Manchester City’s four-year run as Premier League champions has come to an end.
Pep Guardiola’s reign at the Manchester outfit has been legendary, winning six out of the last seven English top-flight titles, but what sets the Spaniard’s side apart from the others was their run of four in a row, which has never been achieved by another Premier League club.
Liverpool are the only club to win the Premier League in and around those years, and on Sunday, Arne Slot’s team finally wrestled the title away from Man City after beating Tottenham 5-1.
The Reds are expected to make a good attempt at defending their crown next season and after an easy title battle with Arsenal throughout the 24/25 campaign, the Merseyside club have already set their expectations for Man City.
Liverpool set Man City expectations for the 2025/26 campaign
This season has not gone to plan for Man City for many reasons, with many feeling that their title defence would be a struggle the moment Rodri got injured against Arsenal back in September.
City have struggled without their most important player, while the Manchester club were also punished throughout the opening half of the campaign having rested on their laurels last summer, failing to add any significant stars to Guardiola’s squad.
This was addressed in January, with Man City signing Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalz, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
These have already had an impact on City as they have reached the FA Cup final, while also putting them in a strong position to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 63 | 29 | 34 | 67 |
| 3 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 65 | 44 | 21 | 62 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 43 | 23 | 61 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 59 | 40 | 19 | 60 |
According to The Telegraph, those behind the scenes at Liverpool expect Man City to bounce back next season to try and reclaim the Premier League, with the Manchester club expected to be re-energised for the 2025/26 campaign.
Things are already looking up for Guardiola’s men and over the summer, the Spanish coach will see more players arrive, with Man City’s top target being Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
Man City and Liverpool’s legendary battle
Should Man City return to the level of previous seasons, Guardiola’s men will rekindle some of their legendary battles with Liverpool seen over the last decade.
The 2018/19 season was the most epic of all their Premier League title run-ins as the final table saw City win the league on 98 points, one ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s team. This trumps the 2021/22 battle as Man City would become champions again on 93 points, one point more than the Reds.
Liverpool’s squad have noticed Man City’s struggles this season as the pressure has not been on them to win every single game, but next season, everyone in Slot’s squad will be aware of the return of Guardiola and his team.
