the times | Monday May 23 2022 2GG 3
thegame
up to deliver title for City
Gerrard turned away, allowing
himself a brief fist-pump.
De Bruyne responded, nicking the
ball, trying to drive City on. Guardiola
responded, replacing the vulnerable
Fernandinho with Zinchenko.
Cancelo went to right back, Stones
partnered Aymeric Laporte in trying
to combat Ollie Watkins, with
Zinchenko at left back. Guardiola
twisted again. He removed Riyad
Mahrez and sent on Sterling. Mings
immediately threw himself in the way
of a Sterling cross.
The siege intensified. Calum
Chambers hooked away a De Bruyne
free kick, then blocked a Jesus shot.
Guardiola played his last ace, sending
on Gundogan for Silva after
68 minutes. Within a minute Villa
were further ahead, again on the
counter. Olsen drove the ball upfield,
Watkins flicked on, Coutinho’s first
touch confused Laporte and his
second ushered the ball perfectly past
Ederson. But then came De Bruyne.
The game turned around, De Bruyne
made sure City were in control. He
took a foul from Marvelous Nakamba
to win a free kick and shed seconds.
He forced a corner deep into stoppage
time, bringing the final whistle. What
a player. What a season.from a bottle of champagne.
Guardiola sipped from a bottle of
water. Zinchenko briefly walked apart,
his thoughts understandably back in
his homeland, before returning to the
throng clutching a Ukrainian flag. He
draped it around the trophy, stepped
back to let the fans see it and they
responded with a thunderous ovation.
And again they sang “Oh, Kevin De
Bruyne”, did the Poznan and
marvelled at the emotions that
football brings, from anxiety to
ecstasy. De Bruyne was the catalyst
on the field but Guardiola’s ability to
change a game from the dugout also
helped to define the day and the
season. His changes from the bench
released the cavalry perfectly — first
Gundogan, who scored twice, then
Sterling and Zinchenko, who claimed
an assist each.
Guardiola also responded to the
sound of Klopp’s thoroughbreds
chasing them down by driving his
players on and creating almost a siege
mentality by suggesting that the
whole country wanted Liverpool to
win. Guardiola gave the favourites an
underdog’s bite. He rallied the fans,
demanding more noise, even using his
programme notes to urge fans to be
“loud, loud, loud”. They needed little
prompting, greeting the City bus with
blue smoke bombs, jeering Villa
touches, then cheering as Olsen
overhit a ball to Cash.
On it went, nerves tightening. After
29 minutes Guardiola rushed to get a
loose ball, whipping it to Bernardo
Silva, anxious to get on with things.
By now Guardiola had taken up
almost permanent residency at the
edge of the technical area. Wary of
nerves creeping into his players,
Guardiola clapped above his head,
signalling his belief.
Over in the other technical area,
Steven Gerrard was also encouraging
his players to keep resisting and hit
on the counter. After 37 minutes Luiz
advanced from the back and passed
left to Jacob Ramsey. The 20-year-old
took the move on, releasing Lucas
Digne down the left. The Frenchman
made rapid ground, whipping in his
cross just before Stones could
intervene. Stones was starting at right
back, with Walker only on the bench,
and he got caught out here.
As Digne drove the ball across,
Cash was sprinting towards the six-
yard area, getting in front of Cancelo
and powering his header through
Ederson’s despairing left hand and
into the net.TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER; MANCHESTER CITY FC/GETTY IMAGES‘It’s time for golf ’ – Pep
swerves talk of future
When Pep Guardiola signed his
contract extension for Manchester
City in November 2020, even those
closest to him were surprised.
Guardiola had met Khaldoon Al
Mubarak, the City chairman, in the
Maldives during the October
international break that year.
Guardiola’s staff thought it was just a
normal meeting — both men are
regular visitors to the islands, which
offer them an escape from the strains
of their respective jobs.
It came as a surprise, therefore,
when Guardiola called up one of his
backroom staff and revealed that he
had extended his deal by another two
years, until the end of the 2022-23
season. The explanation was also
rather peculiar. “Well, we had a nice
meal, and... yeah, I just decided
to stay.” The explanation
drew laughter.
It had, before that
point, looked as if
Guardiola would
leave when his
deal was due to
expire last
summer. Surely,
after watching
Guardiola guide
City to their fourth
Premier League title
in five years, Al
Mubarak will soon be
wining and dining
Guardiola in an attempt to
persuade the Catalan to sign another
extension. City fans certainly want to
see that.
Their team put them through the
ringer yesterday but, particularly for
those present at the Etihad Stadium,
it was a day that they will not forget
in a hurry. When the game was
drifting away from their team in the
first half, City fans probably had a
complaint or two about Guardiola’s
team selection. John Stones did not
look comfortable playing at full back,
and Fernandinho was struggling to
keep pace with Ollie Watkins.
But Guardiola had the humility to
admit that he was wrong and the
courage to make three key changes,
bringing on Oleksandr Zinchenkoafter the half-time interval, and later
Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan
for Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva.
Zinchenko balanced the back four,
Sterling set up City’s first goal and
Gundogan scored twice to secure
the title.
City’s critics are always quick to
point out that Guardiola has had a lot
of money to spend, but he has spent it
well. Of the players signed in the
Guardiola era, only a handful —
including Claudio Bravo, Danilo and
Benjamin Mendy — have been flops.
The statistics of the Guardiola era
are astonishing: six years, 11 trophies,
260 wins, 39 draws and 52 defeats.
Whenever the 51-year-old manager
does leave, the Premier League will be
a worse place.
Guardiola said in an interview with
Sky Sports a couple of weeks ago that
he would make a decision about his
future only when his contract
expires. Privately, there is
an expectation at the
club that he will
inform Txiki
Begiristain, the
director of
football, of his
decision at least
six months before
his contract
expires. That way
he will not leave
City in the lurch,
whatever he decides.
Even though this is
his sixth season at City —
his longest spell with any club
— he seems happy. He has everything
he wants. He has a close relationship
with Al Mubarak, Begiristain and the
chief executive, Ferran Soriano.
Guardiola knows there are few clubs
who can match City’s spending power
or facilities.
He has a brilliant squad that will be
strengthened by the acquisition of
Erling Haaland and others. Guardiola
is also settled in the area.
The only question is whether he
thinks he has the energy to do
another two years.
A potential contract extension was
the last thing on his mind last night
though. Instead he was concentrating
on celebrating his latest title triumph
and a summer of relaxation.
“Now is the time for golf,” he said
yesterday evening when asked if he
would extend his stay at City.Guardiola was in tears at the end as he
hugged his assistant Juanma Lillo4
City’s PL titles in past
five years. Guardiola has
ten titles in Europe’s ‘big
five’ leagues since 2009
— four more than any
other managerPAUL HIRSTOlsen’s attacker faces ban
Manchester City say they will ban the
supporter who allegedly assaulted the
Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen
as he tried to get off the pitch at full-
time at the Etihad.
“The club has launched an
immediate investigation and, once
identified, the individual responsible
will be issued with an indefinite
stadium ban,” City said afterwards.
Steven Gerrard revealed that
Olsen, who was making his firstappearance for Villa, felt something
hit the back of the head as fans
poured on to the pitch after City’s 3-2
comeback win.
“My goalkeeper was attacked,” the
Villa manager said.
Video suggests more than one City
fan may have touched Olsen. It is
understood Villa will not look to
make a formal complaint.
Roy Keane, the Sky Sports pundit,
said: “A player or a manager is going
to be seriously injured. There will be
something crazy that happens. Idiots,
scumbags, disgrace — it’s a disgrace.”CHARLOTTE DUNCKER17
Years since Man City
had come back from
two goals down to win
a PL match — 3-2 v
Norwich in Feb 2005PWD L F APts
Man City (C) 38 29 6 3 99 26 93
Liverpool 38 28 8 2 94 26 92
Chelsea 38 21 11 6 76 33 74
Tottenham 38 22 5 11 69 40 71
Arsenal 38 22 3 13 61 48 69
Man Utd 38 16 10 12 57 57 58
West Ham 38 16 8 14 60 51 56
Leicester 38 14 10 14 62 59 52
Brighton 38 12 15 11 42 44 51
Wolves 38 15 6 17 38 43 51
Newcastle 38 13 10 15 44 62 49
Crystal Palace 38 11 15 12 50 46 48
Brentford 38 13 7 18 48 56 46
Aston Villa 38 13 6 19 52 54 45
Southampton 38 9 13 16 43 67 40
Everton 38 11 6 21 43 66 39
Leeds 38 9 11 18 42 79 38
Burnley (R) 38 7 14 17 34 53 35
Watford (R) 38 6 5 27 34 77 23
Norwich (R) 38 5 7 26 23 84 22HOW THEY FINISHED