Space storm: City celebrates title
Ex-Bielefeld Ortega cheers at master show running
May 21, 2023 at 9:04 p.m
Manchester City celebrate their third championship in a row. A day after coach Pep Guardiola’s side won the title by losing Arsenal, a B-Elf featuring former Bielefeld-based Ortega beat Chelsea. Thousands of spectators then storm the square.
Presumably quite drunk on champagne, the English champions Manchester City also proved their top position in football’s motherland on the pitch one day after successfully defending their title on the couch. Star coach Pep Guardiola’s team won their only statistically relevant home game on the penultimate day against Chelsea and international Kai Havertz with a goal from world champion Julian Alvarez (12th) 1-0 (1-0).
With the fifth championship behind him in the last six years, Guardiola gave his second guard in particular the opportunity for cheers and applause from the celebrating Citizens supporters. This also applied to the German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega: The goalkeeper, who moved to the island from the Bundesliga relegated Arminia Bielefeld before the season, moved between the posts of the old and new champions, as is usually the case in cup games for regular keeper Ederson. National player and Citizens captain Ilkay Gündogan, on the other hand, was allowed to rest and enjoy the joyful hustle and bustle in the stadium from the bench, while record scorer Erling Haaland came into play for the last quarter of an hour.
Two important finals are still to come
Ortega was on the ball for City in the home final.
(Photo: IMAGO/Shutterstock)
Guardiola’s top performers may still need the unexpectedly extended regeneration in the coming weeks in the hunt for the first triple in the club’s history. On June 3rd, the Citizens meet local rivals and record champions Manchester United in the FA Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium, before Gündogan and Co. a week later (June 10th) in Istanbul against Inter Milan reach for the longed-for triumph in the Champions League .
In the fight to stay up, Leeds United missed a liberating blow. The ex-champion lost 1: 3 (1: 1) to the newly crowned Conference League finalists West Ham United and is therefore still in a relegation zone before the season finale. Behind Leeds, the former sensational champions Leicester City have the theoretical chance to jump to the safety of the designated Champions League participants Newcastle United on Monday.