The China Mail - Pep Guardiola's finest Manchester City moments

AFP Sports looks at some of the highlights from his 20 trophies in 10 years which transformed City into the powerhouse of English football.

100 points

After a disappointing first season in England, the Guardiola project at the Etihad took flight in a record-breaking 2017/18 campaign.

City stormed to the Premier League title, becoming the first and only top-flight side in English football history to achieve 100 points.

They plundered 106 goals in the process to also achieve the best ever goal difference in the Premier League era of +79.

"Fifty points at home, 50 points away. It's incredible," said Guardiola.

Domestic treble

The very next season, City defended their title with 98 points and needed every single one to hold off Liverpool in arguably the greatest Premier League title race ever.

Guardiola's men won their last 14 league games to snatch the title and prolong Liverpool's wait for a league title to 30 years.

"Always I will remember the biggest rival and how incredible battles we had between each other," Guardiola said of the challenge posed by Jurgen Klopp's Reds.

But City did not stop there in another historic season.

By also lifting the League Cup and thrashing Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final, they became the only side to ever win the domestic treble in English football.

Champions League dream realised

For both club and their acclaimed coach, the Champions League had remained a constant source of sorrow amid an era of domestic dominance.

Realising the dream of conquering Europe was a major part of the motivation for bringing Guardiola to Manchester.

But they had to wait until his seventh season to do so in 2023.

A 4-0 semi-final, second leg rout of Real Madrid stands out as arguably the pinnacle of his entire reign in charge.

A scrappy 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul completed the job and in doing so secured another treasured piece of history for City fans.

They matched the feat of Manchester United in 1998/99 as the only English sides to ever win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season.

Four-in-a-row

The final years of the Guardiola decade failed to match those highs, but there was one more Premier League title to set another significant milestone.

City became the first English side to ever win four consecutive top-flight titles after another titanic tussle.

An Arsenal side on the rise under Guardiola's former assistant Mikel Arteta were this time the victims of City's relentless run towards the end of the season.

The Gunners amassed 89 points, but missed out as City won their final nine games.

Twenty's plenty

The low point of Guardiola's reign came in the 2024/25 campaign when an exhausted squad, ravaged by injuries, at one point managed just one win in 13 games.

But he showed his ability to bounce back to bow out with more silverware, even if City fell just short of another treble.

Nico O'Reilly's double beat Arsenal 2-0 to win Guardiola's fifth League Cup in March.

Antoine Semenyo's flick then secured the FA Cup and a 20th trophy in 10 years.

Arsenal this time edged the battle for the title, but Guardiola knew his legacy had already been written.

"They don’t need to wait when I’m leaving, they know I’ve been fun," he said when asked if his greatness will only be truly appreciated after he has left England behind.

"Fighting for 20 (trophies) in 10 years, it’s not bad, honestly."

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