Manchester city retains 2nd title ended Rule in EPL with highest points in single season, Stats.

BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Manchester City retained the Premier League 2018-19 trophy after coming from behind to beat Brighton 4-1 and see off Liverpool’s relentless challenge on the final day of the season on Sunday.

The quality and intensity of the title race was emphasized by City requiring a 14th successive league victory to finish a point above a Liverpool side chasing a first championship crown in 29 years as the top two finished with a record 195 points combined.

But during a 21-minute wobble in the first half City looked like throwing away a fourth title in eight seasons, they are in 2012, 2014, 2018-, 2019.

City became the first team since Manchester United in the 2007-08 season to retain the trophy, part of a hat trick of successes for Alex Ferguson’s team.

Sadio Mane put Liverpool in front against Wolverhampton in the 17th minute and a jittery City fell behind 10 minutes later at Brighton.

Even when Sergio Agüero leveled 83 seconds after Glenn Murray’s header, City only moved back into top spot when Aymeric Laporte nodded in from Riyad Mahrez’s corner in the 38th minute.

It turned out to be the goal that clinched the title.

But there were still nerves to be eased in the second half. Mahrez netted in the 63rd minute, a rare high point in his first season after joining City in a record 60 million pound (then $80 million) signing in July.

There was a stylish conclusion to City’s title defense when Ilkay Gündogan scored directly from a free kick in the 72nd minute for the team’s 95th goal in 38 league matches.

With Ferguson long retired and United in freefall, City is the force not only in Manchester but English football. City has won the Premier League four times since the influx of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth following a 2008 takeover, having only won the title twice before that.

Guardiola has now won eight league titles in his 10 seasons as a coach, stretching back to his debut campaign at Barcelona when he won a treble in 2009 and featuring successes at Bayern Munich.

City remains on course for an English treble, having already collected a League Cup and preparing for the FA Cup final against Watford on Saturday.

“We’ll go and celebrate but we’re also thinking of that next game on Saturday,” Kompany said.

“Liverpool was exceptional, I don’t mean to rub it in, it is what it is, they didn’t deserve to lose,” City captain Vincent Kompany said. “It makes me so much more happy that we played such a great team all season.”

“We heard the Brighton fans singing ‘1-0 to Liverpool’ just at the moment we conceded,” Kompany said.

“We were creating chances, finding the gaps, imposing ourselves,” Kompany said. “Though the pitch was slow I felt we were magnificent. We did everything we needed to do in a game such as today.”

Manchester City clinched the 2nd title in a row of Premier League 2018-19. The Stats.

1- Manchester City have won their fourth Premier League title - only Manchester United (13) and Chelsea (5) have ever won more in the competition.

2 - Overall, City have won their sixth English top-flight title. They're the first side to retain the title since Manchester United in 2008-09.

3 - This was the eighth time the Premier League title has been decided on the final day of the season, with Manchester City winning it on three of those occasions (2011-12, 2013-14 and 2018-19).

4 - City's haul of 98 points is the joint-second highest for any team in English top-flight history (converting to three points for a win) - only the Citizens themselves have ever earned more (100 in 2017-18).

5 - City conceded the first goal in a Premier League game for the first time since their 2-0 defeat at Chelsea in December - they were behind for just 83 seconds before Sergio Aguero's equaliser.

6 - City have won their last 14 Premier League games - only City themselves (18 in December 2017) have had a longer winning run in the competition.

7 - City have won 32 Premier League games this season - equalling their own record in the competition from last season for most wins in a single campaign in the competition.

8 - Sergio Aguero has scored 32 goals in all competitions for Man City this season - only in 2016-17 (33) has he scored more in a single campaign for City.

9 - City's David Silva has provided 18 assists for Sergio Aguero in the Premier League - only three players have ever assisted another for more goals in the competition (Frank Lampard to Didier Drogba, Darren Anderton to Teddy Sheringham and Steve McManaman to Robbie Fowler).

10 - Glenn Murray has scored 36% of Brighton's overall Premier League goals (25/69), the highest proportion of any team's goals in the competition's history.

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