Manchester City snatch victory as Liverpool ponder what might have been

The 2013-14 English Premier League title was won by Manchester City in one of the most dramatic ends to a season in history.

After Liverpool’s incredible run of victories it appeared that Brendan Rodgers’ side would end their long wait for glory, but a series of stumbles at the business end of the season, coupled with Chelsea’s dip in form, allowed City to take full advantage and clinch their second title in three seasons.

CHANGES

As the television deals continued to exponentially rise, so did the level of spending. Arsenal broke their transfer record to bring in Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in a real statement of intent, while Chelsea brought in the efficient Willian from Anzhi for £30m, closely followed by Andre Schurrle, arriving from Bayer Leverkusen.

Manchester City, perennial big-spenders, were extremely active, bringing in Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo for a combined fee in excess of £90m.

Manchester United, however, were noticeably quiet, failing to back new boss and Sir Alex Ferguson replacement David Moyes in the transfer market for the signings he requested. In the end Marouane Fellaini arrived from Everton in an deadline-day deal, while Juan Mata came from Chelsea in January.

But the biggest displacement took place at White Hart Lane; after protracted negotiations, Gareth Bale signed for Real Madrid from Tottenham for a world record £90m fee. Tottenham’s use of the money was erratic at best, being splurged on a series of signings rather than a big-name replacement. Erik Lamela was the most prominent, arriving from Roma, while Roberto Soldado, Paulinho & Christian Eriksen also came in for big fees.

Other than Moyes, the return of Jose Mourinho to Premier League football after a six-and-a-half year hiatus meant that Chelsea were expected to compete for the title after a spell of managerial upheaval and underachievement domestically.

SEASON SUMMARY

The Premier League was in uncharted waters, a league without Sir…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/manchester-city-snatch-victory-as-liverpool-ponder-what-might-have-been-the-2013-14-premier-league/44

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-08-02 11:00:00

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