7 key Manchester City victories
Manchester City chalked up some impressive wins in their march to the Premier League title. Here, Press Association Sport looks back at some of their most notable victories.
After opening their campaign with three successive wins, City then made a serious statement with this thrashing of one of their chief rivals. Sergio Aguero put them ahead and before Liverpool had Sadio Mane sent off following a collision with Ederson. Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane scored two each as the Reds were torn apart.
Arguably the performance that pleased the eye most all season, with City at their most fluid and exhilarating. Aguero scored a sublime hat-trick while there were further goals for Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and - from the penalty spot - Raheem Sterling. Within a few more weeks they had also thrashed Crystal Palace 5-0 and routed Stoke 7-2.
As well as demolishing some sides, Pep Guardiola's men showed they could prise open the most stubborn of opponents. Their slender victory at Stamford Bridge was just such a case. City dominated but it took a spectacular strike from Kevin De Bruyne to settle the affair.
Having seen some of their rivals cut open by City in the early part of the season, teams began to adopt more defensive mindsets against them in the late autumn. It was a difficult spell, but ultimately City still prevailed, grinding out victories over Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham. The victory over Saints seemed psychologically critical, coming with a stunning Sterling winner deep into added time that sparked jubilant scenes.
The headlines may have been dominated by a post-match fracas outside the dressing room, but City took a decisive step towards the title by beating their rivals at Old Trafford to establish an 11-point lead at the top. David Silva and Otamendi capitalised on defensive mistakes to secure victory for a dominant City either side of a Marcus Rashford strike.
De Bruyne produced an inspired display as City again showed their class by hammering Spurs. The Belgian got on the scoresheet after Ilkay Gundogan netted first while Sterling grabbed two more after Jesus missed a penalty.
The title race became a procession as Arsenal, for the second time in four days after losing the Carabao Cup final, allowed City to coast to victory at the Emirates Stadium. Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Sane were on target as sublime City effectively got the job done inside 33 minutes.
