The stage is set for yet another exciting season of Premier League football for QNET’s partner football club Manchester City. The 4-time Premier League winners kick off their campaign on the 21st of September against the Wolves at the Molineux Stadium. Some new names have arrived at the Etihad and they will be looking to make an immediate impact right away. Nathan Aké, the Dutch center-back was signed from AFC Bournemouth after enjoying a successful stint there for 4 years. The other signing that everyone is excited about is the dynamic right winger Ferran Torres from Valencia. He has broken into the Spanish National team at just the age of 20 and is raring to go at his new club in the Premier League. Another player to look forward to is Pablo Moreno from Juventus. The highly-rated youngster is vying to make his foray in his breakout season this year.
A Look at Man City’s 2019-20 Season
After, what can be called, a rollercoaster of a season in 2019-20 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Man City will be looking to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs after being back-to-back Premier League winners in 2018 and 2019. While it is impossible to replicate the 100 points scored in the 2018-19 season, City did well to reach 81 points, but it was not enough to reach the tally of eventual champions Liverpool FC. Though Manchester City finished 2nd on the Premier League table, the 2019/20 league season was incredible for a number of Man City players.
Let’s dig deeper into the statistics that highlight the contributions of Pep Guardiola’s City. They might not have won the title, but the individual performances of the first-team players were substantial. Lest you forget, the CItyzens managed to win the EFL Cup in February and reached the final 8 in the Champions League. Finishing 2nd on the League table might not have been what they wanted but some of the players really stood out.
Raheem’s Sterling Season
We begin with Raheem Sterling – the attacking winger who enjoys a more central role under Guardiola. What a season he has had, definitely his best yet in a City shirt! The England international was the highest goal scorer for City in the 2019/20 season as he registered a career-best tally of 20 league goals. This is the third season in a row where he has scored 15+ goals in a season. The 2019-20 season also marked the first time when Raheem Sterling scored 2 hattricks in a season, taking his total tally to four. His final overall tally for all competitions was 31 goals, his personal best.
Record-Breaker Aguero
Sergio Aguero came in second with 16 goals and in the process broke Theirry Henry’s Premier League record of 175 goals and became the highest overseas goal scorer. He also went past Frank Lampard’s tally of 177 goals and Aguero sits 4th on the all-time Premier League goal scorers list with 180 goals. He must be raring to go in this upcoming season with the 200-goal mark in sight. The record which he broke after more than 20 years is that of Premier League hattricks when he scored 3 goals against Aston Villa in January this year. This takes him to the top of the table for hattricks in the Premier League with 12, breaking the record of 11 hattricks set by Alan Shearer in 1999.
Kevin’s Masterclass
Manchester City’s standout player of the season was without a doubt Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian playmaker was involved in goals and assists galore. It was his first time hitting double digits with both goals and assists. De Bruyne clinched his second Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award by equalling the record of Thierry Henry’s 20 assists in a season, set way back in 2003. He also scored 13 brilliant league goals, his best tally in a season ever.
These exploits earned KDB the Premier League Player of the Season Award. This makes him only the second Man City player to win this honour after Vincent Kompany was awarded the same for leading Manchester City to their maiden title in 2012.
Kevin De Bruyne’s trophy cabinet had to make room for yet another honour when he was voted the Player’s Player of the Year by the Professional Football Association (PFA). The final feather on the hat was being named in the PFA Team of the Year. David Silva was the other Man City player to make the cut, Kevin De Bruyne’s captivating season was easily an obvious name on the list.
The Other Usual Suspects
David Silva, as usual, showed up on the top assists list with 10, while Riyad Mahrez contributed with 9 assists.
The other shining star was the Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus who enjoyed his best-ever returns in a league season with 14 goals and he also topped the charts for total shots in the season with 101, just ahead of De Bruyne and Sterling, who claimed 99 each.
Brazilian shot-stopper Ederson Moraes was delighted to win his maiden Golden Glove Award with 16 clean sheets from 35 games played. This award is well deserved after narrowly missing out on the award in the previous season to fellow Brazilian Alisson Becker despite Ederson keeping 20 clean sheets.
How New Blood in City’s Veins Faired
Rodrigo Hernandez, fondly known as Rodri, was signed by the Blue half of Manchester for a club-record £62.8 million from Atletico Madrid in July 2019. He immediately made his mark and was influential in City’s midfield, replacing David Silva as a regular starter. He racked up 2,579 passes in the season, which was the highest by a City player and second overall in the league behind Liverpool center-back Virgil Van Dijk. The Spanish defensive midfielder was also the best tackler for the side with 50 tackles won, sharing the position with captain Fernandinho. Rodri was instrumental with an interception as well, recording 26 – the third best and he won 57 aerial battles, coming third again. All in all, the 24-year old had a highly successful outing in his first season and justified Pep Guardiola’s need to splurge on a defensive midfielder.
City legend David Silva and second-choice goalkeeper Claudio Bravo left the club at the end of the season.
2019/20 Season Statistics
| GOALS | ASSISTS | PASSES |
| Raheem Sterling: 20 | Kevin De Bruyne: 20 | Rodrigo: 2,579 |
| Sergio Aguero: 16 | David Silva: 10 | Fernandinho: 2,222 |
| Gabriel Jesus: 14 | Riyad Mahrez: 9 | Ilkay Gundogan: 1,953 |
| Kevin De Bruyne: 13 |
QNET’s Partnership with Manchester City
QNET had partnered with Manchester City Football Club back in 2014 as their direct selling partner immediately after their second Premier League triumph. In 2018, when the Premier League made commissioned sleeve sponsors on football kits, QNET became the Manchester City Women’s first sleeve sponsor. Fast forward to 2019, shortly after Man City won its fourth Premier League title, QNET extended its sponsorship with the champion club till 2024, which will engage this partnership for 10 whole years. To commemorate this new extended deal, QNET launched the QNET City Champions Watch, a limited-edition Swiss-made beauty made for all City fans. QNET engages in many programs with Man City as a direct selling partner. MCFC in partnership with QNET provides opportunities to underprivileged kids across the globe by setting up football camps and providing English language training. QNET is focussed on improving infrastructure in Asian countries to facilitate the growth of football along with its partner club.
What City Fans Can Look Forward to
While Manchester City’s Premier League season starts on Monday, 21st of September, they begin the title defence of their EFL Cup victory exactly 2 days later at the Etihad Stadium. Don’t forget that Man City are three-time consecutive League Cup champions having won the EFL Cup in 2018, 2019 and 2020. A thrilling season of football awaits the Man City fans. The Sky Blues will get back on the field and bring back the fluid tiki-taka that you have missed. Nothing less than winning the title will be on their minds and we dare to say it, City are firm favourites to win back their crown.
Check out QNET’s World of Sports section to know about our partnerships & sponsorships.
