On the evening of December 18, in the sixteenth round of the Premier League, Man City hosted Norwich.
All three promoted teams had performed quite well this season.
Norwich ranked highest, currently sitting in tenth place, followed by eleventh-place Swansea. Both teams were even ranked higher in the league than twelfth-place Everton, while Queens Park Rangers were thirteenth.
Judging from the current trend, these three teams could not be called safe, but their chances of avoiding relegation were still very high.
In contrast, the familiar Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan Athletic, and Wolves were all currently near the bottom of the table.
This alone showed how fierce the competition in the Premier League was.
Aside from Man City, who had raced clear with fifteen consecutive wins, the battle for the other three top-four spots was also brutally intense.
Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool were all competing for those three spots. Whoever managed to hold on to a top-four place would be able to make a fortune in the Champions League the following season.
The reason for this fierce competition was actually related to how the Premier League's broadcasting-rights revenue was distributed. After all, all twenty teams, including those already relegated, could gain enormous benefits from the increase in broadcasting revenue. This had made Premier League clubs' purchasing power extremely strong.
The celebration in London had not affected Man City's preparations.
In fact, the day after the celebration, there was barely any news about it in the media. Even when there was, it was only mentioned in passing, with the facts presented in a deliberately understated manner. No media outlet had gone all out to exaggerate or sensationalize it.
This also meant that Man City had begun to establish an initial relationship with the media.
It could be