Johnny Marr stood alongside Noel Gallagher at the Etihad Stadium, but one of the musical throwbacks came from an earlier era. During the pitch invasion at the final whistle, Manchester City was described on a banner as "the Four Tops". Motown takes its name from the Motor City; Although football has now become Manchester's most important sector, City, with a record four consecutive wins, is the market leader.
While Manchester United recorded their lowest ever Premier League result, City achieved a feat that surpasses even Sir Alex Ferguson's best teams; or, for that matter, anyone from Preston North End's Invincibles of 1889 to Jurgen Klopp's storming Liverpool side of the 21st century.
City presented Paul Dickov with the trophy, a quarter of a century after his stoppage-time equalizer in the third-tier play-off final. They know where they come from.
The worry for their rivals is that they are not going anywhere unless Pep Guardiola leaves - and a manager with a year left on his contract hinted he would discuss a new contract and put his future in doubt - or they could receive severe punishment. when their 115 Premier League charges are finally heard.
If one depressing realization for Arsenal could be that they have improved without deposing City, another depressing realization could be for the team that got them to second place. They demonstrated the extraordinary winning habit that Guardiola has established and collected 91 points; "This consistency in terms of points," he said. "This is the standard." It underlined the way he has raised the bar; 91 is lower than City's figures in 2018, 2019 and 2022, but bettered by only six other Premier League teams ever, including one in a 42-match season. Yet in some ways this was the weakest of his six title-claiming teams.
The first two had the blistering pace of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane as wingers, the differential brilliance of Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva as free eights, and the astonishing points tally of 100 and 98. The next two had the tactical ingenuity to create a set up a series of players. of false nines, which call for goals everywhere. Last season's team had the unstoppable element with Erling Haaland scoring 52 goals and De Bruyne 29 assists in all competitions.
This team lost De Bruyne for five months and Haaland for two months. John Stones, whose reinvention made him a revelation last season, started just twelve league games. They also missed the departed Ilkay Gundogan, who was not properly replaced, especially as one of their four key signings, Matheus Nunes, turned out to be a dud.
Yet despite their absence, City had the upper hand. Part of that is down to the manager: Klopp argued that, with all of City's resources, only Guardiola could win four consecutive titles. The Catalan praised Julian Alvarez, his standout substitute.
But his team is not as deep as is often lazily made out to be, or as it used to be.
There was little continuity with only goalkeeper Ederson and City's two outstanding players of the campaign, Phil Foden and Rodri, starting more than thirty league matches. Nevertheless, a core of around seventeen players produced results, with the title arguably won by the least used players, with Stefan Ortega's late and superb save from Son Heung-min at Tottenham being the biggest moment in the last nine games. A free transfer could have been decisive for a club that spent more than £1 billion on players during the Sheikh Mansour era.
Given the shortcomings of Zack Steffen, Ederson's previous deputy, City may have particular reasons to be grateful that goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor recommended Ortega to Guardiola.
He showed a refusal to be beaten, which symbolized a side. One player in particular possessed it: Rodri was suspended for each of City's three defeats and finished his Premier League season unbeaten.
He was the reason why City found a way, why they had the mentality to triumph. After their autumn failures, with late equalizers against Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Crystal Palace, they returned from the Club World Cup with a steely focus. Few believed Guardiola when he labeled City third favorites after March's standoff with Arsenal. "But the weekend Arsenal lost to [Aston] Villa and Liverpool to Palace, I think they will give us a chance," he said. "They won't give us another." He underlined the comparison after the match against Arsenal: "City have to win nine games in a row and we are doing that."
They proved once again that they could be flawless when needed during a run. City finished 2019 with fourteen consecutive wins. Last season they made it 12 wins in a row before relaxing when the title was won. With 18 wins and three draws in their last 21 league matches, they proved to be the masters of the chase.
"Like we add a little extra when it really matters," Haaland said. Considering City have scored 96 league goals, 33 of which have come in the last nine games, it is unfair to say they have bulldozed their way to victory. Not when Foden was extraordinarily, explosively good. Or, indeed, when one of the crucial wins - 3-2 at Newcastle - was a comeback born of De Bruyne's remarkable talents and considerable personality.
Yet it was a triumph of a kind of efficiency, forged by beating the rest, rather than the best. City didn't beat Arsenal or Liverpool; when they beat Villa in fourth place they were a depleted team; When they won at fifth-placed Tottenham, Spurs were out of form. They recorded two wins from 10 games against the eventual top six. Against the bottom 14 they took 79 points from 84. They were almost flawless.
And yet flawed. Haaland was a good example of this: his 27 league goals came from misses, with a crucial double at Tottenham but too few other decisive goals. He still won the Golden Boot, just as City won the league, for the sixth time in seven seasons and the fourth in a row.
Yet they can be better. And next season - perhaps with their best individuals fit for longer, probably with new signings in midfield - they probably will be. The four peaks can become five.
