(CNN) In a week in which football redefined the word "incredible," the Premier League title race entered the final chapter of an extraordinary season. Manchester City became the first side since 2009 to retain a Premier League title after victory against Brighton, condemning Liverpool to second place on a staggering 97 points, despite a final day victory against Wolves In the end, it took City 14 consecutive wins to lift the title -- any fewer would have seen Liverpool crowned champion for the first time since 1990. "Incredible" was the word Pep Guardiola used to describe his team's achievement this season in collecting 98 points after winning the 2017/2018 title with 100 points. "We made the standard higher than last season and Liverpool helped us.," said Guardiola, who has now won league titles in eight of his 10 seasons as a manager with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City. "To win this title we had to win 14 in a row. We couldn't lose one point. "It's the toughest title we have won in all my career, by far." So how exactly did the season arrive at this point, with two sides so consistently excellent throughout the year? These are the key moments that shaped an enthralling title race. Guardiola and Kompany with the Premier League trophy at City's Etihad Stadium October 7: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City Manchester City wasted a glorious opportunity to claim a first win in 15 years at Anfield after Riyad Mahrez missed an 85th-minute penalty. Mahrez fired high and wide of the goal after teammate Leroy Sane was fouled by Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. His miss left both teams unbeaten after eight games, with City top of the pile ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool on goal difference. City's Riyad Mahrez misses a late penalty at Anfield as the game finishes goalless. Points: Manchester City 20, Liverpool 20 December 2: Liverpool 1-0 Everton Better late than never, Liverpool sneaked past local rival Everton courtesy of Divock Origi's 96th minute winner. Origi, making his first Premier League appearance since August 2017, netted from close-range after a mistake by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Origi scores a dramatic last-minute winner against Everton to give Liverpool bragging rights in the Merseyside derby. The dramatic scenes at the end of the contest were too much for some to handle with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp running onto the pitch to celebrate -- an act he later apologized for. The win moved Liverpool to within two points of Manchester City with 14 games of the season having been played. December 8: Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City Chelsea's David Luiz (R) celebrates with Ross Barkley after scoring his side's second goal in the 2-0 win over Manchester City. City suffered its first defeat of the Premier League season as Chelsea claimed a surprise victory at Stamford Bridge. Goals from N'Golo Kante and David Luiz brought an end to City's 21-game unbeaten league run stretching back to April 2018, and a sequence of 14 unbeaten games away from home. City boss Pep Guardiola refused to blame his players for the defeat, insisting they had been "fantastic." Points: Liverpool 42, Manchester City 41 December 22: Manchester City 2-3 Crystal Palace Andros Townsend's sensational effort helped Crystal Palace secure a shock 3-2 win at City. City suffered its first home defeat of the season as Crystal Palace pulled off a stunning 3-2 win at the Etihad. Trailing to Ilkay Gundogan's 27th-minute strike, Palace roared back to lead 3-1 with Andros Townsend's exquisite strike a contender for goal of the season. Kevin De Bruyne pulled one back with five minutes remaining but Palace held on to record its first win at City for 28 years. The defeat, City's first at home in the league all season, halted a run of nine successive league victories at the Etihad for Guardiola's side. Points: Liverpool 48, Manchester City 44 Dec 29: Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring a hat-trick in his side's victory over Arsenal. Roberto Firmino scored a hat-trick as Liverpool came from behind to thrash Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield. The home side led 4-1 at the interval with Firmino's quickfire double canceling out Ainsley Maitland Niles' opener for Arsenal, before Sadio Mane and Mo Salah got in on the act. Firmino completed his treble from the penalty spot in the second half to leave Liverpool nine points clear of second place Tottenham and 10 ahead of City. Liverpool's total of 54 points from its opening 20 Premier League games was the third highest in Premier League history after Chelsea (55 in 2005-06) and Manchester City (58 in 2017-18 Points: Liverpool 54, Manchester City 44 January 3: Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool Leroy Sane scores his side's second goal in the 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Etihad. City claimed a dramatic 2-1 win to end Liverpool's unbeaten 20-game start to the Premier League season and move to within four points of Klopp's side. Leroy Sane's strike, 18 minutes from time, secured all three points for City from a game of fine margins at the Etihad. Liverpool was denied the opening goal of the game in the first half when Mane's effort was cleared off the line by John Stones with the ball just 1.12 cm from going over. Having gone so close, it was even more galling for Liverpool when it fell behind to Sergio Aguero's 40th minute strike. Liverpool equalized after the break through Firmino but Sane's strike sealed the points for Guardiola's men. Points: Liverpool 54, Manchester City 50 January 30: Liverpool 1-1 Leicester Leicester City's Harry Maguire shoots to score in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Liverpool missed the opportunity to move seven points clear of Manchester City after being held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester at Anfield. After taking a third minute lead through Mane, Klopp's men failed to impose themselves on the contest with a snow-affected pitch causing problems for both sets of players. Harry Maguire's equalizer, just before half time, denied the home side all three points and the opportunity to capitalize on Manchester City's 2-1 defeat by Newcastle 24 hours earlier.<doc-sep>(CNN) The Premier League title race between Manchester City and Liverpool went down to the wire but there were to be no final twists in what's been a thrilling tale. Despite going a goal down in the first half, Man City retained the title after defeating Brighton 4-1 at the Amex Stadium, meaning Liverpool's victory against Wolves was in vain. Sergio Aguero, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez, and Ilkay Gundogan all scored for the visitors after Glenn Murray had given the home side the lead on 25 minutes. It's the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 2009, and City's total of 98 points is the second highest haul in Premier League history -- two shy of the 100 points Pep Guardiola's men accrued last year. Read More<doc-sep>Manchester City's incredible domestic season has already seen them secure the EFL Cup in February and then the Premier League title on Sunday, and yet, there's still space in the trophy room for more. Man City is just days away from taking on Watford in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, with the domestic treble within reach. If history is any indicator of what's to come, City should be on the verge of earning its third trophy of the season. Pep Guardiola's team, which brilliantly overcame the injuries to Kevin de Bruyne with the emergence of Bernardo Silva, ended the league campaign with 14 straight wins. That just doesn't happen in a major European league. Consider the fact that in-city rival Manchester United finished the league season with 19 wins, and you can clearly see just how remarkable that is. In domestic competitions, City went undefeated from February on. Many forget that City was on the verge of potentially going 10 points back of Liverpool when they hosted the Reds on Jan. 3. It's that 2-1 win with Leroy Sane's second-half winner that saw something click, and the rest is history. Two trophies in the bag, and with one more remaining, the 2018-19 campaign has a chance to be the very best in the club's history with its first domestic treble. As a result, City rises in this week's rankings. How the rankings work We list the top 25 teams in the world based on recent form. The teams playing the best soccer -- in their respective leagues and in international competitions -- will be considered. Quality of the opponents will also be taken into an account, but above all, the most important factors are recent results and overall standings in competitions. World Club Soccer Power Rankings Previous rankings: May 6 | April 29 | April 22 | April 15 | April 8 | April 1 | March 11 | March 4 | Feb. 25 | Feb. 18 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 4 | Jan. 28 | Jan. 21 | Jan. 14 | Jan. 7 | Jan. 1 | Dec. 24 | Dec. 18 | Dec 10 | Dec 3 | Nov. 26 | Nov. 12 | Nov. 5 | Oct. 30 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 10 | Oct. 3 | Sept. 26 | Sept. 17 | Sept. 4 | Aug. 28 | Aug. 23 | Aug. 15 | Preseason rankings RK TEAM CHG ANALYSIS 1. Liverpool (ENG) +2 No shame in finishing second in the Premier League. If they win the Champions League final, nobody would have asked for a better season. 2. Manchester City (ENG) +1 Well-deserved Premier League title. Fourteen straight wins to end the league season is absolutely bonkers. They are one win (FA Cup final on Saturday) away from winning a rare domestic treble. 3. Barcelona (ESP) -2 Quite the collapse by Barcelona. Lionel Messi is getting a lot of heat, but did you see those three sitters he set up that nobody finished vs. Liverpool? 4. Tottenham (ENG) +4 On cloud nine until June 1 after that comeback against Ajax. What Mauricio Pochettino has done is similar to that of what Diego Simeone has done at Atletico Madrid. 5. Bayern Munich (GER) -- The Bundesliga title is within reach. Doing enough down the stretch but it will all come down to this weekend. 6. Juventus (ITA) -- Just one trophy this season feels like too little for this team. The future is bright, but it's Champions League or bust next season. 7. Atletico Madrid (ESP) --- Going to finish ahead of rival Real Madrid, so no complaints from them. Strong, consistent but just not sharp enough to win a trophy this season. 8. Ajax (ENG) -4 You have to feel for this young Ajax team. They'll look much different next season. This club has returned to its titanic status on the continental stage. 9. Chelsea (ENG) -- Into the Europa League final and finished third in the Premier League. Remember how Maurizio Sarri was supposed to be fired? 10. Arsenal (ENG) -- They'll be disappointed in not finishing in the top four, but that won't matter if the Gunners win Europa League. Pressure is on to beat Chelsea. 11. PSG (FRA) -- PSG has scored 100 goals in 36 league matches. There's no sign of anybody stopping this team in France. In Europe, it's another thing all together. 12. Lille (FRA) +1 The biggest surprise in a major European league? Second place in Ligue 1 with 72 points ... after finishing last season in 17th place with 38 points. Deserving of a Champions League spot 13. Benfica (POR) +1 Two-point lead with a game to go, Benfica can wrap up the league title next Sunday. A slip up, and rival Porto will have a chance. 14. Porto (POR) -- Going to need a victory and for Benfica to slip up. Not looking likely, but they can still win the Taca de Portugal on May 25. 15. Manchester United (ENG) -3 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done what he can, but he got the job with United in sixth place, and that's exactly where the Red Devils finished. Big summer ahead. 16. Napoli (ITA) -- Four wins out of five and second place in Serie A wrapped up. Now can they build the roster to truly contend with Juventus again? 17. RB Leipzig (GER) -- Champions League spot wrapped up and a chance to win the German Cup against Bayern Munich. Not bad for a club established in 2009. 18. Atalanta (ITA) +2 Third place in Serie A and in the Coppa Italia final. Who saw any of that coming? Duvan Zapata has 27 goals in 44 matches. 19. Borussia Dortmund (GER) +6 Valiantly fighting for the Bundesliga crown. Unlikely to take it home on the final matchday, but credit is due for not giving up. 20. Real Madrid (ESP) -2 Los Blancos have lost 11 games this season, more than anyone in the top five in La Liga. Time to weed out the players that don't belong. Zinedine Zidane has some work to do. 21.<doc-sep>In the end there was to be no denying Manchester City, no excruciating stress to endure as Brighton & Hove Albion repelled the barrage whipped up by the visitors on the south coast and no nail-biting finale as City strained for a winner while news filtered through of Liverpool’s ascendancy on distant Merseyside. What tension that existed here had been lanced after a little over an hour. Everything thereafter was a celebration of the champions’ excellence. City know they have been challenged this year, stretched wonderfully by Liverpool’s startling progress. The mind-boggling tally of points collected by Jürgen Klopp’s side would have been enough to claim the championship in all but three of the previous 119 campaigns based on three points for a win and yet it was still not enough to overhaul Pep Guardiola’s team. They have won 198 points across two seasons, a staggering haul. Their 95th top-flight goal of the campaign, a free-kick whipped sumptuously into the top corner by Ilkay Gündogan, summed it all up. Mat Ryan sprang to his left but could not lay a glove on it. Opponents have been trying and failing to do that with City all season. The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email. Not for a decade has a side retained this title but the form mustered in the run-in – 14 successive wins stretching back to a defeat at Newcastle in late January – represented a blistering response to the challenge on their authority being mustered from Anfield. Times had been slightly more trying over recent weeks when Liverpool simply would not let up, with a succession of slender wins keeping the holders marginally ahead, and there would be early pangs of anxiety here against opponents liberated from their fears of relegation. Brighton were more adventurous than normal and Glenn Murray’s header, the striker reaching Pascal Gross’s corner ahead of a flailing Ederson, had represented City’s first deficit in a Premier League match since that defeat at St James’ Park. 02:35 Guardiola calls Man City's Premier League title his 'toughest triumph' – video Perhaps uncertainty would have crept in if that advantage had held a little longer, say to the interval. Maybe City would have wilted as they chased the contest, particularly with confirmation of Sadio Mané’s goal at Anfield having rippled round the arena. In hindsight neither of those seemed remotely plausible. The worst thing Brighton could have done was to provoke them. Where the visitors had initially been laboured in their monopoly of possession, prone to over-elaboration as they ran aground on Albion’s resistance, the shock of shipping that opener shook them awake. Suddenly there was urgency. Instantly there was incision. The hope that flared up on Merseyside was snuffed out in 83 seconds as Aymeric Laporte and David Silva, with a flick Chris Hughton described as “sublime”, sent Sergio Agüero into space within sight of goal. The striker slipped a crisp shot through the on-rushing Ryan and in an instant the champions’ momentum had been restored. “The most important thing was this team went behind but came back immediately,” said Raheem Sterling. “The manager here is all about mentality: it’s about winning no matter what. I’m just happy to be under his wing.” There was an air of inevitability about so much that followed, with Brighton never likely to withstand the onslaught that ensued. Ryan may have done well to deny Bernardo Silva’s diving header but there was pizzazz to City’s passing again and a far more upbeat tempo to their movement. They smothered the life out of their hosts in what remained of the first half, swarming over panicked opponents. Quick Guide Follow Guardian sport on social media Show Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport Facebook: like our football and sport pages Instagram: our favourite photos, films and stories YouTube: subscribe to our football and sport channels Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images Europe Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Murray’s poor pass would present the ball to David Silva, with Ryan doing well to deny Riyad Mahrez. Unperturbed, the Algerian swung over the corner and Laporte, having evaded Murray, thumped his header down and in from the edge of the six-yard box. The Frenchman has been a pillar of strength all season. It was fitting he should draw the focus on the league season’s final day. If there was anxiety to endure thereafter, it was mainly born of Guardiola’s pursuit of perfection. Ederson kept out Lewis Dunk’s free-kick but the City manager expected something more resounding than mere narrow success. It was only after Mahrez, on only a fourth league start this calendar year, gathered and tormented Dunk, cutting back inside to leave the centre-half crumpled on the turf, before ripping a glorious right-footed finish into the top corner via a touch off Ryan’s glove that the City manager acknowledged the race had in effect been won. He joined those on the visitors’ bench, from coaching staff to substitutes, in spilling out on to the turf, the goalscorer lost in the mess of joyous bodies. They knew there would be no coming back for either Albion or Liverpool from this. City’s players including Aguero, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Kompany celebrate victory. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian The rest, from Gündogan’s free-kick to Vincent Kompany being granted the ovation he deserves as he departed the fray five minutes from time, was a celebration. This is the Belgian’s fourth Premier League title. “And by far the hardest and most draining,” said the captain, whose winner against Leicester last week ended up feeling like the campaign’s defining moment. “The first one was one in the last minute of the season [with Agüero’s goal back in 2012], but this was constantly knowing you had to win and perform. “We defeated one of the all-time great teams in England, too. But, from the first meeting we had this season it’s all been about trying to get back-to-back titles, and, straight away, I knew we would achieve that.” Kompany and City have an FA Cup final to come next weekend as they attempt to secure an unprecedented domestic treble.<doc-sep>
Manchester City retained the Premier League title in style on Sunday, holding their nerve to come from behind against Brighton and see off a charging Liverpool after a thrilling campaign. Pep Guardiola's team thumped Brighton 4-1 away to finish on 98 points — the second-highest total in Premier League history — as Liverpool beat Wolves 2-0 at Anfield to finish a single, agonising, point adrift. City, who strung together 14 league wins at the end of the season, are the first side to retain the title since their bitter rivals Manchester United managed the feat in 2009, and remain on course for the first domestic treble in English football history. But Guardiola's team of aristocrats did not have it all their own way on a day of drama on England's south coast in keeping with an astonishing season in which the lead switched hands time after time. Liverpool drew first blood on Sunday, with Sadio Mane striking in the 17th minute to put them mathematically top of the table and on course for their first English top-flight title since 1990, before the Premier League era even started. City fans' nerves were shredded even further when Glenn Murray put Brighton in front from a corner in the 27th minute, resulting in a huge roar at Anfield. But those cheers were quickly muted, with Guardiola's side level just 83 seconds later, Aguero staying onside and keeping his cool to finish after a brilliant ball from David Silva. Ten minutes later, the unmarked Aymeric Laporte rose to head in Riyad Mahrez's corner to complete the turnaround for City. Guardiola's side continued to dominate at the start of the second half and were rewarded when Mahrez smashed in a third goal with 27 minutes to go. Ilkay Gundogan then blasted home a free-kick to put the result beyond doubt. Record-breakers City broke a host of Premier League records in romping to the title last season, becoming the first team in English top-flight history to reach 100 points and finishing a record 19 points clear of closest rivals Manchester United. This term has been a totally different campaign, with Guardiola's men forced to dig deep to see off the relentless challenge of Liverpool, who have lost just one Premier League game all season. The champions have ground out a number of 1-0 victories in recent weeks, showing they have added steel to their style. The outcome was cruel on Liverpool, who are second behind only United in the all-time list of English champions with 18 titles, although the last came in 1990. The Merseysiders' points tally is the third-highest in Premier League history. Jurgen Klopp's side travelled to face City at the Etihad in January with the chance to open up a 10-point lead but the defending champions won 2-1 in what turned out to be the pivotal match of the campaign. Liverpool suffered a blip in late January and February, held to a series of draws, but they found their form again and relentlessly harried City, finishing with nine straight league wins. Klopp's team will have to put the disappointment behind them as they prepare to face Premier League rivals Spurs in the Champions League final in Madrid on June 1. Elsewhere on the final day of Premier League action, Tottenham made mathematically certain of a place in the top four, drawing 2-2 against Everton. Arsenal beat Burnley 3-1 while fellow Europa League finalists Chelsea were held to a goalless draw at Leicester. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United finished their season with a whimper, losing 2-0 at home to relegated Cardiff. There were also wins for Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Ham. Southampton and Huddersfield drew 1-1.