5 things Manchester City must do to succeed next season as well
Having won the Premier League at a canter and broken all sorts of records in the process, one would be forgiven for thinking that Manchester City have little to do to make the team better for next season, but given that this is a team coached by the high priest of perfection a.k.a Pep Guardiola, that sounds highly unlikely.
The Catalan manager must have obviously been very happy with the things he saw his team do last season as they were almost perfect in the league and also won the Carabao Cup. However, the manner of the defeat to Liverpool in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League is one that must have left a sour taste in the mouth of Pep and the management team at City.
The 2018/2019 season is expected to be even tougher as Jose Mourinho's Manchester United can surely not be as mind-numbingly boring again while Liverpool buoyed by making the UEFA Champions League final will be looking to make a statement.
Arsenal will start the post-Arsene Wenger era under new man Unai Emery and Tottenham Hotspur will be moving to the new White Hart Lane stadium. Meanwhile, given the happenings surrounding Roman Abramovich, nobody knows what to expect from Chelsea.
On that note, here are five things the Cityzens need to do to be successful next season as well:
#5 Continue gradual integration of younger players
Yaya Toure is expected to leave and surely, it cannot be long again before the likes of captain Vincent Kompany, star midfielders Fernandinho and David Silva and even star striker Sergio Aguero (given his injury record) begin to show their age.
From his first day at the club, Pep Guardiola had been grooming young players to gradually take over from the old guard and with the team now having a large target on its back, it is expected that the younger, more dynamic elements in the team will continue to have more responsibilities placed on their young shoulders.
There has been a lot of talk about Phil Foden and it is expected that he will begin to get more game time next season (he is reportedly about to get a new long-term contract) but Spaniard Brahim Diaz has shown more quality in the games he has played and will need nurturing and game time as well.
John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are also expected to get more responsibilities next season especially if Kompany's injury issues come up again, and the slow but certain easing of Gabriel Jesus as City's leading striker should also continue.
Also Read: Players that have improved under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City