Tuesday’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham put Man City one victory away from a Premier League record-tying fourth consecutive championship, thanks to two goals each from Erling Haaland.
With a two-point advantage over second-place Arsenal, the three-time reigning champion will enter the last round of matches on Sunday.
In the last league game of the season, City plays at home against West Ham, while Arsenal plays at home against Everton.
The last game, “the serve to win Wimbledon,” is considered the most challenging among tennis players, according to City manager Pep Guardiola. “We are aware of the goal of our game. There is stress since the opponent is so strong. We are aware of the difficulty because of this.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Haaland gave City the lead in the 51st minute when he headed in close to convert a cross from Kevin De Bruyne.
In the first minute of stoppage time, after Pedro Porro had taken down Jeremy Doku, he scored his second from the penalty spot.
With a win, even if Arsenal pushed them until the very end, City can now decide its own destiny in the championship fight.
At this point, Guardiola is only a few wins away from his sixth league title in seven years.
In addition to trying to win back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles, City is the only English club to have won four consecutive top flight championships.
Guardiola had told his team that anything less than a perfect score would end their reign as the best team in England going into Tuesday’s match. However, they were one point behind Arsenal going into the match. That did nothing except pile more pressure on his squad, which was also hoping to snap a four-game league losing streak at Spurs.
The players for City also seemed to be affected by the occasion during a tense first half.
“They were preparing for the fallout from the outcome. You will lose the Premier League if you do that, Guardiola said. “I know the pressure, but they’re human.”
Tension was reduced by Haaland’s goal six minutes into the second half. Even if his goals were crucial, City had to depend on Stefan Ortega, a stand-in custodian, to hold Spurs at bay as the home side tried to equalise.
After Ederson was hurt in a collision with Cristian Romero in the 69th minute, Ortega entered the game and had to save Dejan Kulusevski’s close-range shot right away.
The Spurs attacker was denied again by him later on, but Ortega’s best moment came in the 86th when Son Heung-min broke through on goal.
Son blasted low into the corner, looking likely to score with only the goalie to beat. Son could only watch as Ortega flung out a leg to divert the ball, while a draw would have placed Arsenal ahead of the pack going into Sunday’s season finale.
With his head in his hands, Guardiola watched before collapsing to the ground in relief.
Doku enticed Porro into a lunge in the Spurs box shortly after, and referee Chris Kavanagh signalled the foul.
Haaland scored his second goal of the game and his 38th of the season, sending the game into overdrive.
In addition, Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League for the next season in fourth position, ahead of Tottenham in fifth, thanks to City’s victory.
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