Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson at the recent FA Cup Final. Photo: Getty Image/Chris Brunskill. Half a mile between the stadiums of Manchester United and Manchester City, and 24 years have passed between the clubs that were the only ones in the history of English football to complete the treble.
City are now the busiest neighbors to join United, having won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. For Manchester as a city, and not Manchester City, this means that it can claim the title of the country's sports center.
But the City's achievement raises new controversy. The hottest debate. The hottest and, yes, the most intractable of disputes. Which team – City 22-23 or United 98-99 – is the best? Whose achievement is the greatest?
This can never be decided, but it can be discussed. And the conclusion? Certainly United's accomplishment is more impressive given the context in which it happened, given that it was the first. But the City team as a team is better.
United fans were as desperate for City's failure as they were for their team's victory in the FA Cup final last Saturday. At Wembley, for United, it was more like stopping City from winning the second leg of the treble than actually winning the Cup.
But it will always be convenient for them that United will be the first. There can only be one first and although City have now equaled him, they can only surpass him by doing it again. Although no one rules it out as long as Pep Guardiola is at the helm.
Indeed, were it not for the strange performance in losing to Southampton Nathan Jones in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup – United continued to win the tournament – this season they could play clean. This would obviously end any debate.
'And Solskjaer won!' Credit & Copyright: Icon Sport/Pierre Mignet
However, being first matters. Who was the first man on the moon? And who was second? Who was the first to cross the four-minute mile? Who did it then? It is clear that it is easier to remember the former than the latter.
So the arguments in favor of United are strong. The context of 1999 cannot be discounted. United became the first English team to reach the European Cup final in 14 years, despite a five-year ban following the 1985 Heysel disaster. They were the first team to win it since Liverpool in 1984.
Before that, English clubs claiming European competition were certainly not unusual. There was Liverpool in 1977 and 1978, Nottingham Forest in 1979, again in 1980, Liverpool in 1981 and Aston Villa in 1982. six years before the English club reached the final with a win over Liverpool in 2005. And now? Only one of the last six finals has not featured a Premier League club. And two cases were entirely English.
Conversely, one could argue that the quality of English teams logically means that it is more difficult to win the Premier League. If English clubs are stronger in Europe, then surely a domestic win is a more impressive achievement? City have done this in five of the last six campaigns.
So the arguments in favor of City are convincing. Statistically, they win unconditionally. In their 57 games they have won 42 (73.7%) to 33 (57.9%) for United. Before the Champions League final, they scored 144 goals to 121 and kept 25 clean sheets to 20.
City' Their stats are something to look out for, but silver matters and they finally won the one competition that eluded them. Photo: Getty Images/Matthew Ashton
They conceded just 39 goals out of 56, averaging 2.57 per game and conceding 0.7, compared to United's 2.12 and 0.98. Sir Alex Ferguson's team have lost fewer games – just three, City have lost five in the Premier League alone – in three competitions, but have drawn 21.
It also felt like the “place of the pants” for United . It was exciting, they needed to make more comebacks, not least in the final (and semi-final) of the Champions League of course, and they won the Premier League by just one point, ahead of Arsenal, who made a mistake in the penultimate game, losing. at Leeds United when it looked like they would retain the title.
Even in the FA Cup, there was an epic semi-final, also against Arsenal, with Roy Keane sent off, Peter Schmeichel's penalty save at the end of regular time, and that Ryan Giggs solo goal.
One of the highlights of the season when United won the treble was Ryan Giggs' goal. Photo: Getty Images/Matthew Peters
In contrast, City pursued Arsenal relentlessly in the league with a sort of surprising inevitability that included a 7-2 aggregate victory over them in their league meetings when they scored six points. The same level of danger never seemed to exist.
It was even more so in the FA Cup where they only conceded one goal in their winning streak and that was Bruno Fernandes' penalty in the final. In the Champions League, they were simply overbearing.
They easily dealt with their group, despite the fact that it included Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, who won the Europa League after conceding only two goals. Then in the playoffs? Well, it was just wow, as they beat RB Leipzig 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium, and after that completely dismantled European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
It may seem debatable, but the truth is that for all their dashing brilliance, United never delivered the utterly stunning, aesthetically perfect football that City did when they thrashed European champions Real Madrid in 1998-1999. in the first half in Manchester. It may have been the most complete performance by an English team in European competition and City have come close to that level on several occasions.
City are a complete team, a complete team, with the addition of the incredible Erling. Haaland completes them.
The addition of Erling Haaland completes Manchester City by taking them to the next level. Photo: Getty Images/Matteo Ciambelli
They certainly have a deeper line-up. Eight United players have played in 50 or more games. Only five of City have, but it is the team that Guardiola has built that works as a wonderful unit with a style of football that has lifted the game.
There could be even more United players in a compound XI. it (maybe six to five?), and their achievement is all the more impressive. But City are the best, flawless team. Let's start the debate.
Which team won the treble the best?
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