On a day when any tension was largely illusory, there was considerable symbolism. Arsenal lifted themselves to the 89 points that were required last season, only for Manchester City to go that bit further. They easily beat West Ham United to make it 91 points, illustrating how they always manage to raise the bar.
Many point to this as a sign of the Premier League’s supposed competitiveness, but it really just shows how difficult it is to even keep pace with the apparently perpetual champions. City force teams to go the distance only to then go that bit further themselves. That comes from a combination of maybe the greatest manager of all time overseeing a squad and infrastructure as he idealises it, to now go further than anyone has before.
City have become the first team in English history to win four successive league titles and the first with as many as six in seven years. That’s all through returns of points (average 91.1), wins (average 29) and trophies (50 per cent of those available) that are superior to any previous club over a spell so long. It is an unprecedented level of domination, now akin to what has recently been seen in Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga.
There is of course another number hanging over that, which played into a more potent piece of symbolism on the day. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters was not at Manchester City for their win, and that ensured there were no comments about the competition’s most senior figure again handing another Premier League title trophy to the club it has been investigating for so long.
Denne historien er fra May 21, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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