to take a brilliant, space-making touch and take a shot from the edge of the area which flew past Alphonse Areola.
After the goal, the outcome should have been beyond all reasonable doubt inside the opening 15 minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne connected with two powerful shots which Areola did well to parry and Jeremy Doku, trusted with the start by Guardiola, forced two fine saves out of the keeper, one a particularly strong finger-tipped touch over his bar.
Rodri, too, missed a glorious chance to make it 2-0, poking a shot the wrong side of the post with Areola and the West Ham goal at his mercy.
But it did not matter on 18 minutes, when Foden scored his, and City’s, second; a goal that put the finishing touch to the day, and the season, still with over 70 minutes left!
The latest in a long line of relentless attacks came down the left and ended with Doku picking out Foden in a crowded area, for the England man to finish left-footed from 12 yards.
It was now a question of how many, with Erling Haaland somehow hooking the ball over from four yards, at full stretch, in front of an open net following a brilliant cross from Ruben Dias.
Foden also fancied a hat-trick and hit a terrific shot which Areola again did well to get behind and push away from danger.
The one-way traffic was brutal - De Bruyne’s strong shot forcing the overworked West Ham keeper into yet another goal-saving intervention as he dived and touched the ball wide.
Finally, Stefan Ortega, in goal for City in place of the injured Ederson, was required to make a save on 37 minutes, his dive denying Mohammed Kudus, and West Ham were about to make the day a little more interesting.
A James Ward-Prowse corner was not properly dealt with by the home side and the ball sat up invitingly for Kudus who took a touch and scored with a spectacularly acrobatic overhead kick, three minutes before half-time.
Haaland had the chance to restore the two-goal lead in the first minute of stoppage time but missed from six yards, following more good work and a cross from Doku.
City continued to press for that all-important third, with De Bruyne and Foden, the usual suspects, just missing from distance.
It was a patient start to the half and one that was rewarded, on 59 minutes, when Rodri shot City into a 3-1 lead after De Bruyne found Silva in the West Ham area. The Portuguese laid the ball back to Rodri who swept the ball in from the edge of the area, a goal reminiscent of his winner in last season’s Champions League Final.
That was it. Events at Arsenal were now rendered academic and half an hour of title celebrations could begin in earnest, with a late Tomas Soucek consolation being ruled out for handball.
Ortega 7; Walker 7, Dias 6, Akanji 6 (Ake 70, 6), Gvardiol 7; Rodri 7; Silva 7, De Bruyne 8, Foden 10 (Kovacic 90), Doku 7; Haaland 6. Substitutes (not used) Stones, Grealish, J Alvarez, Nunes, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.
Areola 8; Coufal 6, Mavropanos 7, Zouma 5, Cresswell 5, Emerson 5 (A Alvarez 71, 5); Soucek 7, Ward-Prowse 7, Paqueta 6 (Ings 86); Kudus 8; Antonio 5 (Earthy 81). Substitutes (not used) Fabianski, Johnson, Cornet, Ogbonna, Casey, Mubama.
J Brooks 7
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