Harry Diamond
Pep Guardiola has made a huge impact on the Premier League since his appointment as Manchester City manager almost five years ago, winning two league titles and setting unprecedented standards of consistency at the Etihad.
Guardiola’s side became the first in history to reach 100 points in a Premier League season and are the current league leaders in 2020/21, City the favourites as they seek a third league title in just four seasons.
We’ve decided to look at how Guardiola’s side compare to the rest of the Premier League since his appointment, here are the five sides with the most Premier League points since the Spaniard’s arrival into English football.
Manchester United – 325 points
Manchester United rank fifth in the Premier League for total points since Guardiola’s arrival across the City, the Red Devils having largely watched on as a wealth of success has been brought to their cross-town rivals.
United are without a league title since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and have finished in the Champions League places on just four occasions since the Scot’s departure in 2013, though did finish as runners-up to Manchester City in the 2017/18 season.
That haul of 81 points was far above the club’s average over the past four full seasons, however, United finishing the campaign with 66 points in both 2018/19 and 2019/20 as they finished sixth and fourth respectively.
Tottenham – 326 points
Tottenham‘s total of 326 points leaves the north London side fourth amongst all Premier League clubs, having emerged as regular contenders for Champions League football during the Mauricio Pochettino era.
Spurs finished above Manchester City during Guardiola’s first season in charge at the Etihad, securing a second-place finish as Chelsea were crowned as champions in 2016/17.
That 86-point haul – a record for the club in the Premier League era – was followed by consecutive top four finishes in 2017/18 and 2018/19, before slipping to sixth last season as Pochettino was replaced by Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea – 331 points
Guardiola’s first season in the Premier League saw Chelsea emerge as champions, winning the title under the guidance of Antonio Conte in a season that saw the west Londoners set a number of short-lived records including most consecutive wins (13) and most wins in a season (30).
Conte’s side earned 93 points which was at that time the second-highest figure in Premier League history, though the Blues dropped to fifth the following campaign and are now on their third permanent manager since the Italian’s departure at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Chelsea finished fourth last season with a tally of 66 points and have amassed 331 since the start of the 2016/17, a figure former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel will now be hoping to improve upon following his appointment at Stamford Bridge last week.
Liverpool – 384 points
Liverpool have emerged as the biggest threat to Guardiola’s hopes of domestic dominance, with the two sides having formed a modern rivalry given their status as contenders for major silverware.
Jurgen Klopp arrived in the Premier League nine months before his Spanish counterpart and has helped transform the Reds’ fortunes, progressing each season including finishing as runners-up to Manchester City in 2018/19 with a record points haul of 97 points, one fewer Guardiola’s side.
That consistency was followed by further improvement as Liverpool won a first league title in 30 years in record-breaking fashion, Klopp’s side crowned champions with seven games to spare last season.
Liverpool have accumulated 196 points over the past two full campaigns and have earned 384 since Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad, a huge total but one that falls short of the Premier League’s most consistent side.
Manchester City – 401 points
Manchester City’s win over Sheffield United last weekend saw Guardiola break the 400-point barrier since moving to the Premier League, an incredible achievement over just four-and-a-half seasons in English football.
City finished third during Guardiola’s maiden campaign before setting extraordinary standards over the next two campaigns, becoming the first Premier League team to reach 100 points in a season during the 2017/18 campaign before retaining the title the following season with 98 points.
The club’s fortunes dropped last season as they finished 18 points adrift of Liverpool, though have bounced back in 2020/21 and are the bookmaker’s heavy favourites to regain the title.
The summer signing of Ruben Dias has helped transform a weakness at centre-back into a huge strength, City currently on a run of eight consecutive Premier League victories with seven clean sheets kept during that time.
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