Seven Reasons Why Manchester City Deserved to Win the Premier League

Manuel Pellegrini's side didn't dominate the season as predicted, but just managed to sneak under the radar and lift the trophy on the final day. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that they wholly deserved to win it, so read on to find my seven reasons for why the title went to right club.
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As the dust settles and another Premier League season comes to a close, many will be reflecting on what was the closest title race in years.

Manuel Pellegrini's side didn't dominate the season as predicted, but just managed to sneak under the radar and lift the trophy on the final day.

However, that doesn't take away from the fact that they wholly deserved to win it, so read on to find my seven reasons for why the title went to right club.

7. Everyone Else Faltered

The collapse and inconsistency of teams around them contributed greatly to City's title win.

The most obvious is Liverpool, who had the best chance of winning the title with two games to go, but surrendered a three-goal lead against Crystal Palace.

Chelsea also may feel that they let the title slip after beating both City and Liverpool earlier in the season.

Arsenal's early league dominance came to a stuttering but predictable halt as Arsene Wenger's side bundled home to a fourth place finish.

Astonishingly, the league champions spent just 11 days at the top of the table during the whole season, which shows that they got the results when it really mattered.

6. Grinding Out Results

Despite recording some big scores against the lower placed teams, City often managed to scrape by if their performances weren't up to scratch.

Pellegrini's side were the top scorers of goals in the last fifteen minutes of games, reminiscent of bitter rivals Manchester United last season.

Rescuing valuable points with late goals against teams such as Stoke and Crystal Palace, City always kept their eye on the prize.

Their smash-and-grab football proved almost as important as the dominant wins which they posted, because all points were needed in what was such a tight season.

5. Balance Between Attack and Defence

Manchester City recorded an outstanding season, including four, five, six and seven-goal drubbings against teams throughout the campaign.

However, the Sky Blues also conceded 13 less than the Reds, which turned out to be pivotal in the title race.

Kompany and Demichelis became rock-solid towards the end of the season, whilst Dzeko and Yaya Toure ran riot up top.

Second-placed Liverpool relied almost solely upon Suarez and Sturridge to bag goals and they often let their defences slip.

Whereas Chelsea had a solid back line, but failed to produce enough goals to become champions.

It was Manchester City's perfect balance between attack and defence which handed them the title.

4. Key Men

Four men have solidly performed for the Citizens this season.

England no.1 Joe Hart, captain Vincent Kompany, brilliant midfielder Yaya Toure and title-winning striker Sergio Aguero give the team a solid spine to build around.

Whilst Pellegrini only placed these players on the same team-sheet on seven occasions, they won all seven of those games, scoring 23 goals.

Having four top quality players covering all areas of the pitch allowed City to win key games and Pellegrini could always rely on these players to perform.

3. Squad Depth

When these key men were unavailable, however, the champions were still able to cope with ease.

Pellegrini had enough top quality players at his disposal to make sure City were still getting the results they needed.

The goals still came despite Sergio Aguero being injured over Christmas, as players like Edin Dzeko maintained the attacking threat.

And the defence was as solid as ever during Vincent Kompany's 10 game absence, keeping six clean sheets during that time.

City have been able to comfortably field a somewhat weaker side knowing that the back-up members of the squad could still get the job done.

2. They Coped With the Pressure

The fact that Manchester City had won the title not long ago, just two seasons have passed since, helped them an awful lot this year.

Liverpool's slip handed City the initiative and they were able to keep their cool despite the potential pressure.

The Sky Blues could have panicked at half time against Aston Villa as they went in at 0-0, but kept pressing and managed to net four goals in the last half an hour to seize control of the top spot.

A quiet confidence from Pellegrini and his players helped them too. Instead of playing down their chances, they got on with the job at hand and won the league.

1. The Boss

All in all, plaudits need to go to Manchester City's boss, Manuel Pellegrini.

The Engineer brought fluid, fan-pleasing and attacking football to the Etihad whilst remaining responsible at the back.

The Chilean also brought the best out of players who seemed to dwindle towards the end of Roberto Mancini's reign.

Plenty of money helped the manager bring in some top talent, however, it takes a good boss to integrate new faces into a championship winning side.

Pellegrini has changed City's whole perspective in just one season. His tactics have been almost impeccable and the overall confidence, calmness and ability of everyone associated with Manchester City have been lifted as a result.

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