Malachy Clerkin: Pep Guardiola said Manchester City destroyed football – he didn’t know how right he was

There’s a Pep Guardiola speech that bubbles up every once in a while on the internet, like the gristly foam on the surface of a boiling ham. Taken from one of the Amazon glaze job documentaries, it’s always a good reminder that you’re spending more time than you should in the For You wastelands of X. Sort of like Robin Williams’ gag about cocaine being God’s way of telling you you make too much money, just with added Bernardo Silva.

It’s from the end of the 2017/18 season, Guardiola’s second at Manchester City, their first league title won under him. Except they didn’t just win it; they swallowed it in one gulp. They put up 100 points; they set or equalled records for consecutive wins (18), consecutive away wins (11), and consecutive wins in all competitions (20). They scored 106 goals, 22 more than the next-highest. They finished with a goal difference of +79, a full 33 better than the next best.