(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. Points: Liverpool 61, Manchester City 56 February 10: Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring his team's third goal in the 6-0 win over Chelsea. Aguero scored a hat-trick and Manchester City scored four goals inside opening 25 minutes on its way to thrashing Chelsea 6-0. The result took City back to the top of the Premier League on goal difference, though having played a game more than Liverpool. Aguero's hat-trick, his 11th in the Premier League, equaled the record held by former Blackburn and Newcastle forward Alan Shearer. Points: Manchester City 65, Liverpool 65 February 24: Manchester United 0-0 Liverpool Liverpool's Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum looks frustrated after his side's draw at Old Trafford. Liverpool endured a frustrating afternoon at Old Trafford after failing to beat a Manchester United side ravaged by injury. The home side had to make three substitutions in the first half because of injuries to key players, but still managed to prevent Liverpool from scoring. In fact, Klopp's side barely threatened, managing just one attempt on target despite enjoying 65% of possession. The draw took Liverpool above Manchester City and back to the top of the table but only by a single point with 11 games remaining. Points: Liverpool 66, Manchester City 65 March 3: Everton 0-0 Liverpool Liverpool's Mo Salah was unable to find a way through Everton as his side was held to a 0-0 draw at Goodison. Everton took great delight in preventing Liverpool from returning to the top of the Premier League table after holding its near neighbor to a goalless draw at Goodison Park. Salah was twice denied as Everton goalkeeper Pickford and his defense frustrated Liverpool's attempts to find a breakthrough. The result left Liverpool in second place on 70 points, one behind City, with nine league games remaining. Points: Manchester City 71, Liverpool 70 April 20: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham City midfielder Phil Foden scores the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win over Tottenham. City returned to the top with a narrow 1-0 win over Tottenham just days after the London club had ended Guardiola's hopes of winning the Champions League. In a tight contest, Phil Foden's fifth minute header was enough to secure all three points for the home side. Spurs had chances of its own but failed to find a way through, despite having scored three times at the Etihad days earlier on its way to securing a 4-4 draw on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League semifinal. City's victory took its tally to 86 and a point clear of Liverpool with four games remaining. Points: Manchester City 86, Liverpool 85 April 24: Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2-0 win at Old Trafford. Manchester City eased to a 2-0 victory over struggling neighbor Manchester United in a game that once again highlighted the gap in quality between the two rivals. Goals from Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane secured the points as Guardiola became the first manager to win three consecutive away Premier League games at Old Trafford. The win took City back to the top on 89 points, one ahead of Liverpool, with three games remaining. It was the 28th occasion that the lead had changed hands at the top of the Premier League, the joint-most alongside the 2000/2001 campaign. Points: Manchester City 89, Liverpool 88 May 4: Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool Divock Origi heads home his side's winner in the 3-2 victory at Newcastle. Leading through Virgil van Dijk's early header, Liverpool were caught cold by the home side with Christian Atsu firing home from close range to send St James' Park into a frenzy. Salah's clever finish gave Liverpool the lead for the second time before Newcastle hit back nine minutes after the interval when Salomon Rondon's fierce effort flew into the corner of the net. But with the clock beginning to tick down, Divock Origi, on in place of the injured Salah, headed an 86th minute winner to secure a priceless victory for the visiting side and take it back to the top of the Premier League table. Points: Liverpool 94, Manchester City 92 May 6: Manchester City 1-0 Leicester City Vincent Kompany celebrates scoring in his side's dramatic victory over Leicester. Few Manchester City fans will ever forget this victory over Leicester with Vincent Kompany's astonishing 30-yard strike taking his team to within one victory of retaining the Premier League title. Kompany's 70th minute effort broke the tension as Leicester threatened to steal a point and leave Liverpool in pole position with just one league game of the season remaining. But Kompany's goal secured a 13th consecutive Premier League win for his team and took City back to the top of the league, a point ahead of Liverpool. It was the Belgian's first goal from outside of the penalty area for the club since arriving in English football 11 years ago. Points: Manchester City 95, Liverpool 94 May 12: Brighton 1-4 Manchester City Sergio Aguero holds the Premier League trophy. An amazing season appeared to be coming to a fittingly dramatic conclusion when lowly Brighton took the lead against City midway through the first half -- Glenn Murray nodding in a header from the near post after a corner. With Liverpool leading against Wolves, for a moment the title belonged to the Reds. But only for a matter of minutes. Sergio Aguero quickly equalized, before Aymeric Laporte headed in to give City the lead at halftime. Further goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez wrapped up a 4-1 win and, with that, the title headed to Manchester. Points: Manchester City 98, Liverpool 97<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 clinched the Premier League crown with a 4-1 thrashing of Brighton to conclude an epic title race with Liverpool. Their success is a story of mental toughness as well as technical brilliance... Three and a half months ago, on the evening of January 29, it appeared Manchester City's title hopes might already be over. Pep Guardiola's side had just lost 2-1 to Newcastle at St James' Park. The next day, Liverpool would have the chance to pull seven points clear against Leicester. A seven-point gap would have felt unassailable in a race of such extraordinarily high standards, but fatefully, Liverpool missed their opportunity, their 1-1 draw at Anfield handing City a reprieve. It will be remembered as a turning point, the moment the momentum tilted in City's favour, but Guardiola's men have made their own luck since then. City's next three games pitted them against Arsenal, Everton, and Chelsea. They won all three, scoring 11 goals and only conceding one, while Liverpool dropped more points against West Ham and Manchester United. Fast forward to the present day, and City are champions - their 14-game winning run the second-longest in Premier League history. Image: Manchester City won 14 consecutive Premier League games City seemed serene at times during the run-in, outclassing opponents with consummate ease while Liverpool relied on more ragged victories elsewhere, but the reality is that their success owes as much to their belief and strength of character as it does to their technical brilliance. Five of their final 11 wins were secured by a one-goal margin, and their mental fortitude was tested not just by having their fate in their own hands, but also by playing so many of their recent games after Liverpool's. "Liverpool play without pressure because they know it is not in their hands," said Guardiola last week. "It is easy. We have the pressure." That pressure could hardly have been any more intense - particularly during those narrow victories, when even the smallest slip-up could have proved so costly - but City never lost their cool. "They keep playing, they don't panic," said Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness on Sunday. "They just keep doing the things that have won them games in the past." 2:58 Highlights from Manchester City's win over Brighton City certainly did that against Brighton, taking just 11 minutes to overturn the one-goal deficit, but their powers of recovery were most impressive in the wake of their crushing Champions League exit against Tottenham. Just three days later, at the scene of the trauma, their 1-0 win over the same side banished any fears that it might knock them off course. City have done it their way, staying true to Guardiola's philosophy, but it is a testament to their completeness that even on the one recent occasion that their usual methods didn't work, they found another route to victory. Vincent Kompany's winner against Leicester was utterly extraordinary - he had never scored from outside the box for City and not even had a shot on target from there since 2013 - but in another sense, it was fitting. Who embodies City's spirit and belief better than their long-serving captain? 0:23 Yaya Toure was surprised to be part of City's title celebrations Kompany only started 13 Premier League games in total, but he is not the only player to have stepped up when City needed him. Riyad Mahrez was a peripheral figure for much of the season, but it was his goal against Brighton which effectively put the title out of Liverpool's reach. Bernardo Silva ensured City did not miss the injured Kevin De Bruyne - in fact, Guardiola rates him as the Premier League's outstanding player this season - while Oleksandr Zinchenko came into his own at left-back in the absence of Benjamin Mendy. Even Fernandinho's untimely injury did not harm them, with Ilkay Gundogan excelling in his place. Guardiola could easily have used City's injuries as an excuse - it is no small matter to lose your best and most influential player for so much of the season - but when questioned on the subject during an exclusive interview with Sky Sports at the end of March, he simply shrugged. "If you don't have Kevin, you have to use another player," he said. Image: Pep Guardiola celebrates after the 4-1 win That response summed up one of the mantras right at the heart of City's success.