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May 20, 2019

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England鈥檚 best ever as historic City seals treble

Manchester City鈥檚 treble winners have been hailed as English football鈥檚 greatest-ever team after their FA Cup final demolition of Watford completed an historic campaign.

Pep Guardiola鈥檚 side became the first English club to win the English Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season thanks to its swaggering 6-0 success at Wembley on Saturday.

Equalling the record margin of victory for an FA Cup final was the perfect way to cap a remarkable year for City, which followed its record-breaking EPL triumph in 2017-18 with an even more astonishing run this term.

It is the first English top-flight side to register 50 wins in all competitions in a single season.

Guardiola鈥檚 men also scored a record 169 goals in 61 games this season, beating their own previous best of 156.

City now ranks high on the list of the greatest English teams of all time.

Only a select few can claim to be on a par with City, an elite group that includes Arsenal鈥檚 2004 鈥淚nvincibles,鈥 Manchester United鈥檚 1999 vintage, which won the EPL, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup, and the Liverpool team of 1984, which lifted the old First Division, the European Cup and the League Cup.

The world鈥檚 media were united in their praise for Guardiola鈥檚 men, who have won five of the last six domestic trophies.

BBC Sport鈥檚 Phil McNulty wrote: 鈥淭he club once loftily dismissed as 鈥榥oisy neighbors鈥 by then-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed they now exert a domestic dominance that speaks eloquently on their behalf with a crushing, brutal 6-0 dismissal of Watford.

鈥淭his may have been a victory lap completed with embarrassing ease, with early Watford body blows parried in comfort before a form of footballing torture ensued, but this was arguably the greatest day in City鈥檚 history as this treble was won ruthlessly, spectacularly.鈥

Eurosport labeled City as the country鈥檚 greatest ever: 鈥淭hey may not have won the Champions League but the cold hard facts don鈥檛 lie: Manchester City are the best team to ever grace English football.鈥

The Guardian鈥檚 Barney Ronay summed up City鈥檚 majestic form over the last year.

鈥淢anchester City鈥檚 historic FA Cup final win was almost swamped by the glowing list of statistics piling up around them 鈥 but nothing can disguise the scale of this achievement and the brilliance of Pep Guardiola鈥檚 team,鈥 he wrote.

鈥淓nglish domestic football has never seen anything quite like this single-season hit from Manchester City. It turns out we really do all live in a sky blue world now.鈥


 

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