Manchester City have retained the Premier League title courtesy of a 4-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on the final matchday of the 2018-19 campaign.
City entered the clash at the Amex one point clear of second-placed Liverpool, knowing that a victory over the Seagulls would see them become the first side to retain the Premier League title for 10 years.
Liverpool kept to their end of the bargain by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield to move onto 97 points for the campaign, but City’s success saw them end on 98 points at the conclusion of a stunning title race.
Brighton entered the match having not beaten City in the league since 1989 – Liverpool were looking for a huge favour from Chris Hughton’s team, but it never looked like a possible outcome despite the home side taking the lead.
City’s team showed one change from the win over Leicester City on Monday night, with Riyad Mahrez coming in for Phil Foden. Kevin De Bruyne was deemed fit enough for a spot on the bench, but Fernandinho once again missed out due to a knee problem.
Mahrez’s selection was somewhat of a surprise, particularly with Leroy Sane left on the bench. The latter appeared to frustrate Pep Guardiola with his performance off the bench against Leicester, though, and Mahrez was given the nod down the right as Bernardo Silva dropped back into midfield.
As for Brighton, Anthony Knockaert and Beram Kayal came into the XI, while it was to be a special match for club captain Bruno, who recently announced that he would be retiring from football this summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment