The Premier League season ended this weekend without much suspense. There were no relegation battles, nobody cares about the Europa League, and Man City only needed a draw to win their second championship in 3 years.
This is the first of a 4-piece series that will take place over the summer, reviewing each Champions league club's campaign.
1. Manchester City
Manager
Roberto Mancini was sacked last summer to make room for the more diplomatic (and less costly) Manuel Pellegrini from Malaga. Pellegrini won many trophies while managing in South America in the late 90s and early 2000s, but this is his first major trophy in 10 years of managing in Europe. He won the Capital One Cup in February, but the Premier League Title is undoubtedly the most impressive achievement on Pellegrini's CV.
Pellegrini previously led the "Yellow Submarine" at Villarreal (who famously lost to a Jens Lehmann penalty save in the 2004/05 Champions League semifinal) and a spent brief season at Real Madrid before being replaced by Jose Mourinho. Beating Mourinho to the title must be particularly sweet for Pellegrini this year, but the fact is Mourinho did City a massive favor on the way.
I'll discuss Chelsea's crucial win at Anfield later in the week, but City's destiny was out of their hands until Mourinho's Chelsea beat the league-leading Reds in the 35th week of the season.
It was anticipated that Pellegrini would play his favored 4-2-3-1 at City this year, but he also utilized a 4-4-2 frequently. His tactics were flexible, and he favored the more attacking approach when he expected his opponent to sit deep and prioritize defense.
The results speak for themselves. Pellegrini's City had the best goal difference in the league (+65). They scored the most goals (102) and conceded the second-least (37). Mancini's final team conceded less goals (34) but crucially only scored 66. City's increased firepower had a lot to do with Pellegrini's attacking philosophy, but also was helped by a few crucial new additions (more on them below).
While their total point total (86) would not have beaten Man United last year, they conceded 6 less goals and scored 16 more than last year's champions, leading to far superior goal differential. It's fair to argue that City was more dominant than United was last season.
New Additions
Pellegrini bought 5 new players in the summer, nearly all in midfield and attack. Some have argued that adding more than 2 or 3 players in any one window disrupts team chemistry, but Pellegrini was able to make his new additions fit into the City team seamlessly.
Fernandinho was bought from Shaktar Donetsk and often paired with Yaya Toure in central midfield. The Brazilian made 33 EPL appearances this season, scoring 5 goals and assisting 3 more. His production was nice, considering his role. Fernandinho was the team's most defensive midfielder in the majority of his appearances, and his defensive discipline allowed Toure the freedom to attack. He is a quick, mobile midfielder who is strong in the tackle (if not in the air) and proved to be a great complement to the Ivorian superstar. Toure put together one of the best seasons by a midfielder in Premier League history (more on that below) and a large part of that was his partnership with Fernandinho.
Martin Demichelis had worked Pellegrini first at River Plate in Argentina, and then again at Malaga. He is a defender Pellegrini trusts, and even though his adaptation to English football was a little rocky at the start, Demichelis's leadership and communication from the back was vital for City at the "business end" of the season. Demichelis featured prominently in the club's last 5 matches--all victories--in which the club only conceded 3 goals. In the end he played 27 EPL matches and scored 2 goals.
Alvaro Negredo was bought from Sevilla to play up front. He was very impressive early in the season, but was resigned to a substitute role later in the year as Edin Dzeko found some good form. In the end, Negredo made 21 starts and 11 appearances as a substitute, scoring 9 goals and assisting 3 more.
Jesus Navas was also bought from Sevilla. The winger rotated with James Milner on the right and overcame a history of homesickness to put together a strong season in his first year in England. Navas played in 30 matches, 18 as a starter, scored 4 goals (some of them spectacular), and assisted 7 more. One would suspect his production will only improve as he adapts to the English style of play.
Stevan Jovetic was bought from Fiorentina. The young Montenegran striker has been tipped as a future star, but he battled several injuries and faced a large amount of competition for places, and therefore didn't put together an impressive season. Jovetic only started one EPL match, although he did appear as a substitute 11 times. He scored 3 goals in his first season in the Premier League.
Key Players
Yaya Toure was absolutely outstanding this year. First on Pellegrini's teamsheet, the Ivorian started 35 matches and scored a ludicrous 20 EPL goals from 64 total shots. He assisted 9 more, tied with David Silva for the most on the team. At this point, Toure has a genuine argument that he is the best midfielder in the world.
Pablo Zabaleta was a rock in the City defense this year, and Pellegrini relied on him heavily. Like Toure, Zabaleta played in 35 EPL matches (one as a substitute). Zabaleta has become the best right back in the Premier League, and arguably the best in the world at his position.
Samir Nasri started 29 matches and appeared as a substitute 5 times. After a frustrating season under Mancini, as the Italian often publicly criticized and scapegoated Nasri for his team's lack of offensive firepower, the Frenchman contributed with 7 goals and 7 assists this season. Nasri broke the deadlock with a great goal in the title-clinching victory over West Ham on the final day.
Looking Ahead
I looked ahead to City's upcoming problems with Financial Fair Play last week. In the article you'll see why I think it will be very hard for City to strengthen again in the summer.
However, if City can keep the core of this team in tact, they will still likely be the favorites next year. The reality is that City had to cope without three of their best players (Vincent Kompany, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero) for stretches of the season due to injuries. That they were still so dominant is a scary prospect for the rest of the league. City could struggle in the Champions League due to the lack of depth afforded to them under UEFA's sanctions, but they will most likely still be the favorites to repeat and win a third Premier League title in 4 years.
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