This has been the most unpredictable and dramatic of title
races and, with one game left, its subplots will live long in the memory of
football lover like me.
Rewind to last summer and the approaching Premier League
season had felt like a leap into the unknown. Sir Alex Ferguson had departed
Manchester United, leaving the champions in the apparently (in)capable hands of
David Moyes and the chasing pack sensing an opportunity. José Mourinho drew the
focus as the self-styled "Happy One" restored at Chelsea, while
Manuel Pellegrini slipped in almost unnoticed at Manchester City, a team who
had under-performed in finishing mere runners-up in the previous campaign.
Arsène Wenger was the only constant among the managers in the
top four, while Liverpool, under Brendan Rodgers, prowled on the periphery
daring to dream that a Champions League spot might be theirs again. Mourinho
suggested an "open" season lay ahead. Most people nodded in
agreement, but none could really have envisaged the elaborate twists and turns
which would leave observers dizzied over the 10 months that followed.
From United topping the table at the end of the opening day,
the lead changed hands 25 times. Arsenal would perch on the summit for 128
days, the longest of all. City, the prospective champions going into this final
weekend, have peered down on the rest for only 13 days to suggest their timing
has been best of all. That the pre-season favourites may now go on and claim
the title might hint at predictability, but this has been the most
unpredictable and dramatic of title races whose subplots will live long in the
memory.
City prevailed 4-0 and secured their 100th goal of the
campaign. The win also took them top – the 25th time the lead has changed hands
this season – and with their superior goal difference, a point at home to West
Ham United on Sunday will be enough to secure the League crown. But could there
yet be another twist in one of the most topsy-turvy title races? Don't count
against it.
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