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Manchester City won their second Premier League title in three years defeating West Ham United 2-0 in Etihad Stadium.
In a season filled with drama, the final Sunday of the 2014 campaign had the opposite. Manchester City never really had an issue with West Ham and already had great odds to lift the trophy after the 90 minutes.
Liverpool got the three points they needed in a victory at Newcastle, but needed a Manchester City loss to steal the crown. Unfortunately for the Reds, the latter of the two didn’t come to fruition.
Manchester City supporters heard the news of Martin Skrtel’s own goal at Anfield and jubilation spread throughout the Etihad. Though their side hadn’t found the net, chants of “Are you watching, Merseyside?” echoed throughout the pitch. Then, right before halftime, Samir Nasri assured City’s title chances.
And so it was all over for Liverpool, who suffered an epic collapse at the end of this season. It started with a loss to Chelsea, spurred when Chelsea parked the bus and waited for Liverpool to slip – which happened quite literally when Steven Gerrard slipped and let in the winning goal. The nightmare continued with a blown 3-0 lead to Crystal Palace, where the Reds saw their opponent score 3 goals in 9 minutes to earn a tie.
Manchester City found another goal on the other side of halftime and the celebration started. City only spent 14 days atop the table this season, the least among the true contenders, but their position today is the only one that matters.
“It's an amazing feeling. My second title in three years," a joyful Nasri said after the match. "It was an amazing league the whole year. There are no words to explain the feeling now."
Samir Nasri's goal in the 39th minute was all Manchester City needed to win their 4th EPL title (Photo: @MCFC | Twitter)
City went through a roller coaster ride this season. Dealing with injuries to stars, the quartet of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure played 216 minutes together all season. Joe Hart also had his struggles, getting benched due to his poor form. But perseverance, scoring over 100 goals, and manager Manuel Pellegrini led them to the promised land.
Nasri went on saying, “The manager has done an amazing job. He has remained calm all season and allowed us to play attractive football. It was a pleasure to work with him.”
Joe Hart also praised Pellegrini saying, "He's a winner. He wants us to win. He believes in what he does and is prepared to do what he needs to do to win the league.”
Pellegrini commented on how difficult the season was, but iterated that his team never stopped believing at any point.
"This is a very special group. We had some very difficult moments, but they always believe what I tell them, the way I like to play. We try to play the whole year as a winning team, as a big team thinks. I think the best team has won the title in the end."
Manchester City fans were assured by their manager and their captain that there are more titles coming for the club.
"We are building a club, not just a team that wins trophies now and again," said Vincent Kompany. "The past is the past and the future, surely we have a place in the future. That is why I am excited to be here."
"I think that big teams cannot be satisfied with just one title," Pellegrini told Sky Sports. "We finish this year with two titles and we can celebrate today and tomorrow. On Tuesday, we start work for next season because this club, these fans deserve more titles.”
It was a Premier League season for the ages. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool will all be back next year to challenge Manchester City - and with a big transfer window coming for Manchester United, the Red Devils will also vye to displace their rivals from the top.
"I come here every year and have a feeling we need to be better.” Kompany said. “Next year we need to be better and if we want to be a big club, this has to be the first of many titles.”
Cheers to the 2014 Barclays Premier League. It was a hell of a season. We’ll see you in August.
