Manchester City 2021/22 Season Review: Four out of Five

The colors of the ribbons that adorn the English Premier League trophy will officially be staying white and sky blue (Despite Sky Sports’ efforts to contradict).

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have once again claimed the Premier League title as their own, now for the fourth time in just five seasons, and after a stunning second-half comeback on Championship Sunday.

As most expected, the reigning PL champions started the 2021/22 season strong, (despite a random slip up against Tottenham Hotspurs in August).

Rhythm and tactics controlled much of Man City’s matches, with creativity and freedom providing the right amounts of magic for players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden to have their moments of brilliance, while also supplying plenty of others (literally) with goals of their own.

While winter seemed to bring nothing but injury news and postponed matches to many teams in the league, Manchester City remained one of the few to come out lightly scathed, securing their position at the very top of the table while establishing themselves as one of the best and most dynamic squads in world football.

But a football season is one very long season. With tiring bodies, mental fatigue, and a very demanding schedule, City’s fortunes in all competitions in the second half of the season waned.

Liverpool added more pressure to Man City week in and week out by being “so annoying”, slowly but surely closing the gap between them and first-placed Man City, in the domestic league.

Numerous defensive injuries plagued Pep Guardiola and his choices for a starting lineup, and Kyle Walker’s very unnecessary red card late in the UCL group stages certainly did not help.

Last but not least, on a thrilling but heartbreaking night of Champions League football, City crashed out of the competition in the semifinals against a relentless and very experienced Real Madrid squad.

Manchester City’s Top of the List (By Yours Truly)
Player of the Season: Kevin De Bruyne

Named Premier League Player of the Season, (to the anger of Liverpool and Tottenham fans), there’s no denying that Kevin De Bruyne is the main man that Pep Guardiola strategically deploys. His granted freedom to run rampant all over the pitch has more than paid off.

His 15 league goals and eight assists make him a crucial talisman to the team, and without him, City would be nowhere near as much of a threat.

Flop of the Season: Benjamin Mendy

(Look, I KNOW most reading this would have instead nominated for this category a certain floppy-haired player with iconic calves who cost the club 100 million, but I promise I’ll get to him later.)

Even though the serious off-the-pitch allegations against Benjamin Mendy are still technically alleged, there’s no smoke without fire. Even before the charges, Mendy was too inconsistent of a player to ever make any sort of impact for City. I think it’s safe to say that nobody misses him. Case closed.

Most Improved Player: John Stones

After being in and out of the team so many times, John Stones has become a stalwart in City’s defensive backline. He’s confidently stepped up when required to, his movement and passing have improved, and his passion for representing the club has become increasingly evident.

Unsung Hero: Ilkay Gundogan

The main reason City won the Premier League title this season (especially on Championship Sunday) was because of this guy. Gundogan’s composure and sharp awareness on the pitch that usually leads to results need to be talked about more. If the rumors of him potentially leaving the club are true, City fans should be weeping.

The signing of the Season: Jack Grealish

I did promise we would talk about him. Look, ANY player that becomes the most expensive player of his nationality, that goes to one of the best teams in the world, is going to be put under a microscope.

So naturally, the expectations from the outside for Grealish for this season were absurd. Did he perform up to his potential this season? No. Did he perform horribly though? Also a no. There is a thing called a learning curve, and as a human, he just needs to be afforded a reasonable amount of time to adjust.

Team Rating: 8.5

Man City’s earlier-than-anticipated departure from the Champions League is an obvious hard knock. There were also too many times where City was by far the better side but still somehow failed to finish the game and clinch the win. But claiming the Premier League title once again, in spectacular fashion, definitely earned them some redemption points.

Manchester City: The Sky’s the Limit for the Sky Blues

All in all, only one of Manchester City’s main objectives were achieved during the 2021/22 season. They are STILL yet again without their most elusive title, the Champions League.

But retaining one’s crown is no easy task, and winning four Premier League titles in just five seasons is enough of an accomplishment in itself, and enough of a reason for Pep Guardiola and his men to still celebrate this season.

But with the highly anticipated arrival of Erling Haaland (gasp, a striker!), the stakes, hopes, and expectations for Manchester City next season are only going to get higher.