Former Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has explained how he was always sure the 2013/14 Premier League title would end up at the Etihad.
That famous run-in eight years ago saw Liverpool in pole position with three games to go, but defeat against Chelsea and a draw with Crystal Palace allowed City to capitalise and lift their second title of the Premier League era. The Anfield club had been strong favourites to earn their first crown since 1990 just 20 days prior, but Zabaleta said he always knew his club would be the one that prevailed.
“I feel we always kept believing that we were going to win the Premier League (in 2014),” he told the club’s website this week. “We played great football that season. Liverpool were in a good moment and was a team that was a big contender, but I feel we always believed that the Premier League was for us.
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“Even in 2012 with (Roberto) Mancini, we were the same but with Manchester United and we just kept pushing and believing until the end. That was one of the reasons we won the league. Those two seasons were fantastic.”
Zabaleta, who earned 333 appearances across nine years at the Etihad, has perhaps offered this current City team an insight into the kind of mentality needed in order to see off Liverpool this season. The club edged Jurgen Klopp’s side to the 2018/19 title by a single point and it may boil down to a narrow margin again with City currently just one point ahead of their challengers.
A number of the squad from that season still remain in Pep Guardiola’s squad today but for others — such as Jack Grealish, Joao Cancelo and Rodri — this race is the closest they have experienced during their time at the club. That never-say-die attitude has seen City to five titles in the past 10 years and they will need it again if they are to lift a sixth.
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