The 2022-23 Manchester City squad completed their ascension to that absolute apex level by completing the Treble following their 1-0 Champions League final victory over Inter Milan. Rodri's second-half goal was enough to ensure that the Citizens would become just the seventh team of the modern era to win their domestic league, domestic cup, and Champions League in the same season. City did, however, survive a close shave on two occasions after taking the lead. Federico Dimarco's goal-bound header bounced back off Inter teammate Romelu Lukaku; a goal would have levelled the score at 1-1. Shortly before the end of regulation time, Lukaku had a golden opportunity to atone for his earlier error, but he botched a simple unguarded header by aiming it straight at City goalkeeper Ederson despite having plenty of room to bury it in the back of the net.
The most impressive part of City's Treble this season was not so much the fact that they won the Treble as it was the manner by which they did. Once they seized the lead from Arsenal in the Premier League, a sweep of the three main trophies available to them seemed inevitable.
Where do we even begin when discussing this legendary, historic squad? This was a team that had it all - captain İlkay Gündoğan's assured, reliable leadership, Kevin De Bruyne's ability to play the game in bullet time, John Stones' seamless pivot from centre-back to central midfield, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden's emergence as key pieces to this remarkable puzzle, and of course, Erling Haaland's polonium-like lethality in front of the net. Tying it all together is the next-level coaching from the 300-IQ strategic mind of Pep Guardiola who, with his third career Champions League title and second Treble, has surely now established himself as the greatest of all time.
City's first clear statement of intent came before the season even got underway with the acquisition of Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. For the abysmally low transfer fee of €60 million, City's signing of the Norwegian centre-forward might already be the greatest transfer signing in football history. In October, City dispatched cross-town rivals United with a convincing 6-3 Manchester derby victory - the first sign that something truly special was in the making at the Etihad Stadium.
City would go on to make a major move in the title race with a 3-1 away win over Arsenal in February, allowing them to go top of the league. Soon after, Guardiola reconfigured the team's primary formation - a previously little-seen 3-2-4-1 which would prove to be a rousing success. Win after win followed, culminating in arguably the greatest single season ever put together by a football club - and certainly the finest by an English club.
Some may rush to point out the immense amount of money that club owner Sheikh Mansour spent to put this team together. While that may be true, long is the list of clubs that have spent colossal amounts of money only to come up short on European football's biggest stage. Additionally, City's signings of their two best players - Haaland and De Bruyne (arguably three if Gündoğan is added) - were vast underpays.
Is this actually the greatest club team of all time? Well, that's a difficult call to make - in the modern era alone, legendary teams like United 2008, Barcelona 2009, and Real Madrid 2017 come to mind. Travel further back in time and teams like Ajax 1972, Bayern Munich 1974, and AC Milan 1990 enter the conversation. That being said, City 2023 simply have to be considered in this discussion; they have just about as strong a claim as any of those other iconic teams.
In 20, 30, or even 50 years, long-time football fans the world over will wax lyrical about the time they saw Manchester City made European football bend to their will. This season's City team has become a permanent part of the football canon.
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