Page 3 - Manchester City

The age old debate of whose league is better has been a familiar one in the new age media world. Which is unfortunate for Italian fans, who ruled supreme before the turn of 2000, trailblazing their way through Europe and winning major trophy after major trophy. But with Serie A’s decline, it has paved the way for La Liga and the Premier League to battle it out to be Europe’s number one.

Both leagues have plenty to offer for different needs when watching football, but there are a number of factors which lead one to think that Spain’s league is far ahead of their competitors. 

European football 

When you take a look at the last 15 winners of a European or international trophy, ranging from the Champions League to the Europa League to the Super Cup to the Club World Cup, 14 have been from Spain.

That doesn’t just include Barcelona and Real Madrid, but also Sevilla, who dominated the Europa League and won it three consecutive times under Unai Emery.

29th December 2017.
José Mourinho has been put under pressure in the past month after Manchester United's title hopes slipped through the cracks after a string of disappointing performances.

Manchester United may have improved drastically since last season, given they finished sixth and were poor overall, but it is being overlooked by the brilliance of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

No one can deny the excellence of the Citizens, who remain unbeaten in the Premier League. The Spanish manager has completed an overhaul of his squad and acted astutely in the transfer market to bring in the players he feels compliments the team.

Mourinho has not had the luxury of signing each and every one of his transfer targets, as both Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Periši?, two key players for the Portuguese boss, escaped his grasp.

Before the start of the season, it was clear to see why Mourinho wanted those players: Manchester United do not have orthodox wingers in

12th December 2017.
After years of English teams failing to perform in a competitive manner in the Champions League, this could be the first season of their return to past glory. The last team from the Premier League to win the elite European competition was Chelsea, in 2012, a long six years ago.

Since Chelsea's triumph in the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich, only Manchester City have reached a semi final, which was staged against eventual winners Real Madrid. On paper, a 1-0 aggregate loss looks kind, but the truth of it is, is that Real Madrid dominated both legs and it was a non-event, at no point did the Citizens look genuinely threatening.

It has been disappointing to watch English teams fail so miserably in the Champions League, but there could be a changing of the guard, as there usually is in cycles. As the draw for the knockout rounds was made this week, England have five representatives to restore some honour and pride back into the division.

Four

1st December 2017.
Just 19 appearances into his 2017/18 campaign, not yet having reached December, Raheem Sterling has already returned the highest single-season goals tally of his career.

The England international winger has been on fire for table-topping Manchester City, scoring 13 goals in all competitions and trailing only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane in the Premier League scoring chart.

Sterling has made huge developmental leaps in recent months, improving technical aspects of his game such as his finishing, passing and crossing, while also making gains in his composure, temperament and timing.

All of this has led to the 22-year-old, who had previously been unfairly considered a £49 million flop by some observers, becoming one of Manchester City's most important players as they push for glory domestically and in the Champions League.

This is evidenced by the fact that he has scored decisive goals in four of the five

29th November 2017.
There has been four months of domestic football already played this season, which is a good barometer to understand and analyse Europe's standout players.

Of course, there will always be Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the list, but there have also been some superb players the average fan might not know in detail.

Here are five of Europe's best players, one picked from each of Europe's top five leagues:

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  • England Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City, midfielder
    
     

Under Pep Guardiola, the former Chelsea starlet has enjoyed unprecedented success in his career so far. While he has not won the title with the Citizens yet, De Bruyne has played the best football in his career and is consistently placing himself in the world-class bracket each

4th October 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
It was a strike worthy of winning any game, but Kevin De Bruyne's left-footed rocket from 20 yards was made all the sweeter by the fact that it secured three points for his Manchester City side away to Chelsea, in one of the 2017/18 season's early meetings of title contenders.

It was a tight encounter, as the champions attempted to adjust to life without star striker Álvaro Morata, who'd been forced off the field with a hamstring injury after 35 minutes. City, without their own top marksmen in the form of Sergio Agüero, absent due to a rib injury sustained in a recent car accident, rubber-stamped their title-favourites status by claiming the spoils at Stamford Bridge.

Viewed in isolation, De Bruyne's stunning winner was a goal of the highest quality; breaking forward, the Belgian playmaker exhibited flawless technique in finishing powerfully with his weaker foot. But given the context of the opponent and where the 26-year-old now

18th August 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Having prepared for the new Premier League campaign brilliantly by enjoying great success in the transfer market and in terms of their preseason results, Manchester City importantly got off to a winning start in their league opener, comfortably brushing aside newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, 2-0.

Controlling the game comfortably throughout on their way to amassing 768 passes and 78% of the possession, Pep Guardiola was largely happy with his team's performance against the deep sitting, defensively well organised Seagulls. He made a particular point of highlighting his team's tremendous work rate, saying: "We run a lot. People say we are a big team but we run like a League One or a Conference team. You don't see one player on my team that doesn't run. That is when I am proud.

"It is all I demand of my players

4th August 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Everything seems to be falling into place nicely for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Knowing he needed reinforcements to his squad after his first season, the club's hierarchy have duly obliged his wishes, as Man City Premier League have spent a mouthwatering £220 million on new signings. Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo have vitally strengthened and added some much needed dynamism to their fullback ranks, with the aging Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov all moving on.

Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva's arrival for £42.5 million following his overwhelmingly successful time at AS Monaco sees them acquire a player of immense quality, creativity and intelligence. Although he's only just returned from a well deserved break after a busy summer with

28th June 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
With just one year remaining on his contract and high on the wish list of several of Europe's biggest clubs, Alexis Sánchez is unlikely to still be an Arsenal player by the start of the 2017-18 season.

The former Barcelona forward was the Gunners' outstanding performer last season, netting 24 Premier League goals and returning a career high total of 30 in 51 all-competitions games, including a crucial strike in the North London side's FA Cup final victory over champions Chelsea.

Sánchez was the shining light in an otherwise disappointing season for Arsenal which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades. Currently on international duty with Chile at the Confederations Cup in Russia, the 28-year-old attacker is set to resolve his future upon his return, with all signs pointing towards an exit from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal would love to hold onto their