Guardiola’s side now have an 11-point lead at the top of the table amid growing fears that the Premier League title race is no longer in the running
Farmers League: This is a derogatory term referring to a football league that lacks quality or competitiveness.
It’s an increasingly popular taunt among British fans who look down on countries that seem to know the title winner before the season begins.
While there are usually four or five teams in the Premier League who believe they can challenge for the title, some believe the top divisions of Germany, France and Italy are more likely to predict who will be champions.
For example, over the past nine years, 90% of those who thought Bayern, PSG and Juventus would win the league were right.
In contrast, the Premier League had five different champions during the same period.
However, with Manchester City currently leading with 11 points, there are growing concerns that the Premier League will also develop into a dominance like other leagues.
Pep Guardiola’s side are on the verge of a fourth Premier League title in five years, and their grip on the game has made the possibility of a three-team title race slipping away.
After beating Chelsea 1-0 last weekend, Manchester City has won 12 consecutive Premier League victories. In this game, the Blues were pressed to only one shot on target.
Tuchel complained that Chelsea would be hard-pressed to be in the title race, with only Liverpool remaining hopeful of competing with Manchester City, who are also 11 points behind the Blue Moon with a game in hand.
So, is the Premier League becoming a dominant league? Is it more competitive than the Bundesliga or Ligue 1 realistically?
Before attempting to answer these questions, we should point out that football fans in Germany, France and Italy may take issue with this quip, arguing that their own teams did not win titles out of thin air and that the title race is harder than British fans think much bigger.
Bayern have won the Bundesliga the past nine seasons, but in 2019 they didn’t win until the final round, while neither Paris nor Juventus are currently the defending champions of their respective Nations Leagues.
It’s also worth remembering that one-team domination is cyclical, which is hardly a new phenomenon, even in England.
Aston Villa in the 1890s, Arsenal in the 1930s, Liverpool in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Manchester United between 1992 and 2011 have all won four league titles in five years .
Since Guardiola’s difficult debut season at Manchester City, the team have been excellent since then, but they have almost never tried to get so far ahead of their rivals that in August it was already considered champions. The battle is over.
Champions League winners Chelsea paid £98m for Lukaku this summer, and at the time it was believed that the Blues would make a real impact on the Premier League title, having beaten Manchester City three times last season. Liverpool are also expected to challenge for the title again, Van Dijk has recovered from a long-term injury, and even Manchester United are considered title challengers because they also signed Cristiano Ronaldo and Sanskrit on top of last season’s league runner-up squad. Joe and Varane.
Chelsea and Liverpool looked capable of sustaining title challengers as United imploded spectacularly and quickly. In fact, on December 11, the difference between the Blues, Reds and Manchester City was just two points.
However, Chelsea have won just four of their last 13 Premier League games, and Sunday’s win over Brentford was Liverpool’s first in their last four games.
If they win the next game, Liverpool will have 81 points in the season. Such points have won the championship for two years in the past ten years. If Chelsea wins, the total points will be 74 points. Such points are even in the history of the Premier League. Failed to win.
But the title race is far from over.
Liverpool have one less game to play, and there is still a game away from Manchester City to play. If Liverpool wins, the difference between the two teams will be reduced to only 5 points. Klopp’s team is definitely capable of fighting a wave of consecutive victories. , to put constant pressure on Manchester City.
Manchester City’s current form may be intimidating, but they are certainly not invincible.
Just ask Crystal Palace, who deservedly beat the Blue Moon at the Etihad, or Southampton and Wolves, who can blame their lack of victory over Manchester City on a controversial decision.
And Arsenal, who lost 2-1 to Manchester City this year with ten men, but the Gunners are actually the better side. Or ask Leicester City, Tottenham and West Ham, who have all beat Manchester City in different competitions this season.
Of course, Guardiola’s side have begun to raise the bar for the Premier League title.
If the Blue Moon can achieve the projected 97 points this season, it will be the fifth time in Premier League history that a team has scored that high, but all five have happened in the past five years (Man City twice, Liverpool twice).
City’s brutal and ruthless rule has given Guardiola plenty of admiration from fans, but there will always be detractors ready to snipe at City’s achievements.
When it comes to Manchester City’s success, some people always bring up the topic of money, and the richest clubs are usually the most prestigious.
Manchester City are certainly no exception, having spent more than any team since Mansour took over in 2008, splurging on star players and giving Guardiola enough high-level players to put his The team is shaped into a machine.
In the game against Chelsea, the transfer fee for every player at Manchester City, except for Phil Foden, a youth academy graduate, was more than £35 million.
Chelsea’s squad, however, was not made up of austerity, and while Tuchel complained that City were doing a better job of dealing with the pandemic and injuries, eight of his nine substitutes were permanent internationals. Four of Pep Guardiola’s substitutes have played just three minutes in the Premier League.
So while City’s squad is undeniably strong, there are plenty of holes.
After all, the Blue Moons have been without a positive center and a positive left back all season.
Manchester City wanted to sign Harry Kane last summer, but when the team learned that Tottenham would not let go, Guardiola decided to stick with the team’s existing players rather than buy an unfit man and hope They can be successful.
Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Juventus and he became an option, but when Manchester United were scared to make a panic buy, Manchester City’s interest in Ronaldo ended. Manchester City have decided to regroup and wait until the summer of 2022 to make wiser signings.
Manchester United are a counter example, they have made several costly mistakes in the transfer market in recent years, not least paying crazy fees or huge wages for players like Sanchez, Maguire and Fred – all of them It’s something Manchester City wanted to buy, but gave up when transfer fees or wages started to get inflated.
Manchester United, currently seventh in the Premier League, with an interim manager and a group of players who want to leave, are disproving the old adage ‘money can buy success’, proving that only when you can afford to spend shrewdly When, financial resources are a factor.
Manchester City are certainly in a prime time now, but history suggests they are unlikely to stay in that position forever, especially given the strength of opponents such as Liverpool and Chelsea, who have won two of the last three Champions Leagues.
Guardiola has had incredible success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he knows exactly how to keep his team motivated and at the top.
“In this country, in this league, winning and winning, this is the best title I’ve had and will be the best title I’ll have when I leave.” This is after Guardiola’s victory over Chelsea on Saturday conclusion.
The Premier League is certainly not a farmers’ league for Guardiola, and City are now just a notch above some quality opponents.