Man City title miracle all part of Pep’s plan

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Pep Guardiola joked it had been part of his plan for Manchester City to come from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and claim the Premier League title as his side paraded the trophy through Manchester on Monday.

Needing to win to hold off Liverpool by a point to win the title, City were trailing 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining before three goals in five-and-a-half manic minutes at the Etihad.

Guardiola kept his post-match promise by puffing on a cigar as he took to the stage at the end of the parade.

City have now four titles in the last five years under Guardiola and six in the last 11 seasons.

“It was the plan, 0-2, calm, calm,” Guardiola said with a laugh. “And after we scored it was a great night.

“Everybody knows what has happened is an incredible achievement. This is the toughest league, in six years since we arrived we had four.

“The happiness on all the faces is the greatest reward we can get.”

Despite their domestic dominance, the Champions League has remained beyond City despite the billions spent amassing a stellar squad.

Another heartbreaking exit to Real Madrid in the semifinals earlier this month could have derailed their Premier League title charge, but they bounced back to take the necessary 10 points from the final four games.

“There was a lot of tension in the last month after (the defeat to Madrid) and a lot of difficult games.

“We never give up and we have to be so proud of the group.”

Many of the City squad looked to have spent most of the past 24 hours celebrating their triumph.

Ederson sprayed more than one of the fans clinging to lamp posts with champagne, while Jack Grealish offered to buy everyone on the roadside a shot if they wanted to meet him out in the