In celebration of Manchester City’s treble, here is a look at five matches which secured their historic achievement.
Having spent this season largely in the ‘hunter’ type role as they chased not only a treble but teams like Arsenal and Real Madrid down, Man City delivered the goods when it mattered to become only the second English team to win three trophies in a single season.
There however are moments where Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens could of easily blown their chances at the treble, as often is the case in any title-winning campaign for any club.
Now, we pick out five matches where City’s treble was made across the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle (Premier League – Matchweek 25)
City entered this match sat five points off title leaders, Arsenal and faced tough competition at home to a team who forced a dramatic 3-3 draw on Tyneside in August 2022, as Newcastle looked to mount an eventually successful top-four challenge.
This match therefore could of easily been a slip-up for City who made six changes following their FA Cup win over Bristol City in the preceding midweek, especially with Newcastle showing no fear against the big teams.
Instead what unfolded was a clinical performance from City with stunning goals from Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, amidst wasteful finishing and a disciplined defence which kept a dangerous away attack out of the net.
The result meant that City at that point stayed within two points of Arsenal who beat Bournemouth 3-2 later that afternoon, otherwise their deficit could of been wider if Newcastle on another day had been at their best and took points Guardiola’s Cityzens instead.
Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal (Premier League, Matchweek 33)
Fast forward almost two months and City were still five points behind Arsenal but crucially with two games in hand, meaning that defeat at home would of left them needing a miracle to retain their title ahead of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.
It is little wonder that the footballing world hyped up their meeting at the Etihad as effectively a title decider because if Man City had lost then they would of had to overturn an eight-point deficit with seven games left in their league campaign.
City though have been in similar situations before where they occupied the hunter role and on a night where they needed to maximise that hunting blood, they absolutely delivered with a dominant masterclass from their presing intensity to movement and passes with clinical end product.
Kevin De Bruyne in particular undelined why he is one of the league’s most dangerous midfielders with a stunning brace, during which John Stones scored in-between the Belgian’s goals before Erling Haaland wrapped up the win after Rob Holding pulled a consolatory goal back for Arsenal.
That performance in-turn acted as a springboard for City to build upon with their title deficit reduced to just two points, whilst holding two games in hand due to their FA Cup run meaning that the title destiny was in their own hands.
Everton 0-3 Manchester City (Premier League, Matchweek 36)
Having gained the title lead in early May after defeating West Ham in one of their two games in hand, Man City entered the final two matchweeks sat just one point above Arsenal but Matchweek 36 certainly proved title defining.
In a blockbuster Super Sunday, Man City headed to Everton in the early kick-off where a clinical display against a stubborn Toffees’ defence put the Cityzens into a four-point lead, courtesy of Ilkay Gundogan’s brace and Haaland’s header in a 3-0 victory.
City’s title-defining slice of luck fell later that afternoon as Arsenal suffered a surprise 3-0 home loss to Brighton, which left Guardiola’s men on the cusp of the title which was confirmed six days later as Arsenal narrowly lost at Nottingham Forest on the Saturday evening.
Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United (FA Cup Final)
With the league title all sewn up, Man City stuttered to a draw plus defeat at Brighton and Brentford respectively which could of created fears over their prospects of the treble heading into the FA Cup Final against their local rivals – Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, London.
Those fears however were swiftly allayed with a cracking high-pressing start from which Gundogan volleyed City ahead just 12 seconds into the match, having pounced upon a knockdown pass from De Bruyne.
City went on to deliver another attacking masterclass as they dominated the game amidst some moments of wasteful end product, whilst Gundogan’s second goal was scruffy yet clinical in an efficient front-footed performance.
Although a clean sheet was denied due to a controversial penalty scored by Bruno Fernandes for United following Jack Grealish’s handball, City’s defensive quality was nevertheless excellent and ultimately pulled them through for their second trophy of the season to keep the treble dreams alive.
Manchester City 1-0 Inter Milan (Champions League Final)
With the Premier League and FA Cup titles confirmed, Man City knew that a first Champions League title would complete their historic treble with only Inter Milan standing in their way.
Inter though were the better team for much of the opening hour with a high-intensity press which left City struggling for answers – even after Kevin De Bruyne was substituted due to a hamstring injury, whilst their normally composed goalkeeper Ederson made sloppy errors.
Nevertheless this match was one which demonstrated City’s resilient character where a moment of clever play involving Foden, Manuel Akanji, Silva and Rodri proved decisive, with Rodri calmly smashing in a sweeping winner from Silva’s cutback pass.
City’s defensive qualities also proved just as crucial with a series of late saves from Ederson, whilst those in attacking positions off the ball excellently helped out their defence, even amidst sloppy end product play from Inter inside the box which proved enough to seal City’s treble.
In fact, team unity and resilience were what got City a historic treble even if those qualities were tested at times this season, so it remains to be seen whether they can build upon this campaign and aim for a quadruple next season.