Manchester City legend compares champions to Hungarian greats

Joe Williams

Mike Summerbee, one of the stars of Manchester City’s 1968 title win, has hailed the impact of manager Pep Guardiola in the club’s latest success.

The Citizens were crowned Premier League champions on Sunday when Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to West Brom handed them the title.

“The belief Pep has given them and the way they play is quite amazing to watch,” Summerbee told Press Association Sport.

“It is quite unique what he has done. I think he is a genius, to be honest.”

Summerbee claims he has rarely seen better football than that played by City this season.

He said: “The last time I ever saw anything like this – excluding Barcelona – was the great Hungarian side that played against England at Wembley (in 1953). They came and people couldn’t believe what they were seeing.”

Paul Dickov, who played for City when they slipped into the third tier 20 years ago, has also enjoyed the campaign.

Dickov said: “It has been fantastic. In pre-season people were saying this was probably going to be the hardest Premier League to win in a long time, so for City to have the title wrapped up with that sort of competition, with five games to go, is an unbelievable achievement.”