Jamie Redknapp and Ashley Cole heap praise on Premier League champions Manchester City
Jamie Redknapp and Ashley Cole have showered this season’s newly-crowned Premier League champions Manchester City with praise, claiming they are the ‘benchmark’ for others to catch.
Pep Guardiola and his men were confirmed as champions on Tuesday after Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Leicester at Old Trafford, making them unable to catch their rivals with three games left to play.
Following a rocky start to the campaign, City roared back during the Christmas period and went on a staggering 19-match unbeaten run that included 17 victories and extended through until March.
Manchester City were confirmed as Premier League champions on Tuesday evening
Jamie Redknapp (left) and Ashley Cole (right) heaped praise on the newly-crowned champions
It is the ninth league title of Guardiola’s managerial career following three in Spain with Barcelona, three in Germany with Bayern Munich and now three with City – and his achievement has been hailed by Redknapp and Cole the day after it was confirmed.
Redknapp told Sky Sports ahead of Chelsea’s match with Arsenal on Wednesday: ‘Incredible team. Incredible manager. They deserve it this year. They have been far and away the best team.
‘They had a real wobble against West Brom and I think Pep Guardiola said he didn’t recognise his team but after that they found a way of playing. They keep the ball so well and they have got beautiful footballers to watch.
‘They are a joy. If you like watching football you like watching Manchester City. Thoroughly deserve it.
The 2020-21 triumph is the ninth league title of Guardiola’s career as a manager
‘Next year I think will be different, I think Liverpool will be better, Chelsea look really strong, Man United as well but they have got to enjoy it because they have been the best team and they deserve it.’
Cole agreed that City are what teams should be aiming for and hopes others can bounce back after struggling with the outbreak of Covid-19.
He added: ‘They are going to be the benchmark for other teams to catch. With Covid I think it really affected preparations for a lot of teams including Manchester City, next season hopefully teams will prepare a bit better and make for an exciting season.’
After beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 to lift the Carabao Cup at Wembley last month, City are now on for a treble after they overcame Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate last week to reach the Champions League final.
They will contest the final with Chelsea later this month.
