Premier League Manager of the Season excites Guardiola
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, has said he’s highly motivated with the Premier League Manager of the Season award.
The Spaniard takes the award for leading Manchester City to the title for the third time in four years.
It is the third time the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has scooped the honour, having also done so during City’s title successes in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
He matches the three awards earned by Arsene Wenger and long-time rival Jose Mourinho.
But he remains some way off Sir Alex Ferguson, who won it on 11 occasions.
That quintet are the only men to win the Premier League on three or more occasions since its inception in 1992.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline during the Premier League match at Molineux, Wolverhampton.
Guardiola’s side won 27 of their 38 Premier League matches as they stormed to the title in the second half of the season, eventually running out winners on 86 points.
They set a remarkable new record with their triumph, as City became the lowest placed side on Christmas Day to claim the title.
Guardiola’s side were down in eighth place on December 25, but a 15-match winning run soon saw them head to the summit, from where they didn’t look back.
Guardiola’s triumph comes after City defender Ruben Dias was voted the Premier League’s Player of the Season.
The 24-year-old Portugal international played a crucial role in City’s title-winning campaign after joining from Benfica in September, as well as their Carabao Cup success and reaching the Champions League final.
In 32 league appearances, Dias contributed to 15 clean sheets, made 35 interceptions, 24 tackles, 23 blocks and 135 recoveries.
Last month he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year, and he is among the Professional Footballers’ Association’s player of the year nominees.
The nominees Dias beat to take the Premier League award were his City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, who won it last year, Bruno Fernandes, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Mohamed Salah and Tomas Soucek.
A public vote was combined with those of the 20 club captains and a panel of football experts to determine the winner.
Dias is the fourth defender to take the award, emulating Nemanja Vidic, former City captain Vincent Kompany and Virgil Van Dijk.