Manchester City

Having endured many years in the shadow of their Red Devil foes, the tables have well and truly turned as the Sky Blues proudly puff out their chests in the upper echelons of English and European football after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and their first-ever Champions League.

It was all part of Pep Guardiola's masterplan, the Catalan conductor behind a well-organised and exceptionally talented orchestra who have blessed the Etihad Stadium faithful with memories that they will cherish forever.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at Manchester City's historic treble-winning 2022-23 campaign.

SEASON OVERVIEW

Final league position: 1st

EFL Cup: Quarter-finals

FA Cup: Winners

Champions League: Winners

Top scorer: Erling Braut Haaland (52)

Most assists: Kevin De Bruyne (29)

A year on from spending £100m on the signing of Jack Grealish, Man City forked out just over half that to activate the release clause of Borussia Dortmund's highly-coveted striker Erling Braut Haaland. Kalvin Phillips, Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez and Stefan Ortega also arrived at the Etihad, while Julian Alvarez linked up with this new teammates for the first time since signing in January.

Unlike in previous years, the Citizens made a net profit last summer as Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling were all allowed to seek pastures new - the former two joining Mikel Arteta's Arsenal and the latter signing for Chelsea - while a number of fringe and academy prospects also departed permanently, including Pedro Porro - now at Tottenham Hotspur - to Sporting Lisbon, as well as Romeo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu and Sam Edozie to Southampton. City also bid farewell to long-serving midfielder Fernandinho, with Ilkay Gundogan appointed as the club's new captain.

The headlines at the beginning of City's season were unsurprisingly focused on the introduction of Haaland, who immediately hit the ground running and scored just 12 minutes into his Citizens debut, netting the only goal in a 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Bayern Munich. However, the Norwegian was unable to stamp his mark in a 3-1 Community Shield loss to Liverpool.

Defeat to last season's title rivals was quickly put to one side as Guardiola's men picked up 13 points from their opening five Premier League matches, two fewer than early pacesetters Arsenal at the summit. Haaland remarkably scored nine goals in this period - a Premier League record - including a brace on his top-flight debut against West Ham United on the opening weekend and back-to-back home hat-tricks in 4-2 and 6-0 victories over Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest respectively. Alvarez also shone against the latter on his full debut with his first two league goals, but it was the Norwegian who scooped the Player of the Month award for August.

Indeed, Haaland's early contributions were enormous to City to say the least, as he netted 19 goals in his first 13 matches in all competitions. The 22-year-old scored five goals in the Citizens' opening three Champions League group-stage matches, including a memorable acrobatic match-winner against former club Dortmund to help Guardiola's side make a strong start to Group G. Following a 15-day break from competitive action after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, City then recorded a memorable 6-3 derby triumph over Man United at the Etihad in early October courtesy of two hat-tricks from Haaland and local lad Phil Foden.

Thirteen points were separating Man City in second and Liverpool languishing in 10th place when the two teams locked horns at Anfield, but it was the latter who condemned the reigning champions to their first Premier League defeat of the season, ending their 21-game unbeaten top-flight run in the process, with Mohamed Salah scoring the only goal in a slender 1-0 win. The Citizens responded well, though, with five victories in their next six games in all tournaments.

A goalless draw at Dortmund secured top spot in their Champions League group with a game to spare, while a 2-0 win over Chelsea helped City advance from the third round of the EFL Cup. However, Guardiola's side suffered a shock 2-1 home loss to Brentford in their final match before the World Cup break, allowing Arsenal to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Man City used the month-long international break to end any doubts about Guardiola's future, with the Catalan boss penning a two-year contract extension at the Etihad until 2025 to the delight of every Citizens supporter. The controversially scheduled mid-season World Cup saw a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina triumph in Qatar, with City's new recruit Alvarez coming away with a winners medal after excelling with four goals in seven matches, including a brace in a crucial semi-final victory over Croatia.

The Citizens resumed their campaign with an enthralling 3-2 EFL Cup fourth-round win over Liverpool and a 3-1 top-flight victory at Leeds United, but they missed the chance to close the gap to leaders Arsenal after being held to a 1-1 home draw by relegation-threatened Everton, allowing the Gunners to end 2022 with a seven-point lead at the summit.

Guardiola and co kick-started the New Year with back-to-back wins over Chelsea, following up a 1-0 Premier League away victory with a thumping 4-0 home success in the FA Cup third round. However, a much-rotated City side suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Southampton in the EFL Cup quarter-finals - Nathan Jones ultimately the man preventing the Citizens from winning the quadruple - three days before losing 2-1 to Man United at Old Trafford courtesy of a controversial equaliser amid a quickfire late comeback from the hosts, leaving the Sky Blues eight points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

A surprise turn of events at the end of January saw Joao Cancelo, who had lost his regular starting place under Guardiola after the World Cup, join Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season. The full-back's departure coincided with Nathan Ake's rapid rise as an integral member of Guardiola's side as well as the emergence of teenage academy graduate Rico Lewis.

As Man City embarked on a hectic fixture schedule across three competitions, the club were rocked by the news of being charged with 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules following a four-year investigation relating to sponsorship income, revenue and operating costs - allegations that the Citizens emphatically deny.

The threats of heavy fines, points deductions and even Premier League expulsion were all suggested as possible punishments should City be found guilty by an independent commission, with fellow top-flight clubs allegedly in favour of the latter. Rival fans will indeed place a bold asterisk above City's trophy triumphs until a verdict is published. Nevertheless, in a time of severe unrest and uncertainty, Guardiola restored order and steadied the Sky Blue ship, insisting that he was more committed that ever to manage the Citizens and is "fully convinced" the club are innocent.

The Catalan's defiant demeanour was passed onto his players who then put together an exceptional 25-game unbeaten run in all tournaments across a four-and-a-half-month period, which began with successive 3-1 Premier League wins over Aston Villa and Arsenal. Goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Grealish and Haaland helped City claim three crucial points against the latter at the Emirates Stadium to usurp their title rivals and climb to the Premier League summit, albeit having played a game more.

Man City marched into the FA Cup semi-finals courtesy of comfortable victories over Championship duo Bristol City and Vincent Kompany's Burnley in the fifth round and quarter-finals by an aggregate score of 9-0. Indeed, goal machine Haaland scored a hat-trick against the latter just four days before netting five in a thumping 7-0 second-leg win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League last 16, moving onto 39 goals in all tournaments and breaking a 94-year club record set by Tommy Johnson to become City's highest-ever goalscorer in a single season.

The in-form Citizens then regrouped after an international break and hit four past both Liverpool and Southampton before, recording an impressive 4-1 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, with a comprehensive 3-0 first-leg win at the Etihad arguably one of their performances of the season.

City completed the month of April with three significant results, firstly beating Sheffield United 3-0 in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley courtesy of a superb Riyad Mahrez hat-trick, before a scintillating display in a 4-1 top-of-the-table win over Arsenal helped Guardiola's side seize control of the Premier League title race, moving to within two points of the top with two games in hand. City eventually climbed to the summit with a 2-1 win at Fulham in which Haaland became the first English top-flight player to score 50 goals across all competitions in a single season since Tom 'Pongo' Waring 92 years ago.

The records continued to tumble for Haaland as he became the first-ever Premier League player to score 35 goals in a single season, surpassing both Alan Shearer (34 goals in 1994-95) and Andy Cole (34 goals in 1993-94), with a strike in the 3-0 win over West Ham United in May. The Norwegian's form in front of goal somewhat dried up towards the end of the campaign, but Guardiola had other stars among his ranks to step up, none more so than perennial end-of-season specialist Gundogan, who scored four goals in two Premier League wins against Leeds and Everton to put City on the brink of clinching the title.

Victory over Everton was sandwiched between City's Champions League semi-final tie with holders Real Madrid. Following a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, City brushed aside the team that eliminated them at this stage in heartbreaking fashion 12 months ago as they recorded an utterly dominant 4-0 second-leg triumph to book their ticket to the showpiece event in Istanbul.