The Premier League became a championship for only one club – 05/19/2023 – Marina Izidro

Sunday, May 21, 2023. Manchester City beat Chelsea at home to win the Premier League for the fifth time in six years, with two games to spare. The title could even come on Saturday if Arsenal lose to Nottingham Forest. It’s not futurology, it’s probability. If that doesn’t happen yet, it will only be a matter of time.

In the other league, that of the Champions, City ran over Real Madrid this week by winning the second leg of the semifinals by 4-0 and reaches the decision against Inter Milan as favorites. He is closer than ever to the European Cup he never lifted and always wanted. Coach Pep Guardiola is a genius, the team is so talented that it didn’t even need a goal from the machine Erling Haaland to pass his steamroller over the powerful Spanish club. All this is unquestionable.

Looking closer, from an English domestic perspective, another debate starts to emerge here.

Arsenal’s defeat to Brighton last Sunday (14) buried the then-exciting Premier League dispute between the London club and the Manchester club. And with it the idea that the Premier League is really competitive these days. Leaders City are four points clear of Arsenal and have a game in hand. The league considered the most difficult in the world became a one-club championship. If it weren’t for Liverpool’s title in 2020, it would be six in a row for City, counting that this season will come. The Premier League starts to become predictable like the French, with PSG about to become champions for the ninth time in 11 years, or the Germans, in which Bayern can win the 11th title in a row.

Arsenal gave everything they could and then some to fight on equal terms. In 2018/2019, Liverpool had a difficult 97 points – 30 wins and only one defeat – and finished second.

There were other periods of hegemony in English football, of course, for Liverpool or Manchester United. But City set the bar so high in terms of scoring that there is no room for error. Even though rivals are nearly perfect, it never seems to be enough.

This raises some debates in England: unbeatable teams and athletes are admirable, there is a huge effort in their achievements. But when did we stop finding them fascinating and turn up our noses at them? Billionaire City and his Abu Dhabi fortune can’t get away from two themes.

One of them is the debate about “sportswashing”, which has increased with the acquisition of Newcastle by a Saudi Arabian investment fund and with the interest of buying Manchester United by a Qatari sheikh – there is the fear among some fans that this model become the example to be followed. The other is the fact that City are being investigated for more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules, something critics are keen to point out.

In addition to May 21, when City could secure the Premier League title, put other dates on the agenda: June 3, FA Cup final against Manchester United, and July 10, Champions League decider, against Inter Milan. If they win all three, which is not unlikely, Guardiola’s team will win the triple crown and could be placed once and for all on a very special shelf in world football. With all the good and bad that so much power brings to the sport.

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