Manchester City 2018

Coach: Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City became the first side in English top-flight history to reach 100 points in a single Premier League season in 2017-18, a 'Centurions' campaign built on a possession-based, high-tempo style that reinvented what a dominant Premier League title win could look like statistically, with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva orchestrating attacks and full-backs pushed into central midfield positions in a tactical innovation that influenced coaching approaches across the league in the following years. Despite the extraordinary domestic form, City's Champions League campaign ended at the quarter-final stage, beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in a tie that exposed defensive vulnerabilities Guardiola's side had rarely shown in the league. Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling led the goalscoring, while Ederson, signed that summer, gave City a goalkeeper comfortable enough in possession to play as an auxiliary outfield player within Guardiola's system. This season is generally regarded as the foundational campaign of City's sustained period of Premier League dominance through the following years.