Manchester City have won five of the last six Premier League titles. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Regan
There was a pitch invasion after the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium that left Manchester City open to a cheap joke. After all, how can they expect their fans to follow the rules if the club itself doesn't? Presumably.
Absolutely nothing has been proven against City and it understandably makes them and their fans extremely upset that many seem to judge them with a bias when it comes to the 115 allegations made by the Premier -league for allegedly inaccurate reporting of nine years of their finances. period up to 2018.
What happened, they say, to the innocent until proven guilty?
The city vehemently denies the allegations and welcomes the Premier League investigation as they are adamant they will be dropped. But, unfortunately, that cloud was above the magnificent blue sky over the stadium as they celebrated their fifth Premier League title in six seasons.
«Yes, but…» would preface with too much talk and bias, when it comes to interpreting what it means.
On the field, Pep Guardiola's supremely gifted, brilliantly trained and incredibly hard-working team recorded 24th place. unbeaten game as they got around the sad case of Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola has built a great team that is a challenge for Treble Credit: Getty Images/Lexy Ilsley
And they did it with only two players — Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji — who started Real Madrid's extraordinary Champions League semi-final rout in what was arguably the most impressive performance by an English team in that august competition. Ever.
The only goal against Chelsea, the 100th at the Etihad this season in the final match of the campaign, was scored by Julián Alvarez, the World Cup winner with Argentina, who made his way into the team largely blocked by a certain Erling Haaland.
Their power and quality are amazing. As is their future. Cole Palmer who was outstanding, Rico Lewis and Phil Foden — all products of the academy — started and shone.
The contrast in the recent state of City and Chelsea shows that it's not just about spending huge amounts of money, it's about spending it right. In 2016-17, Chelsea won their fifth and final league title under Roman Abramovich, and that income from 19 years of owning the Russian billionaire, though greatly boosted by two Champions League crowns, is starting to look relatively meager compared to what it is achieving. Guardiola. .
This campaign was also the first for Guardiola at City and the first in England that Fraudiola's mindless taunt was used against him. How silly it looks now for a manager who changed the game and raised the standard.
Only once in the seasons since then did City fail to finish first, when Liverpool had to win their first 26 games. 27 league matches to beat them.
The addition of Erling Haaland took City to the next level. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Regan
Where will we be in two years ' time? It is likely that City will win two more league titles, maybe even a treble, a Champions League or two, and end the debate over which of them or Manchester United are the greatest players of the Premier League era.
However, two years later, there is another big issue that may not have been resolved yet, and that is the cloud that hangs over them: the resolution of the Premier League investigation.
Two years — some say it's possible. being a whole four is an optimistic estimate of when the investigation will be completed and we will know whether the City is guilty or not guilty. We will find out if their achievements will always have an asterisk next to them or if it was all a terrible and unfair insult.
Until then, it will be harder to report on the City, which is hardly a due process issue, but when it comes to writing about them. How often, when describing Kevin De Bruyne's skill or Haaland's goalscoring streak, should the background of attacks be mentioned? It seems unfair to talk about them all the time — after all, they are allegations and unproven — but they also cannot be completely ignored.
The accusation that City want to drop this case
Long deadlines don't help, and while City's prerogative is to make sure they're treated fairly, revelations within hours of Real Madrid's win that they're preparing a lawsuit — based on a lawyer supporting Arsenal, and the validity of the Premier League rule changes, make it even more inconvenient.
This inevitably led to the accusation that City wanted to push the matter as far as possible and therefore used all possible legal possibilities. Again, that's their right, but it won't help those accusations disappear or clear the sky.
Of course, this is unfair to the fans and unfair to Guardiola, who is undoubtedly a genius coach who makes good players great. There are no financial charges against this City team or their manager, but there are many against the club that brought them to this point.
There is another point that maybe even the system that led to the accusations is wrong. Back to Abramovich, he was allowed to pour hundreds of millions into Chelsea freely before the financial rules were tightened. He supported the move, in part because he thought it would slow down the development of the City, because he knew that their owners in Abu Dhabi would not go anywhere, and sovereign wealth was a challenge even for a billionaire oligarch.
But rules are rules, and clubs subscribe to them. Some motorists may not like to drive at 20 mph in a zone that used to be 30 mph, but if they exceed the speed limit, they will be held accountable.
The field was eventually cleared, and a joyous trophy presentation from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, which seemed a little surreal, took place when the fans stayed to bask in the sun and enjoy the glory.
City should want this to be expedited as quickly as possible faster, although they will argue that it is more important that they be treated fairly. Too much is at stake. Until then, there will be cheap jokes, insinuations, confusion, an asterisk (for many) and this cloud for at least another two years.
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