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"Europe's most powerful club?" for quite some time, the answer to this question was either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Bayern Munich and Juventus too made themselves relevant occasionally. But, when was the last time a Premier League side made themselves honourable for the title of being the strongest European side? Certainly not in recent times. Well, the same is not the case anymore as the Citizens are at the peak of their form and are on a dream run.
Let us see 5 reasons which show Man City is the most powerful club in Europe at the moment.
#5 Domestic domination
Manchester City have put in stellar performances in the league so far. Barring Barcelona, no other team has displayed such brilliance in their respective domestic league so far. City's prowess is evident by looking at the league table as they are on top with a gigantic 15 points lead.
Despite the competitiveness of the other sides, City haven't tasted defeat in the domestic circuit. As mentioned before, Barcelona are the only team other than Manchester City to have not lost a single domestic league match this season. But, the Blaugrana haven't been able to dominate the league like City have. Pep Guardiola's side have scored an astonishing 64 goals, a ratio of nearly three goals a game!
Out of 22 matches played, the Sky Blues have won 20 and drawn 2 (against Everton and Crystal Palace). City are going strong in the Cups as well and have one foot in the League Cup final. They started the FA Cup on a winning note as well.
#4 Goals, goals and goals
A football match is all about goals and numbers speak for themselves, don't they? In that case, Manchester City have been the loudest of all. Out of 22 matches played, City managed to score a massive of 64 goals on an average of 2.9 goals per match (That's massive indeed!) while conceding just 13. If they continue the same way, the could well break the 100-goal mark with ease and set a new record for most goals scored in a league season.
The credits for the same go to their attackers who are on fire and have been so right from the start of the campaign. City have two of their strikers (Sterling and Aguero) in the top five goal scorer's list of the season. With the club's midfielders shining in front of the goal as well, the pressure upon their forwards is really next to nothing. David Silva, Leroy Sané, Kevin De Bruyne have all shone in terms of goal scoring.
So that means, Manchester City have given numerous opportunities for their fans to get off their seats and cheer for them which isn't the case with any other club's fans in Europe right now.
#3 Great individual qualities
A team is a set of individuals. In that case, Manchester City is a heck of a team right now! It seems like they have quality everywhere on the pitch Every player looks like he can turn the game in their favour single-handedly.
Starting to speak of their brilliant playmakers, Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sané. With 9 assists each so far, they are the players with most assists in the league this season. The Spaniard, David Silva with 8 assists is right on their tail. The two firing guns, Raheem Sterling (14) and Sergio Aguero (13) together have bulged the nets 27 times for their side. What more can a team ask for in terms of attacking, right?
With Nicolas Otamendi, Veteran Vincent Kompany, Kyle Walker, John Stones along with few others as defensive options, Pep's side could be seen confident regarding their defensive aspect too. Seldom any team has such quality individuals upon whom they can rely upon. We haven't even spoken of Benjamin Mendy who is nursing an injury!
#2 Depth
Manchester City also have an edge when it comes to squad depth. Pep Guardiola has so many options that he can replace any first-team starter and the team would still manage to maraud their way past the opposition without too much fuss.
With Claudio Bravo, Eliaquim Mangala, Danilo, Benjamin Mendy, City's defensive measures are secure. When it comes to midfield, it's rich with the likes of Bernardo Silva, ?lkay Gündo?an. Fernandinho, Yaya Toure. Furthermore, their attacking options are extended to Gabriel Jesus, who is equally or at times even more effective than the regular faces in the starting XI itself. Jesus is also the reason why Pep Guardiola wasn't worried much about the team's attacking options while the Argentine striker, Aguero was sidelined due to injuries.
Bench strength of the Citizens is something that any other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe lack right now. Real Madrid come close to Man City in this aspect but given the Spanish side's current state, City are the only team taking advantaging of their depth in the squad.
#1 Pep Guardiola
To dominate so well in arguably the world's most demanding league takes more than just talented players and luck. It takes a proper tactical approach. Well, fans at the Etihad would surely be thanking their stars for having Pep Guardiola as their boss.
The brilliance of the former Barcelona manager, who introduced tiki-taka style of football, can't be questioned.
Pep's task never was easy as it looked. Anyone would believe otherwise because of the potential of individual players that the club has right now. But, in fact, it makes his job much more difficult. Whom to play where, how to set up the playing XI; of course with such questions looming over his head, the Citizens boss' task wasn't easy.
At the beginning of the season, Guardiola displayed his tactical prowess by deploying both, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus as his attacking options while the fans and pundits were busy wondering who would be the one among the two to start the game.
With regular squad rotation and changes in formations, Guardiola is making sure each of his players get enough playing time and thus, ensuring the morale of the team is always high.
With such guidance and the other reasons stated in the slideshow, we can surely say that at the moment Manchester City are indeed the strongest side in Europe.
