Pep Guardiola stands on the brink of another Premier League title with Manchester City – but he still has a long way to go if he is to reach the levels of Sir Alex Ferguson.
City can secure yet another Premier League title this weekend, with Arsenal needing to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday before Guardiola’s side host Chelsea for the chance to lift the trophy on Sunday. It would be a continuation of a period of dominance from City, who are aiming to win their fifth title in the last six seasons.
Guardiola’s era of success is comparable to Ferguson with Manchester United. The legendary Scottish boss was a behemoth of the Premier League, spending 26 years at the helm of the club, hoovering up trophies in the process.
The 81-year-old retired back in May 2013, but he remains the one to beat in many categories. Here Mirror Football take a look over his records.
Premier League titles
Guardiola is closing in on his fifth title in just his seventh season in the Premier League. He will have to stay with City for quite some time if he is to reach Ferguson’s tally.
13 – Alex Ferguson
4 – Pep Guardiola
3 – Arsene Wenger
3 – Jose Mourinho
1 – Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte, Claudio Ranieri, Manuel Pellegrini, Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti, Sir Kenny Dalglish
Premier League wins
Unsurprisingly, Ferguson also tops this list. The Scot took charge of a staggering 810 Premier League matches as United boss, winning 528, drawing 168 and losing 114.
By contrast, Guardiola has only 196 wins, albeit from just 263 games in the competition.
528 – Alex Ferguson
476 – Arsene Wenger
254 – David Moyes
236 – Harry Redknapp
217 – Jose Mourinho
Consecutive titles
As things stand, Ferguson is the only manager to win a Premier League title in three consecutive seasons. He did it twice, too, from 1998/99 to 2000/01, and then again from 2006/07 to 2008/09.
This is one record he will almost certainly have to share from Sunday onwards. Guardiola won two in a row in 2017/18 and 2018/19 before Liverpool spoiled his party, but he is about to record three in a row, from 2019/20 to 2022/23.
Home wins
Ferguson won 528 matches in the Premier League and 305 of those came on home turf at Old Trafford, making it the dictionary definition of a fortress.
That tally is more than twice as many as any other manager has won at a stadium in Premier League history.
Away wins
The ex-United boss also stands clear when it comes to wins on the road. His tally of 223 away victories is more than Mourinho has won altogether, which emphasises his longevity and consistency in the competition.
Comeback wins
Ferguson’s sheer number of matches in charge of United means he tops just about every stat imaginable. One of those is wins after conceding the opening goal, which happened 71 times under his management at United.
Guardiola is nowhere close to that number, with his City side generally preferring to be frontrunners.
Biggest win
United’s 9-0 win over Ipswich in March 1995 had stood out for 24 years in Premier League history as the stand-out victory, until Southampton ’s shambolic defence turned up. Having not been matched for two decades, 9-0 wins have suddenly become relatively common.
Nevertheless, Ferguson still jointly holds the record, alongside Brendan Rodgers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp. Here they are:
Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich, 1994/95
Southampton 0-9 Leicester City, 2019/20
United 9-0 Southampton, 2020/21
Liverpool 9-0 Crystal Palace, 2022/23
Manager of the month awards
Ferguson is way ahead of the pack in this one too. Only Arsene Wenger, who spent 22 years at Arsenal, comes close in manager of the month awards. Here is the top five:
27 – Ferguson
15 – Wenger
11 – Guardiola
10 – Moyes
9 – Klopp
Similarly, Ferguson is clear of the competition in terms of manager of the season awards: Ferguson (11), Guardiola, Mourinho, Wenger (3) and Klopp (2).
Most days at the top
While one of their most memorable seasons came in 1995/96, when they dramatically overtook Newcastle from 12 points behind in January to win the title, United loved being the frontrunner, so frequently getting to the top of the table and dominating seasons.
That is shown by the fact Ferguson had his side top for a whopping 2,284 days. That's 1,305 more days than his closest rival.
Second-half comeback
Remarkably, United once found themselves 3-0 down at half-time. In September 2001 they were in a hole against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, but roared back via goals from Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham to win 5-3 and ensure Ferguson became the first manager to win a Premier League game after being three goals down at half-time.
That has still only happened once since, when Wolves fought back against Leicester to win 4-3 in 2003/04. It has still never been done by an away team though.
