Who Can Stop Man City? Challengers Need Big Offseason to Set up Premier League Title Shot

Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland poses with the Premier League trophy on the pitch after the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on May 21, 2023.(AFP)
Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland poses with the Premier League trophy on the pitch after the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on May 21, 2023.(AFP)
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Who Can Stop Man City? Challengers Need Big Offseason to Set up Premier League Title Shot

Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland poses with the Premier League trophy on the pitch after the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on May 21, 2023.(AFP)
Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland poses with the Premier League trophy on the pitch after the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on May 21, 2023.(AFP)

Who can stop Manchester City?

That’s the question being asked at the end of another Premier League campaign when Pep Guardiola’s team proved too strong, winning the title for a fifth time in six years.

A look at who might be best-placed to bring down City next season:

ARSENAL (2nd place)

Juggling another run at the title with the demands of playing in the Champions League looks to be Arsenal’s biggest problem. Squad depth became a growing issue at the end of this season — look at the collapse in the defensive stats following the injury to center back William Saliba, for example — and it will be even more stark when the team has to play high-level games twice a week.

Reinforcements at left back, center back and central midfield are needed, especially if Granit Xhaka leaves. However, Mikel Arteta’s squad — the youngest in the Premier League — will be better for the experience of going toe to toe with City before eventually falling short.

“We understand where the level is,” Arteta said. “If we want to be the real deal, we can’t be happy with what we have, and we have to be next season much better. I think we have some great foundations, that is true but in sport you have to prove it again.”

MAN UNITED (3rd place)

In Erik ten Hag, United appears to finally have the manager to build a longer-term project after he led the team back into the Champions League as well as into two domestic cup finals. The Dutchman will need further backing in the transfer market, though, which is why it’s crucial that the sale of the club goes through sooner rather than later. The Glazer family is currently weighing up offers from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and others, though could yet stay in control and get external investment.

Amid the uncertainty, Ten Hag gave a warning on Sunday after United’s final league game. “The club knows if you want to play top four and compete for trophies in this league, then you have to invest,” he said. “Otherwise, you don’t have a chance, because other clubs will.”

Top of the list of requirements is a striker, with England captain Harry Kane a potential option now that he has just one year left on his Tottenham contract.

NEWCASTLE (4th place)

Newcastle has arrived and the Saudi-controlled northeast team is probably here to stay. Will this summer see the club really flex its financial muscles for the first time since the 2021 takeover, having spent sensibly rather than lavishly in the intervening 20 months?

The likes of Callum Wilson, Dan Burn, Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock have been dependable squad members this season as Newcastle secured a return to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, but they might be unsure of their futures if the ownership want to bring in some higher-profile names. Central midfield and wide forwards are areas that needs to be strengthened. The likelihood for the foreseeable future is that Man City and Newcastle will occupy two of the four Champions League qualification spots.

LIVERPOOL (5th place)

A strong end to the season saw Liverpool go unbeaten for its final 11 games and was a sign that Jurgen Klopp might have found a formula that can drive another title push. Trent Alexander-Arnold looks at home in his new hybrid defender-midfielder role, Cody Gakpo appears a natural replacement for Roberto Firmino in the deep-lying striker role and the promise of strengthening in central midfield with younger, fresher legs should address the team’s biggest weakness.

However, the big question remains: by not qualifying for the Champions League, will Liverpool be able to attract the type of quality players needed to challenge Man City? Jude Bellingham has been a long-term target, for example, but is likely to choose a team in the Champions League. Alexis Mac Allister of Brighton might prove to be a more realistic option.

CHELSEA (12th place)

Chelsea is the great unknown because who really knows what its American owners will do next? Having spent more than $600 million on players in their first two transfer windows in charge, will Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital go big again this offseason after an unacceptable 12th-place finish?

They may not even afford to do that, with the priority likely being trimming a large squad to adhere to financial regulations and give incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino a tighter group of players to work with.

Romelu Lukaku’s return from a loan spell at Inter Milan gives Chelsea another option up front, while the futures of midfielders Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic are uncertain amid the rebuild.



Swiatek’s Clay Empire on Shaky Ground Ahead of Paris 

Poland's Iga Swiatek holds the trophy after winning the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. (AP)
Poland's Iga Swiatek holds the trophy after winning the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. (AP)
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Swiatek’s Clay Empire on Shaky Ground Ahead of Paris 

Poland's Iga Swiatek holds the trophy after winning the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. (AP)
Poland's Iga Swiatek holds the trophy after winning the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. (AP)

Iga Swiatek arrives at Roland Garros this month under a cloud of uncertainty, with the Pole enduring one of the toughest stretches of her career just before the defense of her French Open title.

The 23-year-old Swiatek, who has won four titles on the clay courts of Paris, has slipped out of the world’s top three for the first time since March 2022 after back-to-back defeats in Madrid and Rome.

A 6-1 6-1 humbling by Coco Gauff in Spain and a straight-sets defeat by Danielle Collins in Italy have exposed uncharacteristic frailties in the game of a player seen as virtually untouchable on clay after she clinched her third Suzanne Lenglen Cup in a row last year.

Adding to the weight on Swiatek’s shoulders is the lingering shadow of Aryna Sabalenka, who seized the world number one ranking from the Pole late last season.

While Swiatek has largely remained within touching distance, the rivalry has unsettled her dominance, and she has struggled to recapture the ruthless consistency that defined her meteoric rise.

"I think I wasn’t really present on court, not there to fight or compete," Swiatek said after her loss to Collins in Rome. "I focused on my mistakes — that was my error. I wasn’t doing things properly. I was concentrating on the wrong things."

It marks a stark contrast to this point last season, when Swiatek swept the Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros titles in dominant fashion.

Now, the question is whether Swiatek, who served a one-month doping ban last August, can rediscover the mental steel and aggressive precision that made her a four-times French Open champion.

Asked in Rome about her ambitions for the Paris Grand Slam, she struck an uncertain note.

"It would be stupid to expect too much because right now, I’m not able to play my game," she said.

Her remarkable track record on Court Philippe-Chatrier might suggest she is still the player to beat in Paris, but Swiatek herself was quick to dismiss the weight of history.

"It doesn’t matter what I achieved there before — every year is different," she added.

Following the disappointment in Italy, Swiatek admitted to shedding tears in the locker room but sought to use the setback as an opportunity for reflection.

"I need to find myself again and change some things,” she said.

"I listened to some advice from my team, and we’ve reached certain conclusions. I’ll just try to shift my mindset over the next couple of weeks."

With uncertainty surrounding the form of several leading contenders and the emergence of in-form Americans Gauff and Collins, the women’s draw in Paris is wide open.

For Swiatek, regaining confidence on her favorite surface could be the difference between an early exit and a fifth Roland Garros trophy.