Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest football managers of his generation. Probably of any generation, in fact. And since he took over as Manchester City boss in 2016, he has overseen a veritable epoch of domestic dominance.
Guardiola started his managerial career with the Barcelona B team in the Spanish fourth tier, but was drafted in as first-team head coach after just a year and has been unstoppable ever since.
At Camp Nou, he put together a team that revolutionised football with its mesmerising passing style and won three La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey and three Champions Leagues.
After a sabbatical in New York, Guardiola then moved to Bayern Munich and, though he was unable to repeat the European success he enjoyed at Barcelona, his team crushed the Bundesliga, winning three straight titles by a combined margin of 39 points.
The story has been much the same in east Manchester. Since arriving to a project that had been perfectly tailored to his desires, Guardiola has won six out of a possible eight Premier League titles.
Five League Cups, two FA Cups (another final to come) and the Champions League – with a historic treble last term – have only made the job he’s done look all the more impressive, even with all the caveats of the money spent on players and the world-class infrastructure built for his benefit.
The praise heaped on Guardiola by even his bitterest rivals and the harshest pundits tells you everything you need to know about him as a football coach.
Speaking in 2021, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “[City] have an incredible squad and the best manager in the world and that makes it a good recipe.
“It’s always a joy to play against them because it’s a massive challenge from a football point of view. You can beat them but you have to be at your absolute top to do so.”
Even Roy Keane, formerly captain of Manchester United and one of the most stony-faced commentators around, has gushed praise for the Catalan tactician.
In December 2021, Keane told Sky: “I remember we did a game last year, I didn’t write off Man City but I think I said they lost their mojo. And then they won the league and it was like a doddle to them… I think Pep is the man, I look at all of the managers I think Pep is the man.”
But just how dominant have City been domestically since Guardiola arrived? There have been the six titles, but his first season was not as good as expected and Liverpool nicked the title from them in 2020.
If only there were some way to measure league performance over a period of time.
What’s that? Just look at the number of points every team has accumulated since Guardiola came to the Premier League?
Oh, well, go on then.
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So, good readers, here it is; the Premier League table since Guardiola became Manchester City manager. It makes for pretty pleasant reading if you’re a City fan.
Note: In bold, we’ve highlighted the only nine clubs that have been in the Premier League throughout Guardiola’s tenure. They’ve all played 304 games in total.
1. Manchester City – 716 points, GD +506
2. Liverpool – 657 points, GD +368
3. Arsenal – 567 points, GD +222
4. Tottenham Hotspur – 552 points, GD +212
5. Manchester United – 549 points, GD +185
6. Chelsea – 549 points, GD +149
7. Everton – 395 points, GD -58
8. West Ham – 391 points, GD -56
9. Crystal Palace – 363 points, GD -75
10. Newcastle United – 358 points, GD -10 (Played 266)
11. Leicester City – 357 points, GD +14 (Played 266)
12. Brighton – 319 points, GD -56 (Played 266)
13. Wolves – 299 points, GD -51 (Played 228)
14. Burnley – 286 points, GD -127 (Played 266)
15. Southampton – 281 points, GD -137 (Played 266)
16. Aston Villa – 264 points, GD +1 (Played 190)
17. Bournemouth – 256 points, GD -114 (Played 228)
18. Watford – 188 points, GD -126 (Played 190)
19. Fulham – 153 points, GD -77 (Played 152)
20. Brentford – 144 points, GD -5 (Played 114)
21. Leeds United – 128 points, GD -59 (Played 114)
22. West Brom – 102 points, GD -74 (Played 114)
23. Sheffield United – 93 points, GD -112 (Played 114)
24. Stoke – 77 points, GD -48 (Played 76)
25. Nottingham Forest – 74 points, GD -48 (Played 76)
26. Swansea City– 74 points, GD -53 (Played 76)
27. Huddersfield – 53 points, GD -84 (Played 76)
28. Norwich City – 43 points, GD -110 (Played 76)
29. Cardiff City – 34 points, GD -35 (Played 38)
30. Hull City – 34 points, GD -43 (Played 38)
31. Middlesbrough – 28 points, GD -26 (Played 38)
32. Luton Town – 26 points, GD -33 (Played 38)
33. Sunderland – 24 points, GD -40 (Played 38)
