The 2018/19 Premier League title race was one of the greatest in the history of the competition.
Pep Guardiola’s Man City side went head-to-head with Liverpool all season long with the Manchester club pipping the Reds to the title with an incredible 98 points, one ahead of the Merseyside club as the battle went down to the final day of the campaign.
The race for the trophy was summed up by the run of wins both clubs put together during the run-in in with Man City winning 14 Premier League games in a row, knowing they could not make a mistake with Liverpool breathing down their necks.
In hindsight, that made City’s 2-1 win over Klopp’s team at the start of 2019 crucial to winning the Premier League that season and Gary Neville praised two ‘unreal’ players for their performances at the Etihad Stadium on that day.
Gary Neville was a big fan of Fernandinho
On 3 January 2019, Man City secured a 2-1 win over Liverpool thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane, but the game will always be remembered for John Stones’ clearance off the line.
Those three points were huge for Guardiola’s men and speaking after the contest, Neville was full of praise for the performances of Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva, while Graeme Souness also gave a shoutout to the Brazilian star.
“There was a five-minute period after Liverpool scored, but they responded,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho they were unreal actually in central midfield. Their tackling, their running, it was fantastic. They were desperate to win.”
The midfielder started the contest against the Reds in the middle of the park alongside Silva and David Silva, with that alone being enough to see why City won the title in 2019.
Fernandinho was crucial to Man City’s first Premier League win under Guardiola and played a key role in every one until his departure in 2022, a summer in which the Man City legend left for free.
How Fernandinho is viewed at Man City
Fernandinho will go down as a Man City legend having featured for the Manchester club in 383 games and having played a key role in Guardiola’s team winning five Premier League titles.
Nathan Ake was one of many players who hailed Fernandinho’s leadership during his time at the Etihad, while others believe the former Man City captain was better than Yaya Toure during his time in Manchester.
The Brazilian’s legacy could have been even better had he waited one more season to depart Man City, as he would have been part of the team that won the treble in 2023; however, the midfielder chose not to renew his contract and left to join his former club Athletico Paranaense.
Nevertheless. Fernadinho is still viewed as a Man City legend and leaving the club in 2022 was the right decision as the veteran star has nothing left to give the club after nine years in Manchester.
