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Manchester City continued their dominance in England with a third consecutive
Premier League title and their fifth in six years under Pep Guardiola. The Citizens had already signaled their intentions in May 2022 when they announced the signing of sought-after Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who followed in the footsteps of his father, Alfie, by donning the sky blue shirt. City activated the €60 million release clause in Haaland's contract at Borussia Dortmund to acquire his prized signature and it was hands down the best bit of business done during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Guardiola needed to bolster his attacking options after allowing Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling to join league rivals Arsenal and Chelsea respectively ahead of the 2022-23 season, while Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko also departed the Etihad Stadium. City made eight signings overall, with Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji and Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips the other most notable arrivals. However, it was Haaland who made the biggest impact and he hit the ground running, bagging a brace on his debut in a 2-0 win at West Ham on August 7. Guardiola's side would go through August and September unbeaten, with the Norway international scoring an impressive 11 goals in his first seven matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. The defending champions kicked off October in style as they thrashed neighbours Manchester United 6-3 at home, where Haaland registered another three goals to continue his remarkable form. City went undefeated in their opening nine fixtures before losing 1-0 at Liverpool on October 16. It would only be one of three games that they failed to find the back of the net all season.
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City bounced back with three successive wins against Brighton (3-1), Leicester (1-0) and Fulham (2-1), but they entered the World Cup break on the back of a surprise 2-1 loss to Brentford on November 12, which left them five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal in second place. The Citizens resumed domestic duties with a 3-1 triumph at Leeds on December 28 and ended 2022 with a 1-1 home draw against Everton three days later. Haaland had already hit the 20-goal mark at that stage, scoring 21 times in 15 outings. The Red Devils would get their revenge with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford on January 14 to inflict a third defeat on City, who were also beaten 1-0 by Tottenham three weeks later to remain five points behind the Gunners. That would be the turning point though, as Guardiola's team embarked on a spectacular 16-game unbeaten run, which included 12 straight victories to haul in the North Londoners and eventually finish five points clear of them at the summit. Haaland was central to their title tilt, walking away with the Golden Boot after contributing 36 goals in 35 appearances to set a new record for most scored in a single Premier League season consisting of 38 games.
City would go on to match United's treble-winning feat as they also lifted the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League trophies to write their name into the football annals as one of the world's best-ever teams. The 2023 summer transfer window will be another interesting one for the club as they have already lost the services of captain Ilkay Gundogan, who ended his seven-year association with City by joining Barcelona on a free transfer. Bernardo Silva has also expressed a desire to leave the Etihad Stadium, while Riyad Mahrez has been linked with a sensational move to Saudi Arabia.
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