A beaming Manuel Pellegrini described this last-gasp victory as “ugly”, then stated this season’s topsy-turvy Premier League might be secured by fewer than 80 points for the first time this millennium.
Since the competition’s inception in 1992 it has happened only three times. The last occasion was 16 years ago, when Manchester United’s league title in their Treble-winning campaign of 1998-99 required 79 points. United also did it two years before, when 75 – the lowest victorious tally –was enough, while Arsenal were crowned champions with 78 points in 1997-98.
However, on a weekend when United lost at Bournemouth to follow the Cherries’ victory over Chelsea seven days previously and Leicester City have a chance to reclaim top spot from Arsenal if they beat José Mourinho’s side on Monday night, Pellegrini’s view is credible.
He said: “It is a very difficult title to win because the amount of points all the teams have now is not normal. You don’t have that in every Premier League season. Maybe this season the teams are stronger, maybe the games are closer. Every season is different but to win the Premier League this season will be very difficult and take less than 80 points.”
City and Leicester stand on 32 points, Arsenal have 33 and United 29. Pellegrini added: “I don’t think the leaders after the first half of the season will have 40 points. It will be one of the closest [yet].”
When Yaya Touré intervened on 91 minutes City had suddenly found themselves heading for a draw against visitors who could rue the impressive form of Joe Hart for not scoring more than once. Managerless Swansea, led by Alan Curtis for the day, had dominated, pushing City back with confident possession football.
Wilfried Bony, signed from Swansea for £28m last January, had given Pellegrini’s team a 26th-minute lead when Ashley Williams lost him from a Jesús Navas corner and he headed in his seventh goal this season. Yet this was a brief interruption in Swansea’s dictation of the play.
Finally they drew their reward when Bafétimbi Gomis, a late substitute, outmanoeuvred the ponderous Eliaquim Mangala before banging the ball past Hart on 90 minutes.
Perhaps last season City would not have gone up the other end almost instantly to grab the late winner as they did via Touré. His shot deflected off Kelechi Iheanacho beyond Lukasz Fabianski and that was 2-1.
The final whistle was blown moments later and a happy Pellegrini was left celebrating a priceless three points. “Yes, of course, I always say the most important thing is to win but I think to win the most amount of games you have to try to play well,” he said. “Maybe Swansea played better than our team today but we played two times better than West Ham here when we had 18 or 20 chances to score and we couldn’t win. So the three points replaces those points.”
Only a week ago Manchester City had been beaten easily at Stoke City. The defensive issues that cost them there remain but Pellegrini now has eight days to work with the side before the trip to Arsenal, with the draw for the Champions League last 16 in Nyon on Monday morning to look forward to.
He is in no doubt which of the Premier League and European Cup he would rather win. “I always think the Premier League is the most important. In the Champions League you can have a bad game, go out in the semi-final and nobody remembers what you did,” he said. “The Premier League is the work of the whole year. I always say it must not be an obsession to win the Champions League. It’s a very important title and beautiful to do it but you must not try to win that and lose focus on the Premier League.”
Man of the match Joe Hart (Manchester City)
