Manchester City take a huge step towards securing second Premier League title

08 May 2014 09:23

Last night, Manchester City have taken a decisive step towards their second title in three years. The Citizens beat Aston Villa 4 – 0 at home to come ahead two points of Liverpool. With only one more game to go, the title race has seemingly fallen into a definite fold, especially with Crystal Palace’s dramatic return against the Reds past Monday, coming back from being behind 0 – 3.

For the first half, City controlled the game completely, forcing Aston Villa back onto their own half. Still, no goals followed, with the Villans defending well against City’s onslaught, with the biggest threat coming from Nasri in the final minutes before the break. Villa kept their shield up until about the sixty-minute mark, when Dzeko scored the opening goal. Instead of easing back, Manchester kept battering, and were rewarded with Dzeko’s second goal about five minutes later.

Aston Villa nearly got a goal in as well after Weimann surprised Hart, heading it in from a free kick. But instead of Villa’s first, we got the home team’s third: Fernandinho puts it in for Jovetic, and the Montenegrin international scored his third goal in City’s colours. The game had already been decided, and Villa’s resistance had broken completely, so Touré made the victory even more sounding by slotting in the 4 – 0, scoring City’s 100th Premier League goal this season.

The Citizens are now the new league leaders, with 83 points out of 37 games. Only one more match to play, the club from Manchester has the best odds of winning the championship, their last game being West Ham at the Etihad, whilst second-place Liverpool face Newcastle United at Anfield. In order for the Reds to still win the title, Manchester City has to lose this Sunday, while they are obliged to win their own game. Either that or beating Newcastle 13 – 0, and hoping for a draw in Manchester.

To me, the season is over, and Manchester City have almost definitely won the league. It would take a miracle for Liverpool to still come out on top, and with their loss of momentum, and the pressure of dropping the ball against Crystal Palace, I don’t see them ending first. But what do you think? Leave a comment below, or tell me on Twitter at @J_PR_Henry.

Source: DSG