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Primary Reason Manchester City Lost the Premier League

Much has been made about why City could not keep up with Liverpool.

Manchester City v Burnley FC - Premier League Photo by Victoria Haydn/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Manchester City officially ended their two plus year reign as Premier League Champions.

Why did this happen? Could it have been corrected?

I believe it was because of one major unexpected action. Aymeric Laporte’s injury.

In the beginning of the campaign, Laporte got injured and was out for 4-5 months. He essentially missed half a season. Add in the fact that City declined to add a Vincent Kompany replacement and you were faced with all of our hopes both in the club and as fans were pinned on Aymeric. Fair or not he and a average player could have done the job all season. But, as with life, the unexpected reared its head and City were left with make shift back lines.

One of the first games without Laporte showed how valuable he really is. Versus Norwich with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, the physicality of their attack overwhelmed the back line and City lost to now relegation bound Norwich.

It was a microcosm of what was to come. That would lead to mixed results for the next months. Results that left Liverpool in pole position and why they clinched the title when they did. City had no recourse.

Thoughts on the hypothesis? Why did City fall so back in the standings? Let us know in the comments.