If Pep Guardiola thought things couldn’t get any worse for Manchester City in the 2024/25 season, he was gravely mistaken.
The Sky Blues were nowhere to be found in a Premier League season dominated by familiar foes—Liverpool.
Champions League hopes? Crushed by Real Madrid. The Carabao Cup? Tottenham put an end to that dream.
And just when it seemed the FA Cup might offer a silver lining, City fell to 12th-placed Crystal Palace, led by Oliver Glasner. A shocking collapse.
What a Liverpool fan yelled at Guardiola at Wembley
It’s been a season to forget for the Etihad side.
A narrow 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final sealed City’s first season without silverware under Guardiola since his debut campaign in 2016/17.
Adding insult to injury, Palace’s win marked the first time a club had secured their first major trophy since Wigan stunned City in the same final back in 2013.
Guardiola didn’t get a moment of peace after the game either. As he made his way up the steps at Wembley, one cheeky Liverpool supporter hit him with a brutal reminder of Arne Slot’s league triumph.
“20 times, you bald rat!” the fan shouted, referencing Liverpool’s newly matched league title tally.
City’s Wealth Proves Insufficient
It’s clear this City squad is feeling the weight of consecutive years of intense competition, both domestically and in Europe.
But that shouldn’t overshadow the phenomenal job Arne Slot has done in his debut season in England.
Despite minimal changes to Liverpool’s squad—aside from the summer addition of Federico Chiesa, who played a minor role—Slot still managed to lead the team to a record-equaling 20th league title.
Clearly not relying on big spending, Slot may be poised to dominate English football, especially if Guardiola chooses to leave Manchester City soon.