2022–23 Manchester City F.C. season

2022–23 shirts of City's new players hang alongside 2021–22 shirts of others before presentation

Manchester City had already resolved their most pressing squad issue before the end of the previous season, having announced their agreement to recruit a prolific centre-forward in Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. This transfer was confirmed on 13 June 2022, with Haaland formally joining the first team on 1 July.[4] Julián Álvarez would also join from River Plate, having been transferred in January 2022 and then temporarily loaned back.

City were expected to purchase a defensive midfielder to replace former captain Fernandinho. Kalvin Phillips was duly signed from Leeds United for a reported fee of £42 million plus add-ons on 4 July, and took the number 4 shirt previously worn by Vincent Kompany.[5] City were also reported to be in the market for a new specialist left-back, with rumours that Marc Cucurella of Brighton was their number one target.

City's first player sales of the season were the transfer out of Pedro Porro to Sporting CP through a loan-to-buy deal for £7.2 million,[6] and of Gavin Bazunu to Southampton for £12 million initially, up to £15 million after add-ons.[7] Neither player had made a first-team appearance for City.

City began pre-season with several key first-team players entering the final years of their contract amidst rumours that they might leave the club for a fee rather than renew. Of these, it seemed the most speculation concerned Gabriel Jesus and his possible transfer to Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Real Madrid after five years at City, and Raheem Sterling, who was also rumoured to be a Real Madrid target. Both players would, in theory, compete with the incoming Haaland and Álvarez for playing time if they remained.[8] Jesus left City for Arsenal for a reported fee of £45 million on 4 July.[9] Sterling went on to join Chelsea on 13 July for a fee reported to be about £47.5 million, with £2.5 million of add-ons. He had won eleven domestic titles in seven seasons at Manchester City, scoring 131 goals in 339 appearances, and was the club's 11th-highest scorer of all time.[10]

Another significant transfer was the move of versatile Ukrainian left-back/midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for a fee of around £30 million after six seasons at City on 22 July.[11] This left Pep Guardiola with just two senior specialist full-backs in his squad at the start of the new season, both of whom were natural right-backs, meaning City did not have a first team left-back. The club had refused to offer the minimum £50 million fee demanded by Brighton for Cucurella and he was eventually transferred to Chelsea on 5 August for a reported fee in excess of £60 million.[12]

Manchester City opted to start pre-season training a week later than most of their rivals, and scheduled only two friendly warm-up games as part of their tour of the United States, in order to ensure their players would have sufficient rest. They would also begin the new season with a relatively small squad of just twenty senior players. Both of these were considered to be strong preferences by Guardiola.[13]

City won both their pre-season tour games in the United States. However, they tasted defeat in their first competitive match of the season, losing 1–3 to a more-prepared Liverpool side in the Community Shield held at Leicester City's King Power Stadium. Debutant Julián Álvarez scored the sole goal for the Blues.[14]

Manchester City players in an away Premier League match against Wolves in September 2022

In their first league game on 7 August, City beat West Ham United 2–0 away, with Haaland recording his first two competitive goals for the club; he became the first City player to score a brace on their league debut since Sergio Agüero did so against Swansea City in 2011.[15] The following weekend, City announced that İlkay Gündoğan had been appointed club captain, with Rodri and Kyle Walker joining the vice-captain leadership group, shortly after City won their first league game at home 4–0 against Bournemouth.[16]

City finally recruited a specialist left-back on 16 August, signing Spanish under-21 defender Sergio Gómez for £11 million plus add-ons from Anderlecht, where he had previously played under the management of former City defender and captain Vincent Kompany.[17]

On 21 August, City played Newcastle United in an even match at St James' Park, and fought out another two-goal comeback to snatch a 3–3 draw. With seven points after three games, City were second in the league standings, two points behind Arsenal.[18]

On 27 August, City fell behind by two goals for the fourth time in six league matches, this time against Crystal Palace at home, only to recover to a 4–2 victory in a second half comeback, with Erling Haaland scoring his first home goals and first hat-trick for the club.[19]

On 31 August, Haaland became the first City player in the Premier League era to score a hat-trick in consecutive league games, scoring a "perfect" one in a 6–0 home rout of newly promoted Nottingham Forest. He had scored nine goals in his first five league games, another Premier League record.[20][21]

City were estimated to have earnt a Premier League record of about £180 million from transfer sales during the single summer 2022 window, thus demonstrating the success of the team's academy programme (sales included several youth players sold for seven- or eight-figure fees), and the increasing market value for footballers (such as Zinchenko and Jesus) gained from playing under Guardiola and his coaching team for several seasons.[22] City's overall net-spend in both 2022 transfer windows was estimated to be around £100 million or more.[23]

In their opening UEFA Champions League group game, Manchester City thrashed Sevilla 4–0 in Spain, with a Haaland brace that brought his tally up to twelve goals in eight games for City and 25 goals in just twenty total Champions League appearances. This was Sevilla's largest ever defeat at home in the Champions League and their first defeat in an opening fixture since their debut season; this was also the sixth time in seven seasons that City had won their opening fixture in the competition.[24]

City's home league fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, which originally was due to be played on 10 September, was postponed a day beforehand along with the entire weekend's English football league programme as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.[25] The following week, the away league fixture against Arsenal, due to be played on 19 October, was also postponed indirectly due to events following the Queen's death.[26][27]

By late September, and the first international break of the season, City were second in the league, one point behind Arsenal and ahead of Spurs on goal difference, with a record of five wins and two draws. By that point, Haaland had already scored fourteen goals in ten games across all competitions and become the first player in Premier League history to score in all of his first four away fixtures. City had also extended their unbeaten away run in the league to 22 games and well over a year since their last defeat.[28]

On 2 October, City beat Manchester United 6–3 in the first Manchester derby of the season at the Etihad, making it the highest scoring derby match of all-time. Both Haaland and Phil Foden scored the first City derby hat-tricks in 52 years and only the third and fourth of all time. Haaland also became the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home games, and City became the first team since Tottenham in 1965 to win eight consecutive league home games while scoring three goals or more.[29] With his performance, the Norwegian pushed his output to seventeen goals in eleven appearances, as well as fourteen Premier League goals in eight appearances.

A 4–0 home league victory against Southampton the following week included another goal from Haaland and meant he had now scored in ten consecutive fixtures overall and seven in the Premier League. The latter record matched a feat accomplished only once before by a City player in the Premier League, namely Sergio Agüero in 2019. Haaland also reached the milestone of twenty goals for the season after playing only thirteen matches, another league record. Moreover, City matched the previous all-time English record set by Wolves in 1959 of nine consecutive home league wins while scoring three or more goals.[30] In the league standings, the Blues maintained their second place with 23 points, just one behind surprise leaders Arsenal and already three ahead of third-placed Spurs.

City qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for the tenth consecutive season on 11 October. Although they could only draw 0–0 away to Copenhagen that night, a 1–1 draw between Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla ensured their progression. City's match included three first-half VAR decisions: a 25-yard Rodri strike ruled out because of a Riyad Mahrez handball in the build-up, a penalty awarded to City, also for handball, taken by Mahrez and saved, and a red card shown to City's left back Sergio Gómez for a professional foul, which left the Blues playing with ten men for over an hour.[31]

City suffered their first league defeat in a hard-fought match against Liverpool at Anfield on 16 October. Mohamed Salah scored the only goal off of a second-half breakaway, after Foden had seen his effort earlier in the contest ruled out by VAR for a foul on Fabinho by Haaland in the build-up.

A second consecutive 0–0 Champions League away draw, to Dortmund on 25 October, was sufficient to ensure City would qualify for the last 16 as group winners with one game to spare, although Mahrez again missed a penalty. On 2 November, Rico Lewis scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 win against Sevilla; he became the all-time youngest scorer on a first start in a Champions League match and City's youngest ever Champions League scorer, aged 17 years and 346 days.[32] Three days later, City beat Fulham 2–1 in the league at the Etihad, having played for over an hour with ten men after João Cancelo had been sent off when adjudged to have deliberately denied Harry Wilson a goal-scoring opportunity with a shoulder charge. City's winner was scored in the fifth minute of injury time by Haaland, netting a penalty after De Bruyne had been fouled. This led to ecstatic scenes afterwards with Guardiola encouraging his players to thank the crowd with a lap of honour.[33]

The Blues lost their final game before the mid-season break for the World Cup on 12 November, having been beaten 1–2 at home to Brentford with a brace, including a 98th minute winner, from Ivan Toney. City therefore ended the first part of the season in second place in the league, five points behind Arsenal and two points ahead of Newcastle, but with a game in hand; the Blues also advanced in the Champions League with an unbeaten record and reached the fourth round of the EFL Cup.[34]

Sixteen of City's players were called up in squads to play in the World Cup finals, second only to Barcelona (seventeen) in world football, and the most in the club's history. This left just eight players remaining at home until the season resumed the week before Christmas with a home EFL Cup tie against Liverpool.[35] Just two of City's World Cup participants played for teams eliminated after the group stage of the competition; the other fourteen would remain for the knockout phase. However, only Julián Álvarez reached the final week of the competition in the Argentina squad, while the others were eliminated either in the round of 16 or quarter-finals. Álvarez went on to become the fifth player to participate on the pitch in a World Cup final while playing at City (after Nigel de Jong in 2010, and Sergio Agüero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis in 2014), and only the second to become a World Cup winner as a City player.

The club announced on 23 November that Pep Guardiola had signed a new contract to remain as manager for an additional two years until summer 2025.[36]

All but two of City's first team players had been able to return to training by the time of the first competitive fixture after the resumption of the season. Ederson had been delayed by flight problems returning from Brazil, and Álvarez was permitted an extended break to enjoy the victory celebrations in Argentina. In their first match back on 22 December, City beat Liverpool for the first time in two seasons with a 3–2 win in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, thus knocking out the current holders and qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Another brace from Haaland in City's 3–1 away victory over Leeds in their first league game after the World Cup moved him to twenty league goals for the season, as he became the fastest player since the formation of the Premier League to reach this milestone (after only fourteen appearances).

City suffered from inconsistent form in early January 2023. They were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Southampton in a 2–0 defeat at St Mary's Stadium, and dropped league points against Everton and Manchester United to allow Arsenal to open up an eight point gap at the top of the table. The latter derby defeat included a controversial equalising goal for their rivals, which many observers deemed should have been ruled out for offside.[37] However, the Blues also convincingly beat Chelsea 4–0 in the FA Cup to reach the fourth round.

Haaland scored his fourth hat-trick of the season in City's 3–0 victory over Wolves on 22 January. This set a new club record for the most hat-tricks scored in a single season and a new national record for the fewest games to achieve the milestone. It also moved Haaland to 31 goals in all competitions for the season, only seven behind City's all-time record, as he became only the thirteenth player in the club's history to score more than thirty.[38]

On winter transfer deadline day, João Cancelo moved on loan to Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season with an option for a later permanent transfer, amid rumours he had fallen out with Pep Guardiola. Until then Cancelo had played the most minutes of any of the squad's defenders but had found game time more limited since the World Cup with the emergence of teenage academy graduate Rico Lewis and the form of Nathan Aké.[39]

On 6 February, the Premier League announced that, after a four-year investigation, they were charging Manchester City with committing more than 100 breaches of financial rules, referring the club to an independent commission for breaches made between 2009 and 2018. City were also accused of not co-operating with the investigation. The punishments that the commission could impose ranged from fines to points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League.[40]

Despite this, City went back to top of the league on 15 February when they beat Arsenal 3–1 at the Emirates Stadium to move ahead of them on goal difference, although their opponents that day still had a game in hand. However, this lead was brief as City's inconsistency and wasteful finishing again cost them two points in their following match away at Nottingham Forest, as the Blues were held to a 1–1 draw with a late equaliser by Chris Wood for the hosts; Arsenal won their game in hand to again stretch their lead to five points by early March.

Haaland scored his 27th goal of the league season against Bournemouth on 25 February, breaking the club record that Sergio Agüero set in 2014–15 for most Premier League goals in a season.

On 28 February, City defeated Bristol City away from home 3–0, advancing to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Erling Haaland in action against RB Leipzig in the Champions League round of 16

On 14 March, on a record breaking night, City defeated RB Leipzig 7–0 at home (8–1 on aggregate) in their Champions League round of 16 second leg tie to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition. This equalled City's record scoreline in the Champions League, but the match was particularly notable for the five goals scored by Haaland, who in recording his 39th goal of the season broke the 94-year-old club record of Tommy Johnson. It was also the first time a City player had scored five goals in a single continental match, and broke the record for the most number of continental goals scored in a season.[41]

Prior to the final international break of the season, the Blues displayed an impressive offensive showing against Burnley, recording a 6–0 home win in the FA Cup quarter-finals with another Haaland hat-trick.[42]

Following the resumption of domestic football on City convincingly beat Liverpool 4–1 at home on 1 April, despite going a goal behind and missing the injured Haaland and Foden from their matchday squad. However, Arsenal matched the result later that day by beating Leeds United. Thus, with just ten games remaining, City remained seven points behind the Gunners as league leaders, but still had a game in hand and a home fixture against their league rivals to help bolster their chances of retain ing their title.[43]

On 8 April, in a 4–1 away win against Southampton, Haaland brought his tally to thirty league goals with a brace, becoming only the fifth player to reach this milestone and the fastest ever to do so. De Bruyne also became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League assists.[44]

Arsenal dropped points the following day, drawing 2–2 away to Liverpool after they had led by two goals. This reduced the deficit to six points with City still having a game in hand, yet to play their rivals at home and with a superior goal difference.

On 11 April, Manchester City faced ten-time defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at home in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, and earned a convincing 3–0 victory. Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Haaland each scored, and the Blues had multiple chances to further increase their advantage.[45]

A dominant first-half performance against Leicester City in the next league game saw City run out as 3–1 winners. Another brace from Haaland brought his league goals tally to 32, equalling the record held by Mohamed Salah for goals in a 38-game Premier League season. The following day, Arsenal once again dropped points after holding a two goal lead, drawing 2–2 at West Ham and thus decreasing their lead at the top of the table to only four points with an extra game played.[46][47]

On 19 April, the Blues secured safe passage to the Champions League semi-finals for the third year in a row after a 1–1 draw with Bayern at the Allianz Arena. Haaland had sent a penalty over the crossbar at the end of the first half, but atoned by converting a one-on-one chance early into the second period. Late in the game, Bayern managed to equalise with a penalty from Joshua Kimmich. City would next face holders Real Madrid in a rematch of the previous year's semi-finals, where the Spanish giants had dramatically won 6–5 on aggregate after extra time en route to their 14th European crown.[48]

Later that week, Arsenal hosted the league's bottom club Southampton and drew 3–3 unexpectedly, coming back from a two-goal deficit. Their lead in first place was now five points, having played two more matches, than City, and due to meet them at the Etihad in their next game in what was billed as a league decider.[49]

On 22 April, Riyad Mahrez scored City's first ever Wembley hat-trick, and the first in a FA Cup semi-final since 1958, to beat Sheffield United 3–0 and reach the club's twelfth FA Cup final.[50]

On 26 April, City convincingly beat Arsenal 4–1 at home, with a brace from De Bruyne and a goal and two assists from Haaland, with his goal breaking the Premier League scoring record for a 38-game season. This meant City moved to within two points of the their opponents with two games in hand, leaving the destiny of the league title in City's hands with only seven games remaining.[51]

On 3 May, Haaland became the sole record holder for the most Premier League goals scored in a single season, netting City's second goal in a 3–0 home victory against West Ham. The third goal, scored by Phil Foden, was also the 1,000th under Guardiola's reign as City manager, achieved in just 404 games.[52]

Further victories away at Fulham and at home to Leeds United stretched City's winning streak in the league to ten games and ensured that they would likely require a maximum of eight points from their four remaining fixtures to retain the league title, thanks to a significantly better goal difference than their closest rivals.

On 9 May, the Blues secured a 1–1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, with Kevin De Bruyne netting a long-range equaliser and becoming the first player to score in separate Champions League away knockout games against Real Madrid, having previously done so against Los Blancos in the round of 16 of the 2019–20 edition. City had controlled much of the game and frustrated the title holders in many periods of the match. However, both goalkeepers had to make several saves to keep the scores level. The result stretched City's unbeaten run to 21 matches in all competitions over the past three months.[53]

On 12 May, Haaland was named FWA Footballer of the Year, the season's first top level award.[54]

City extended their unbeaten run to 22 games and their league winning streak to eleven as they defeated Everton 3–0 at Goodison Park on 14 May, with captain İlkay Gündoğan scoring a brace for the second league match in a row. This win, coupled with Arsenal's home defeat to Brighton later the same day, meant that City could become league champions if they were victorious against Chelsea at home in their next league game, or if Arsenal lost against Nottingham Forest in their next fixture the day before.[55] The latter scenario subsequently materialised, as Arsenal lost 0–1 at Forest on 20 May, with Manchester City thus securing a third consecutive league title, and fifth in six years, with three games to spare.[56]

On 17 May, in one of their best performances of the Guardiola era, City thrashed Real Madrid 4–0 at home in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals for a convincing 5–1 aggregate victory. Bernardo Silva scored a first-half brace and Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez further extended their lead in the second half. Once again, the Blues had an abundance of chances to score more, but, similarly to last season, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's prolific performance kept his side in the game, this time until City's third goal. Manchester City therefore advanced to their second Champions League final in three years, having lost to Chelsea in the 2021 final; they would meet Inter Milan in Istanbul on 10 June 2023, attempting to clinch their first European Cup and first European trophy since 1970.[57][58]

With the title already secured, City ended their league campaign with a home win, an away draw and an away defeat against Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford, respectively, as Guardiola rotated his squad to rest players ahead of their two upcoming finals. In the end of season awards, Haaland became the first player to win both the Premier League Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards, as well as the Golden Boot. De Bruyne won the Playmaker of the Season award, while Guardiola won both the Premier League Manager of the Season and LMA Manager of the Year awards.

On 3 June, City secured the league and FA Cup double for the second time in their history by beating city rivals Manchester United 2–1 in the first-ever Manchester derby cup final. İlkay Gündoğan scored both goals for the Blues, the first one after just 12 seconds, making it the fastest in FA Cup final history.[59][60]

On 10 June, Manchester City faced Inter Milan in the Champions League final, aiming to end the 53-year European trophy drought and secure the continental treble, and the match was a tense and close affair. City began the final with Kyle Walker unexpectedly left on the bench in favour of Nathan Aké; Inter retained the same starting line-up that had played in previous rounds.[61] The two sides had scoring chances early in the first half, but Inter's André Onana made two saves to prevent City from taking the lead.[62] A misplayed pass from Ederson in the 26th minute was stolen by Nicolò Barella, but his shot over the goalkeeper missed.[63][64] De Bruyne would leave the match in the 36th minute with a hamstring injury, and he was replaced by Phil Foden.[65] The first half ended scoreless, with Inter playing more defensively to prevent City from gaining momentum.[62][64]

Romelu Lukaku was brought on to replace former City striker Edin Džeko early in the second half and immediately produced a chance from a header. In the 59th minute, Ederson did not anticipate a backpass from Akanji which was found by Inter's Lautaro Martínez; his shot from near the touchline was blocked by Ederson.[64] Rodri scored the opening goal for City in the 68th minute, finishing a pulled-back pass that Bernardo Silva sent from near the goal to the top of the penalty area.[62][63] Inter had a chance to equalise three minutes later through a header by defender Federico Dimarco that hit the crossbar. Dimarco tried to capitalise on the rebound as well, but his shot was blocked by Lukaku.[62] The Belgian striker had his own chance to score from a close-range header in the 89th minute, which Ederson blocked with his legs.[64] The Brazilian made an additional save in stoppage time off of a Robin Gosens header to preserve a 1–0 victory for City.[63]

Rodri, who scored the lone goal and was instrumental in City's midfield, was named man of the match by UEFA. For Manchester City, this was their first-ever European Cup, and first European trophy since 1970. Having earlier won the Premier league and FA Cup titles, they achieved a continental treble, becoming only the second English and eighth European men's club to have done so.[66][67] As winners, City earned the right to play against Sevilla, the champions of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League, in the UEFA Super Cup, as well as qualifying for both the 2023 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups.

City's players and staff later received multiple prestigious awards in recognition of their achievements. Haaland was named the UEFA Men's Player of the Year, and Pep Guardiola won the UEFA Men's Coach of the Year award. Seven City players were included in the Champions League team of the season, with Rodri being named the most valuable player of the tournament.

The league fixtures were announced on 16 June 2022.[164]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Wembley Stadium, as seen from the stands, during the 2023 FA Cup final

City entered the competition in the third round and were drawn at home to Chelsea, making it a rematch of the third round League Cup tie earlier that season.[167] The fourth round draw was held shortly before City's third round tie against Chelsea, with the Blues drawn against the winner of the following day's Oxford United vs Arsenal tie.[168] In the fifth round, City were drawn away to Bristol City. After their victory, the Cityzens were drawn at home to Burnley in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the Blues were paired with Sheffield United with a potential derby in the final at stake. City defeated Sheffield 3–0, while Manchester United overcame Brighton on penalties after a goalless draw to set up the first-ever Manchester derby in a major cup final.[169]