Manchester City Retains Premiership Title on Daytrip to Brighton

It's good to be the master of your own fate.

All Manchester City needed to do in order to conquer the Premiership outright was secure a simple win down on the South Coast against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Seagulls tried to rise to the occasion and put up a bitta resistance -- dudes even opened the scoring -- but they're not 17th in the 20-team table for nothing.

City could put themselves together and wound up with a 1-4 victory, sealing the championship for the second straight season.

 

As if they need to convince anyone.

Last season, it seemed like the Citizens had clinched the title in September. This time around, Liverpool took them down to the last match after downing Wolves, 2-0.

So, dudes were taking nothing for granted in their quest for a fourth league championship.

It just didn't look that way at the start.

 

The Citizens made a few thrusts, but their finishing was pedestrian, stuff the Seagull's 'keeper Matt Ryan could easily handle. 

Then, of all things, Brighton struck.

Pascal Gross' corner from the left found Glenn Murray, who headed home from the near-post:

 

At this point, City needed two goals to seal the deal, as Liverpool had already put one past Wolves up in Anfield.

However, they started looking like defending champions after that wake-up call and leveled just a minute later.

David Silva flicked the ball to Sergio Agüero, who found the back of the net with a low effort past Ryan:

 

 The goal that confirmed their control cam in the 38th minute.

Riyad Mahrez's corner found  an unmarked Aymeric Laporte, who rocketed home a header:

 

The second half was all about wrapping it up. 

In the 63rd, Mahrez got the ball, drove forward, and slotted home from the edge of the box. Ryan got a hand on it but couldn't stop it:

 

Any waft of remaining drama dissipated nine minutes later.

İlkay Gündoğan curled home a free-kick from 25 yards, sealing their sixth overall league championship, ie- including titles earned before the Premiership came to be in 1992:

 

Brighton had already assured its survival merely by taking three points in its last five matches which put themselves outta reach from doomed Cardiff City, even though the Bluebirds took down a listless Manchester United:

As to City, the penthouse view is theirs for another year:

Dudes had no real time for Brighton's shoreline party scene.

Next up for them is the FA Cup final against Watford.