When a side accumulates the unprecedented haul of 198 points over two seasons, it is safe to say they are driven. When they are on the brink of recording the first domestic treble in English football’s long history, their motivation should go unquestioned. Yet Vincent Kompany, the captain who could enter the record books by lifting all three trophies, offered an insight into Manchester City’s appetite for success as he promised to goad them on to more glory.
“I know this team and they are like a pack of lions,” the defender said. “When this team is hungry, they are such a special team. I'm going to do everything I can to put a bit of blood in that water so this team gets even hungrier.”
City used to be criticised for their title defences, but complacency has rarely been a problem for a side who have won the Premier League and the League Cup in successive seasons, but Kompany has taken pre-emptive steps to ensure it does not become one.
"My style is pretty simple,” he said. “Every now and then when things are getting too comfortable, I go a little aggressive in training or I speak up and say what I think.”
It was an indication of why the Belgian is such a major influence and why Pep Guardiola tends to turn to him at the business end of seasons.
And yet, as Kompany admitted, City’s dressing room tends to be self-policing. “The main thing is that these guys, together with the manager, are always able to understand what the priority is. We focus on winning games. Winning one title was not enough. It had been done before. Back to back; that is special.”
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Manchester City celebrate title with fans at Etihad Stadium
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By becoming the first team in a decade, and the first City side ever to do so, they set another marker. Eight years ago, City ended their 35-year wait for major silverware by winning the FA Cup. Yaya Toure, scorer of the only goal in both the 2011 semi-final and the final, used to talk about making history. His former team-mates have done it.
Securing a treble that has eluded even England’s greatest sides would arguably top last season’s 100-point campaign among unique achievements. "It's not about adding that achievement to my CV,” Kompany said. “I don't care about my CV.”
It is impressive nonetheless. His 11 years in Manchester have brought nine major honours, eight as captain. The exception came in that 2011 final, when Carlos Tevez wore the City armband. Kompany is yet to win the oldest competition as skipper. He led City in 2013, but it was a day they would rather forget as Wigan Athletic executed one of the FA Cup final shocks. Now Watford go to Wembley as similar underdogs: while Javi Gracia’s side have had a fine season, they have lost their last 10 games against City, conceding 19 in the last five.
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Manchester City squad ratings
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Pep Guardiola: 10/10. The Catalan is surely the finest manager in club football. Has taken City to new heights, securing an unprecedented English treble of Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in a single season. AFP -
Claudio Bravo: 5/10. The Chilean has fallen way down the pecking order at City behind Ederson and Arijanet Muric. Made only one appearance this season in the curtain-raising Community Shield win over Chelsea. Reuters -
Ederson: 8/10. Twenty clean sheets for the Brazilian who also registered an assist for Sergio Aguero in the 6-1 rout of Huddersfield in the second game of the season. Getty Images -
Kyle Walker: 7/10. Few can match the flying right-back for pace or determination. Lacks the quality on the ball of his chief rivals in the national team Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Reuters -
Danilo: 6/10. On the periphery for most of the season, making only 10 Premier League appearances. The Brazilian remains an able squad player who can fill in at full-back or defensive midfield if required. Getty Images -
Vincent Kompany: 8/10. The Belgian proved with his thunderous strike against Leicester City in the run-in that he is still the man for the big occasion. A club legend who on Sunday announces he will leave the club after 11 seasons. Reuters -
John Stones: 6/10. A stop-start season due to niggling injuries but the Englishman formed a formidable early-season partnership alongside Aymeric Laporte. Reuters -
Aymeric Laporte: 9/10. Manchester City's best defender this season. Has hardly put a foot wrong since joining from Athletic Bilbao for £57 million in January 2018. The heir to Kompany's throne. EPA -
Benjamin Mendy: 5/10. The French left-back has suffered another season disrupted by injury. Off-field antics have not always impressed his manager but no doubt Mendy is a one-man flank down City's left when fit. Reuters -
Nicolas Otamendi: 5/10. The no-nonsense Argentine has slipped down the pecking order due to the form of Stones and Laporte. An able back-up though. Reuters -
Ilkay Gundogan: 7/10. Has the short-passing game and on-field intelligence so admired by Guardiola in his central midfielders. Chipped in with some important performances and goals, including a peach for City's final of the campaign against Brighton. Reuters -
Kevin de Bruyne: 6/10. The Belgian metronome has suffered an injury-hit campaign restricting him to just 19 appearances. It says something of City's achievement that they won the title largely without their best player. Reuters -
Fabian Delph: 5/10. The Englishman found his appearances limited this season despite the long-term injuries to Benjamin Mendy and Kevin de Bruyne. Reuters -
Bernardo Silva: 10/10. A personal view is that the Portuguese winger should have scooped all the individual player awards this season. Operates to devastating affect anywhere across the midfield and wide forward positions. Regularly tops the charts for most kilometres covered in a game and epitomises his manager's work ethic. Reuters -
David Silva: 8/10. The Spanish maestro's influence on the team was overshadowed by namesake Bernardo but still continues to be a mainstay in one of the best attacking teams in Europe. AFP -
Fernandinho: 8/10. The one player City struggle to replace. The Brazilian may have a contend for the best holding midfielder in the league in compatriot Fabinho but still offers outstanding protection to his defence. Reuters -
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 7/10. The main beneficiary of Mendy's injury problems. The Ukraine lacks the quality of the Frenchman's passing and crossing but like his teammate looks to get forward at every opportunity. Was outstanding in the League Cup final shoot-out win over Chelsea after an early mistake. Reuters -
Phil Foden: 8/10. The young Englishman established himself in Guardiola's plans this season and scored the only goal in the win over Tottenham Hotspur after suffering elimination from the Champions League to the Londoners. Living up to the hype and will push the likes of David Silva for more first-team opportunities next term. Reuters -
Riyad Mahrez: 6/10. City's record signing has struggled to replicate the form he showed over the past two seasons at Leicester City. Substituted at half-time during the FA Cup final despite City being 2-0 up. AFP -
Raheem Sterling: 10/10. A return of 17 league goals and 10 assists does not do justice to the fine form of the young English forward. Has developed into an excellent finisher. Often derided for poor decision-making in games in the past. That criticism no longer applies. His two goals in the FA Cup final only added gloss to a tremendous individual campaign in which he was also voted PFA Player of the Year. Reuters -
Leroy Sane: 8/10. There is a nagging sense that Guardiola does not have full faith in the electric German winger. But Sane is a game-changer, as his 10 goals and as many assists attest to. Reuters -
Sergio Aguero: 10/10. The Argentine is a guarantor of goals and once again passed the 20 mark in a league campaign. Records continue to tumble for Aguero at City. There is no better finisher in the league. EPA -
Gabriel Jesus: 7/10. The Brazilian is an understudy to the prolific Aguero but his team ethic - never more on display than in the FA Cup final rout of Watford - makes him a Guardiola favourite. Reuters -
Philippe Sandler: 4/10. The young Dutch defender made his first-team debut in the FA Cup third-round win over Rotherham United. Remains to be seen whether he can force his way into City's galaxy of stars. Getty Images -
Arijanet Muric: 6/10. The giant Kosovo international was a fixture in the early rounds of the League Cup before losing his place in the final to Ederson. Has firmly established himself as the Brazilian's understudy. Getty Images
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Kompany, meanwhile, has anchored a City defence that has only been breached once since their Champions League exit to Tottenham Hotspur. They have only trailed for 83 seconds since January in the Premier League.
“I'm so grateful to Kun [Sergio Aguero] for scoring as quickly he did on Sunday,” Kompany said. And yet what felt the pivotal, as well as the best, goal in the title race came six days earlier, the 25-yard thunderbolt Kompany unleashed to break Leicester’s resistance at the Etihad Stadium.
“My goal feels like it happened two months ago,” said a rare scorer.
Now a serial winner has turned his attentions to the next challenge. “I'm so eager to play the FA Cup final,” Kompany said. “I'm so motivated.”
