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Five defining moments in Manchester City's Premier League triumph

Brad Ferguson
Manchester City players celebrate during their 4-1 victory over Arsenal
Manchester City players celebrate during their 4-1 victory over ArsenalProfimedia
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side became Premier League champions this weekend prior to even kicking a ball, all thanks to Arsenal losing away to Nottingham Forest in Saturday's late game at the City Ground.

It meant City's fifth title in six seasons was assured as the Cityzens go in search of a treble to match that of their neighbours Manchester United, who completed the feat back in the 1998/99 season.

It wasn't always plain sailing for City though, with Arsenal leading the chase for over 90 per cent of the season, and at one point commanding an eight-point gap for Guardiola to have to overturn.

Here we take a look at five pivotal results in Man City's season that led to them finally being crowned as champions.

Manchester City 6-3 Manchester United

Phil Foden celebrates his goal as Man City beat Man Utd 6-3
Phil Foden celebrates his goal as Man City beat Man Utd 6-3AFP

Erling Haaland (22) became the first player to score three straight Premier League hat-tricks at home and Phil Foden (24) also bagged three in a 6-3 thumping for Manchester City over Manchester United.

It meant Pep Guardiola’s men moved back to within one point of league leaders Arsenal and extended their unbeaten run in England’s top flight to 20 games. It could - and should - have been worse for the Red Devils, who were in fact 6-1 down after 75 minutes.

A late brace from Anthony Martial (27) saved some of United's blushes, and perhaps provided something of a reality check that City need to see out games better in future.

Manchester City 2-1 Fulham

Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola kept his cool when dealing with tough questions throughout the season
Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola kept his cool when dealing with tough questions throughout the seasonAFP

Manchester City temporarily retook the top spot in the Premier League thanks to a stoppage-time Erling Haaland penalty.

It came about after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over an in-form Fulham side and playing for over an hour with 10 men after Joao Cancelo (28) was sent off after just 26 minutes.

The result made it 15 wins at the Etihad on the trot for Pep Guardiola and sent out a serious warning sign to title rivals Arsenal, who themselves were conjuring up a habit of winning against the odds.

Arsenal 1-3 Manchester City

Manchester City's Erling Haaland (R) celebrates with teammates at the Emirates
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (R) celebrates with teammates at the EmiratesAFP

A classy second-half display saw Manchester City not only become the first team in history to win seven successive away games against Arsenal but also leapfrog the Gunners at the top of the Premier League, running out 3-1 victors in a pulsating clash.

It was the first league meeting between the two clear frontrunners in the title race after the match had initially been delayed by a couple of weeks due to their FA Cup fixture.

City passed the acid test with flying colours during a topsy-turvy tie more akin to a basketball game at times, with Jack Grealish (27) the one who found the key three-pointer to ensure the spoils headed north.

Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool

Kevin de Bruyne scores for Manchester City against Liverpool
Kevin de Bruyne scores for Manchester City against LiverpoolAFP

A few slip-ups for Guardiola's side saw the gap to Arsenal widen to eight points by April. While old rivals Liverpool had been a shadow of their former selves all season, many saw this as a potential banana skin for City - and one that may be tough to come back from.

However, it turned out to be something of a stroll in the park in the end as Julian Alvarez (23) played a pivotal role in three Manchester City goals to overpower Klopp's side, breathing new life into their hopes of a third consecutive Premier League title.

The win will have been extra satisfying for Pep Guardiola with his side having initially fallen behind. In notching a fourth consecutive victory for the first time in the Premier League this season, City closed the gap on Arsenal to five points.

Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal

Erling Haaland celebrates his late goal against Arsenal
Erling Haaland celebrates his late goal against ArsenalProfimedia

Manchester City took a giant step towards a fifth Premier League crown in six seasons with a dominant 4-1 victory over title rivals Arsenal. It saw City secure a 12th consecutive league triumph over the Gunners.

An emphatic, controlling display saw them brush Mikel Arteta's side with relative ease, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne (31), John Stones (28), and a record-breaking 33rd for Erling Haaland seeing them take control of the title race going into the final weeks of the season.

Arsenal's April slump came back to bite them in the harshest of ways.