The Champions League trophy has been an elusive prize for so many agonising campaigns, but it will finally be heading back to east Manchester after the stars aligned for Pep Guardiola and his side, on a hugely significant night in Istanbul. In doing so, they became only the second team to be inducted into the English treble club, after Manchester United 24 years ago. With that in mind, we are putting their achievements side-by-side below with an in-depth Manchester City 2022/23 vs Manchester United 1998/99 treble comparison.
- Manchester United’s treble-winning team of 1999 hold an inferior win percentage – around 15% less.
- The current Manchester City team actually registered more defeats, but failed to win in just 16 of their 60 fixtures, compared with United’s 26 winless games out of a possible 62.
- City have scored four or more goals on 16 occasions, which equates to around 28% of their games.
Manchester City 2022/23 vs Manchester United 1998/99 Treble Wins Compared
| Manchester City 2022/23 | Manchester United 1998/99 | |
| Fixtures | 60 | 62 |
| Wins | 44 | 36 |
| Draws | 10 | 22 |
| Defeats | 6 | 4 |
| Goals For/Against | 149/33 | 128/60 |
| Goals Conceded Per 90 | 0.55 | 0.97 |
| Win Percentage | 73.33 | 58.06 |
| Cards – Yellow/Red | 44/1 | 58/3 |
| Average Age | 27.2 | 26.5 |
| Most Expensive Signing | Dwight Yorke (€19.25m) | Erling Haaland (€60m) |
| Homegrown Players | 3 | 16 |
Manchester United’s treble win in 1999 was, and still remains, one of the most important chapters in English football, and it underlines the overwhelmingly successful Sir Alex Ferguson dynasty.
Prior to last night’s maiden Champions League trophy, much of the pre-match chatter centred around whether this Manchester City team is on-par with the Red Devils side of 24 years ago, or perhaps even better.
Comparing the two teams is somewhat of a misnomer given the accelerated rate of change that has made football almost unrecognisable to that era, but on a purely sporting level, the debate can be carefully unpicked.
There is no denying that Pep Guardiola’s full-scale tactical overhaul, which has been fine-tuned and adapted to align with each and every one of his roles, is unlike anything we have ever seen.
They trailed for a grand total of 82 minutes across their Champions League campaign, which is a perfect summation of this particular iteration of Pep’s City, which boasts very little flaws, if any.
Stylistically and aesthetically, City are right up there with some of the era-defining sides that have graced the game.
44+ – Only six teams in English top-flight history have won 44+ games in a single season in all competitions:
50 – Man City (2018-19)
47 – Man City (2020-21)
46 – Liverpool (2021-22)
44 – Man City (2022-23)
44 – Man City (2017-18)
44 – Man Utd (2008-09)Dynasty. pic.twitter.com/Kt7SVInxAd
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 11, 2023
However, Manchester United’s mentality monsters of 1998/99 are the ultimate helter-skelter winners, registering the most improbable of wins on several occasions throughout the season.
Not least their injury time heroics at the Camp Nou to break Bayern Munich hearts; Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær sparked jubilant scenes after coming on as late substitutes to overturn a one-goal deficit against all the odds.
When the football community are reminded of that team, they are inevitably drawn to the European triumph with it being the defining moment of their season, but it is easy forget the other performances that helped them lift three trophies that year.
ChatGPT Predicts Manchester City’s 22/23 Treble Winners Vs Manchester United’s 98/99 Treble Winners
Roy Keane’s inspired performance in the semi-final comeback against Juventus, the injury time turnaround against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round, or perhaps the blazing hot Premier League final day where David Beckham and Andy Cole helped United edge past Arsenal by a solitary point to become champions.
So often did United find themselves in a compromising position, but somehow they found an answer at exactly the right moment.
The drama and spectacle of those improbable comebacks perhaps makes United’s 1998/99 treble achievement that little bit more satisfying. The added novelty of an English club winning the treble for the first time is also a major factor in their argument.
City’s inevitable march to the very summit of club football feels clinical, almost routine. Yes, they trailed a spirited Arsenal for the vast majority of the domestic season, but at no stage did it feel they were out of the race – this is testament to the relentless winning mentality that Guardiola has instilled.
City have scored four goals or more on 16 occasions, which amounts to around 28% of their matches – this is double that of United’s which is symptomatic of their total dominance.
A win percentage of just over 73% is frankly absurd, while a deadly combination of frivolous scoring and an iron-clad defensive record makes it hard to ignore their claim to the better treble.
It has taken a whole lot of money, effort and failure to finally win the most coveted prize in club football, but we expect this is the first of many to follow.
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