Man City vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League trophy presentation follows pitch invasion

Perhaps it was almost as Todd Boehly envisaged: a Chelsea game in May, the new champions given a guard of honour after securing what may prove the first of a treble, cruising to victory over fallen rivals. Except Chelsea had to form the guard of honour – in perhaps the closest they came to a coherent formation for quite some time – and Manchester City were celebrating in the sunshine.

The nouveaux riches were companion clubs for years but, since each came into extreme wealth, they have never been separated by a greater gulf. If money has talked, and one has spent largely well in recent seasons, the other spectacularly badly in the last 12 months, the consequence is that City’s fifth league title in six seasons was sealed the day before they condemned Chelsea to a first bottom-half finish since 1996.

Pep Guardiola addressed whether this era at Manchester City is the best of all time when he spoke to Sky Sports after the trophy presentation.

“All Premier League (titles) are special,” he said. “Last season was more special because of how the (last) game was. It’s so difficult to win it, every time it looks more difficult.

“I know that the feeling is we have to win in Europe and it’s true to be considered and remembered (as one of the great teams). But the Premier League makes sense too.

“As a club, you want to get to another level and we have to win the Champions League to be considered one of the best teams like Manchester United and Liverpool.

“It’s also fair to say that, if we don’t win it, five Premier League titles doesn’t make sense? Of course it makes sense.”

Manchester City have scored in each of their last 15 league games - their longest scoring streak this season - scoring 40 goals in that run.

At the back, they have kept a clean sheet in 13 of their 36 games - a number bettered only by Liverpool (14) and Manchester United (17).

Manchester City have scored in 34 of their 36 league games this season, more often than any other team in the English Premier League this season.

Their 12-game winning run is their longest winning streak since January 2022.

Most top-flight titles won in Europe’s big five leagues since Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge at Barcelona in 2008/09:

11 - Pep Guardiola

6 - Massimiliano Allegri

5 - Antonio Conte

4 - Ancelotti, Blanc, Mourinho

Manchester City are the third team to win the English top-flight in five out of six seasons, along with Liverpool (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984) and Manchester United (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001).

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s an amazing feeling [winning the league].

“Everybody has supported me through a tough season and we’ve got there in the end. Everyone around the club is amazing and that’s why we’ve won the league.

“The celebrations that we’ve had tonight will be in my mind forever and will push me on for next season. I haven’t dreamt of it [winning the treble].

“Now we can turn our attention to the next trophy. Everyone wants the Champions League, it’s the one at the top of the list and the one the lads speak about it the most.

“Some of the lads here have won five Premier League titles but this is my first.

“Pep has won so much in his career and if he can lead us to this treble he will be a happy man and will go down as the ghreatest manager in the world. I don’t just want to win it for myself but also for him.”

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s unbelievable that I’m on the pitch with these top quality players. I’ve dreamt of it since being a kid and now it has come true.

“It’s so easy for me to learn from them. I’m playing with world class players and the best manager in the world. I just have to listen and learn. It’s amazing to be next to them every day.

“The message for next season will be that we have to go again and I’m happy to follow that. It’s never really enough. I want more.

“You don’t know how this season will finish but we want to make history.

“Even just going to the finals and being part of it is going to be incredible. This is something I’ve dreamt of since I was four, five, six years old. You see people do it on TV and now I’ve been able to experience it.”

Manchester City are Premier League champions once again. Pep Guardiola’s side have won their third title in a row and fifth in six seasons after winning 13 of their last 14 matches to storm to the finish line.

Arsenal held an eight-point lead in mid-January but City have been unstoppable over the second half of the season, defeating the Gunners 3-1 at the Emirates and 4-1 at the Etihad to overhaul Mikel Arteta’s side in the title race.

Erling Haaland’s record-breaking campaign has been a key part of City’s success - with the Norwegian hitting 36 goals to smash the Premier League’s single-season scoring record - but it was Guardiola’s tactical tweaks that took City’s dominance to another level during the run-in.

Is Pep Guardiola the greatest ever football manager?

It is the third occasion he has managed to win three league titles in a row, having also done so in La Liga from 2009/11 and in the Bundesliga from 2014/16.

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is the only other manager to have ever won three successive English titles.