Manchester City were determined to wrestle back the title at the start of the season and significantly bolstered their squad over the summer. Raheem Sterling arrived from Liverpool and the best attacking midfielder in Europe last season in Kevin de Bruyne was lured too. At the back, Nicolas Otamendi was thought of being the solution to their chronic problems, having enjoyed a superb season at Valencia. It was all looking very promising and things immediately hit off on the pitch as well. City swept aside everyone in the early weeks and looked like not just the team to beat but quite ominous as well. Yet come September and the wheels started to come off their bandwagon. They first lost to West Ham at home and were then trounced by Tottenham after a spectacular second-half collapse that saw them beaten 4:1. City were looking quite fragile out of a sudden and indeed struggled badly on the road for most of the season. Their attacking firepower was enough to see them collect hefty wins at home against the lesser sides but they were rarely passing the big tests and certainly look nothing like the leading title contender. The constant injuries of Sergio Aguero and David Silva deprived them of much of their attacking potency and it was all left on De Bruyne for much of the season. Kelechi Iheanacho became a real breakout star over the course of the season as a support striker but otherwise there were few success stories in the squad, with Sterling struggling and Otamendi performing well below his level from last year. The team remained prone to some woeful performances as Liverpool handed them a 4:1 beating at the Etihad. They did get on a stronger run of form in the early weeks of 2016 and went seven games unbeaten, ensuring that they stay close to the top of the table. Yet February proved an absolutely dreadful month for the Sky Blues as they were suffered home losses to title contenders Leicester and Tottenham in back-to-back games and suddenly the title look very distant. Things only got worse in the weeks to come as Liverpool and Manchester United defeated them too and suddenly the battle for the top four was very much alive. On the other hand, the team still won the League Cup at the end of the month after defeating Liverpool on penalties in the final. The other silver living for City was their progress in the Champions League and they did get the better of a strong Paris St Germain side in the quarter-finals to set up a meeting with Real Madrid. Yet the Sky Blues never really gave it a good go over the two legs and lost 1:0 on aggregate. The race in the league remained very tight until the end and it looked like a loss to Southampton and a draw against Arsenal at home will cost them a Champions League slot for next season. But Manchester United blew their chance and a draw away at Swansea on the final day was enough to secure them the coveted fourth spot on goal difference. It was a small consolation in what has been an undeniably poor season from Manuel Pellegrini and his men. But the whole club can now look forward to an exciting new era with Pep Guardiola in charge next season.
