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After a cracking 2017/18 season, Manchester City is yet again on a roll. Under the management of Pep Guardiola, Man City as a team has not only gained in strength but also the team has taken their gameplay to a whole new level.
As the champions of the 2017/18 Premier League, Manchester City took on the 2017/18 FA Cup winners, Chelsea, for the season-opening FA Community Shield. Now, Man City have started another season with a loud bang.
It looks like they have picked up the pace where they left off last season. Last season's champions have played two matches in this season's Premier League and bagged 6 points which sits them on top of the table.
Seeing their red-hot form, the Sky Blues have already stated that they are in the field to win the game and championship again which can be possible.
So here are 5 reasons why Manchester City can lift Premier League 2018/19 trophy:
#5 Started like a roaring lion
The World Cup had ended with France having the last laugh but now it is time to kick off the annual league season.
Like previous seasons, the Premier League once again started with the bang in terms of performances and matches. In the league full of uncertainties and up-downs where, on one hand, where the Red Devils, Manchester United have lost their second league game against Brighton, and on the other, it is their arch-rivals, Manchester City who have rained in eight goals in just two matches and ended up winning both of them.
Since the start of the season, Manchester City has not let anyone sense a tiny flaw in their smooth and mesmerizing gameplay.
They have played Premier League giants, Arsenal and the 1922 FA Cup winner, Huddersfield Town so far but they have already shown their intent that is to lift the trophy once again.
Not only the gameplay but Man City is going to face some easy fixtures until they face another of England's giant, Liverpool in October.
Seeing their calm and composed mindset on the field, they are surely going to grab some more points and with each point, they will move one step ahead which will secure their position to win thePremier League 2018/19 like they did last season.
#4 Dynamic and exceptional bench strength
The reigning Premier League champions have a lot more to offer this season in the league. With the players like Sergio Aguero, Sterling and Gabriel Jesus on the frontline, they can penetrate into any line of defense and find the back of the net.
Not just these three but the likes of other forward players like David Silva and the new signing from Leicester City, Riyad Mahrez will provide extra pace and a skill set to beat any defensive formation.
That's the one reason why Man City has scored 8 goals in just the couple of matches they have played in this season which can be clearly seen by the amount of pace and attacking intent they show in the half of their opponents.
Last year, Manchester City's success was hugely dependent on the amount of work its midfield had done. With the likes of De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Mendy, it has become easier for Man City to find the balance between the attacking and defensive phase of the game.
On one hand, where the Belgian, De Bruyne shows his telepathic understanding with his teammates in the attacking third, on the other side, it is Mendy who drives an extra mile to do the defensive duties.
Players with a long footballing experience like Otamendi and Kompany handles the defensive line. With such a great understanding of the game, these two players never give or take any chances.
But if things went wrong, the Brazilian goalie, Ederson comes to the rescue. The Brazilian was surely the best transfer for Man City as a substitute to Bravo as their goalie.
With a team strength like this and telepathic understanding between players, there will be no stopping for Man City this season too.
#3 The Pep Effect
Starting his managerial first-team career with European and Spanish giant, Barcelona, Pep Guardiola is considered to be Barcelona's best manager to date. 14 trophies in a mere four seasons as a manager of Barcelona speaks to his tactical genius.
He left Barcelona after the 2011/12 season and flew to Germany in 2013 to coach Bayern Munich. New team but his tactical mindset never changed. Hence, he ended up winning seven trophies in three seasons.
But now it was the season of 2016/17 and the tactician, Pep was all set to coach Manchester City - The Sky Blues. Since his arrival at Manchester City, the growth of the team has developed exponentially.
New signings, new plans, and a high press - Pep Guardiola did everything to take this club to new heights.
Like 2017/18 season where his team was finally crowned as the champions, Pep Guardiola is again showing his pressing and countering opponents high press gameplay. Pep is one of the key reason for City's recent success and seeing his tactical genius in first two league games, he is again going to repeat the history.
The Premier League has never seen the tactics Pep and Co. are offering on the field now and everyone is admitting it. Former Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle after Tottenham's defeat against City said: "We're seeing things we've not seen before on a football pitch."
That's the disposition of this Man City manager which might give them an extra notch to aim high for Premier League's cup again.
#2 Youngsters among experienced
One of the oldest squads throughout previous years has now turned into a squad with a mere average age of 25 years. That is the tactical genius of tiki-taka king, Pep Guardiola.
By replacing the old legs with young pacy footballers, Pep has brought the experience and young blood together. Just like the experienced player handles the game calmly and composedly, the young ones like Sane, Jesus, and Bernardo Silva provides that fire and aggressiveness to kill the game.
"I was really impressed by the way that he had looked at other sports to find ways to create space. Not only football but European handball, Aussie rules, Rugby unions they are all trying to create space and find space. You can never learn enough about that."
Rugby Union coach Eddie Jones once said this about how Guardiola observes other sports to influence his thinking, particularly in regards to creating space for scoring opportunities.
That's the reason why the youngsters and experienced ones are combined just to create more spaces and chances for youngsters and find the back of the net.
Not only this but Pep Guardiola has also combined the pacy wingers with holding experienced midfielders to both provide sharpness in attack and subtlety in holding the ball.
Now that they have that ice and fire balanced in the squad, they can break more records this season like they did in the previous one and repeat the heroics of 2017/18 league campaign once again.
#1 Match winners in every position
Under the managerial duties of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City has produced a bunch of match winners which they never had before.
Whether it is attacking line, midfield or defensive line, Man City has discovered match winners at every positional line. Talking of match-winners, who has forgotten Sergio Aguero's league winning goal in 2011/12 season?
Sergio Aguero is one of the best center-forwards in the team in blue and whenever the team had needed him the most, he delivers. Try not to forget his heroics of the 2011/12 final match!
Along with him, players like Jesus and Sterling can also turn the tables on opponents at any point of the 90-minute game.
Not only the attacking line, but the likes of midfielders like De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva won't wait long to show their long-range shooting skills to find the back of the net. Especially, the Belgian icy genius, De Bruyne who is known for his vision and long-range shooting.
Man City's gameplay is a treat to watch as it has everything from long range shots, dribbling, skillsets, goalscoring opportunities to headers. When it comes to headers, the ball goes to Otamendi.
Nicholas Otamendi is one of those match winners who will dip the ball into the back of the net with his flashy headers and opponents would not even get a chance to react. A defender doing attacking duties to change the game - that's the least any team would expect.
So, from attacking line to defensive, Man City is full of match-winners who can turn the tables on any team in the league and replicate the league winning moments again.
