How Pep Guardiola built the Manchester City era of dominance

The Guardiola Man City era is the most decorated stretch in Premier League history: six titles in seven seasons between 2017/18 and 2023/24, a record four consecutive titles, the only 100-point season, and a 2022/23 treble that made Manchester City just the second English club to win league, FA Cup and European Cup in one season. The part that gets missed is how often Pep Guardiola rebuilt the team to keep winning: a 4-3-3, then strikerless false nines, then a 3-2-5 built around a record-breaking centre-forward.

The 100-point season is the wrong monument. The four in a row, from 2020/21 to 2023/24, was the harder achievement, because City won it three different ways while the rest of the league adapted to each one. That is what makes the Guardiola Man City era a dynasty rather than a purple patch.

The Guardiola Man City era: how it started

The appointment was announced on 1 February 2016: Guardiola would leave Bayern Munich, where he had won the Bundesliga in each of his two full seasons, and replace Manuel Pellegrini on a three-year contract. The arrival was the continuation of a project, not the start of one. City had won their first Premier League title in 2011/12 on goal difference, sealed by Sergio Aguero's famous stoppage-time winner, a moment we cover in our guide to Aguero's 93:20 title-winning goal.

The first season was a public stumble. City finished third in 2016/17, 15 points behind Antonio Conte's Chelsea, won no silverware, and Guardiola ended a league campaign outside the top two for the first time in his managerial career. The foundations, though, had been laid: City have now won eight Premier League titles, seven of them since that first Aguero title.

The points era: 2017/18 and 2018/19

The 2017/18 season reset the league's idea of what was possible: 100 points, 32 wins, 106 goals and a goal difference of +79, with the title sealed by a record 19-point margin. City won 18 consecutive league matches between August and December 2017, and their 30-match unbeaten run was ended only by a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool in January 2018. Both streaks and the 100-point total are in our guide to the longest unbeaten runs in Premier League history.

The 2018/19 defence was the more complete season. City became the first men's club to win the domestic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, holding off Liverpool by one point, 98 to 97, with 32 wins from 38 games. The FA Cup final finished 6-0 against Watford, and the League Cup was won on penalties against Chelsea. The following season they put eight past Watford again, 5-0 up by the 18th minute, the fastest a side has built such a lead in Premier League history, a game listed in our guide to the biggest wins in Premier League history.

The false-nine years: 2020/21 and 2021/22

After Liverpool's 99-point title ended the streak in 2019/20, Guardiola did something strange: he stopped playing a striker. City won the 2020/21 title with 86 points, 12 clear of Manchester United, and repeated in 2021/22 with 93 points, using Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan as rotating false nines ahead of Rodri. It was a sustained strikerless title run, and the shape details are covered in our guide to how the 4-3-3 formation works.

The same period produced the first real European breakthrough and its hardest lesson. City reached the Champions League final for the first time in 2021 and lost 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto. Between those seasons they also won 12 consecutive away league matches.

The treble and the four in a row: 2022/23 to 2023/24

The 2022/23 treble was the completion of the project. City won the Premier League on 89 points, added the FA Cup, and beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final in Istanbul, Rodri scoring the only goal in the 68th minute. They became the first English club to match Manchester United's 1999 treble, and Guardiola became the first manager ever to win the treble twice and only the fourth coach to win the European Cup three times. The Ferguson comparison is worth a read in our guide to how Sir Alex Ferguson built the Manchester United dynasty.

The shape had changed again. From around 2021 City played a 3-2-5 in possession with John Stones inverting into midfield, and then Erling Haaland arrived to give the false-nine machine a reference point. Haaland scored 36 league goals in his debut season, breaking the 34-goal single-season record, and added 12 in the Champions League campaign.

The 2023/24 title was the record-breaker: 91 points, two ahead of Arsenal, and a fourth consecutive crown, something no English top-flight club had ever achieved. City went 32 league games unbeaten across that run. Foden, at 23, became the youngest player to hold six league titles.

What the record books miss

The era had two interruptions, and both matter. Liverpool's 99-point season in 2019/20 was the only failure inside the seven-year window. Then Arne Slot's Liverpool ended the four in a row in 2024/25, and Arsenal won the 2025/26 title on 85 points with City second on 78, seven points back. Guardiola's six titles put him second among managers behind only Sir Alex Ferguson's 13, a comparison laid out in our guide to every Premier League title winner.

The Guardiola Man City era is still running, but it has changed shape. Manchester City hold the FA Cup and face Arsenal in the Community Shield on 16 August 2026 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with Arsenal entering the 2026/27 season as defending champions. The question is no longer whether the Guardiola Man City era can win, but whether a rebuilt version can win again now that the rest of the league has finally caught up.

Key takeaways

• Guardiola has won six Premier League titles with Manchester City: 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24, second only to Ferguson's 13.
• City's four consecutive titles from 2020/21 to 2023/24 are a Premier League record and the first four in a row in English top-flight history.
• The 2017/18 centurions set records for points (100), goals (106), goal difference (+79) and title margin (19 points).
• The 2022/23 treble made City the second English club after Manchester United in 1999 to win the league, FA Cup and European Cup in one season.
• The era's two interruptions were Liverpool's 99-point title in 2019/20 and Arne Slot's title in 2024/25; Arsenal then won 2025/26 with City seven points behind in second.

FAQ

How many Premier League titles has Pep Guardiola won with Man City?

Six: 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, with 13, has won more.

Did Manchester City win four Premier League titles in a row?

Yes. City won four consecutive titles between 2020/21 and 2023/24, a Premier League record and the first time any English club has won four straight top-flight titles.

What is Manchester City's record points total?

100, set in 2017/18 under Guardiola, with 106 goals scored, 27 conceded and a goal difference of +79.

Has Guardiola won the Champions League with Manchester City?

Yes, once: a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the 2023 final in Istanbul, which completed the treble. City also reached the 2021 final, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto.