How Manchester City Have Made Etihad Stadium a Fortress

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By Football Tripper
Last Updated: May 29, 2023

Aerial view of the Etihad

Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions for the third consecutive year this season. At one point in the campaign, they trailed Arsenal by eight points, but they turned that around to get their hands on the trophy again.

It was at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City shone the most during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. They lost just one of their 19 league matches in front of their home supporters, winning 18 and drawing only once.

Pep Guardiola’s side were clinical in front of goal at their home stadium, scoring 60 goals in their 19 games. That was 12 goals more than Arsenal who were second in the total goals scored at home this season.

The Etihad Stadium has now become one of the most difficult grounds in Europe for away teams to pick up a positive result at. Manchester City fans are used to seeing their team prevail, with a 2-1 defeat against Brentford being the only time they experienced a loss during the 2022/23 campaign.

City lifted the Premier League trophy in front of their home fans after their last home game of the season against Chelsea. In what was a party atmosphere at the Manchester venue throughout the afternoon, they prevailed 1-0 against the West London club.

Guardiola has had an excellent home record at every club he has coached at. He will be keen to continue that next season when they will be looking to become the first club in Premier League history to win the trophy in four straight years. As of May 22, they are the odds-on favorites at -138 in the football betting for the 2023/24 Premier League title.

Haaland Has Been Unstoppable at Home

Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has had a sensational opening season in England. He has broken the record for the most goals scored in a campaign. The City striker has found the back on the net 36 times in his opening 34 Premier League matches and 52 times in his opening 50 games in all competitions.

Haaland also broke the record for the most goals scored by a player at the Etihad Stadium against West Ham back in January with seven games to spare. He ended the season with 22 league goals at home in the Premier League.

The former Dortmund striker became the first player in Premier League history to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games in the league. His first came in a 4-2 success against Crystal Palace. The City man then starred in a 6-0 rout over Nottingham Forest, while his third hat-trick came in the Manchester Derby in a 6-3 success for the hosts.

Haaland was named the PWA Footballer of the Year for the 2022/23 campaign. More awards and trophies are expected to go his way once the season has concluded.

Real Madrid the Pick of Results This Season

City has had some outstanding results at the Etihad Stadium this season in all competitions, but the pick of those has to be their 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League. After drawing 1-1 at the Bernabeu in the opening leg of their semi-final tie, it was all to play for in Manchester. The home side produced their best football to blow the Spanish side away.

A brace from Bernardo Silva and goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez saw City breeze into the final. It ensured they qualified for the final for the second time in three years. It also avenged the loss to the La Liga club at the same stage of the competition last season.

City have won all six of their home matches in the Champions League this season going into the final. They have had wins over Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Copenhagen, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid.

Manchester City will be hoping to add the FA Cup and the Champions League trophies to their Premier League title in the last month of their season to complete the treble. They face Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on the 3rd of June, while a week later, they will take on Inter Milan in the final of the Champions League in Istanbul.

Football Tripper Logo

By Football Tripper
Last Updated: May 29, 2023