When Man City claimed their third Premier League title earlier this month, accolades poured in for arguably one of the finest seasons ever enjoyed by a Premier League club. Records galore went tumbling, and Pep Guardiola finally silenced the critics who initially poured scorn on his arrival in England, claiming with glee that the Premier League is clearly the hardest league in Europe because Pep hadn’t won it at the first attempt. What the nation was witnessing, however, was a slow build into the image the Spaniard had envisioned for the club – and it all came together like a box set finale this season as City lifted the trophy in the most comfortable fashion in Premier League history.
The club set a new standard for points earned (100 out of 114 – that’s enormous!), goals scored (106) and various others – this would have been a truly wonderful season to be a City fan. One record they weren’t able to really get anywhere near, unfortunately, was goals conceded. Chelsea’s 15 in the 2004/05 season wasn’t in too much danger at all here, and despite City having the best defensive record in the league this term with 27 goals conceded the west Londoners retained that record fairly comfortably. That said though, City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes let in fewer goals than any other first choice keeper in the league – even less than rival custodian David de Gea, playing for second placed Man Utd.
De Gea was the top goalkeeper in the EPL this season for fantasy points earned, but that was largely due to United keeping more clean sheets than their rivals – whereas City rarely conceded more than a single goal in any given game. United would occasionally slip to let in two or three. Ederson’s arrival at City in the summer of 2017 was seen as a corrective measure following the fairly tumultuous tenure of Claudio Bravo last term, and while eyebrows were raised at the whopping £35m price tag, he has repaid his new employers’ faith with a string of fine displays, offering a commanding presence between the sticks.
At just 2m he is a snip to snap up in the Euro Fantasy League game, though don’t be too surprised if that price skyrockets next season of course – he was arguably one of the bargains of the 2017/18 campaign. Whether or not City can mount a title challenge anywhere near as impressive next season remains to be seen, but with Ederson in goal and defenders like Nicolás Otamendi and Kyle Walker playing in front of him, it would seem churlish to bet against them at least being in the conversation 12 months from now. Their title winning margin may have been a record setter, but other clubs now know what they have to do to even try and get close – and try they will, believe you me.
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