Manchester City celebrated winning their latest Premier League title in style with an open-top bus parade through the crowded city centre streets on Monday evening.
The Sky Blues were crowned English champions for the eighth time in their history after a thrilling season finale on Sunday. They went into their game with Aston Villa knowing victory would be enough to secure the trophy but, astonishingly, found themselves 2-0 down to their visitors at the Etihad with a quarter of an hour to play.
Fortunately for manager Pep Guardiola, Ilkay Gundogan made the difference from the bench, pulling a goal back before grabbing the winner after Rodri equalised. The flurry of three goals in six minutes ensured City won the league and Liverpool emerged from Anfield empty handed, with the Reds finishing one point behind their rivals in the table despite their 3-1 win over Wolves.
City's players and staff marked their triumph with raucous scenes in the dressing room before hitting the town until the early hours of the morning. They recovered from their frivolities in time for a parade which began at 6pm on Monday, starting at Exchange Square, passing through St Mary's Gate and finishing at the Beetham Tower.
At the destination, a stage was constructed where there was entertainment for the amassed supporters wearing sky blue, with players later joining DJs and special guests on stage. City have grown used to title parades in recent years having won the Premier League six times in the last 11 seasons.
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During that time, they have also won the EFL Cup six times, completed a 'Centurion' season by winning the league with 100 points and secured a domestic treble also including the FA Cup. But City's latest achievement - their fourth title in five seasons - ranks right up there with their finest to date due to the "magnitude" of their intense tussle with Liverpool, according to Guardiola.
In a classy post-match message, the decorated Spaniard also paid tribute to all those who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena bombing. "Four Premier Leagues – these guys are legends already; people have to admit it. This group of players are absolutely eternal in this club because what we achieved is so difficult," Guardiola said.
"First one 100 points [in the 2017-18 season], second one in Brighton [the final day of the 2018-19 season], the third without people and this one with people [is] the best. This is the fifth anniversary of the Manchester Arena [bombing]. This is a special day for us; we want to share it with the families who suffered in this terrible event.
"I want to congratulate Liverpool for what they've done. The magnitude of our achievement is because of the magnitude of this rival. That makes us feel more proud because we know which team we face and we are incredibly happy."
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sent his congratulations to City after falling just short in pursuit of his second domestic title with the Reds. "Congratulations to Man City and Pep Guardiola," the German said.
"Thank you to Aston Villa and Wolverhampton for making a proper game of it. It's not the result we wanted. It was a bit of a rollercoaster. I don't know the results exactly but I know they were 1-0 up – where they 2-0 up as well? Of course at the moment there's disappointment here as well.
"If it's 5-0 to City after 10 minutes, it's just a normal game for us. It wasn't our best game either, but it's all good. 92 points is absolutely incredible. We wanted it all, but now it's okay. [Finishing second] is the story of my life. I'm still record holder for not getting promoted in Germany with the highest points tally. You need to get more points than any other teams, but we didn't do that.
"You can't do more than give your absolute best and that's what the boys did again. We chased the best team in the world to the wire, that's absolutely special. We'll build a team again and go again."
