2023–24 Manchester City F.C. season

The 2023–24 season was the 129th season in the existence of Manchester City Football Club and their 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football, where they were competing as three-time defending champions. As reigning continental treble winners, Manchester City participated in seven competitions this season, namely the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Champions League; entering the latter for the 13th consecutive season and as defending champions for the first time; UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup; also making their debut in the latter two tournaments.

City kicked off their unprecedented season on 6 August 2023 by losing the Community Shield for the third consecutive year, this time to Arsenal. They drew 1–1 in normal time, having conceded an eleventh-minute injury time equaliser and lost the subsequent penalty shoot-out 1–4. As such, the Blues had lost out on an opportunity to become only the third European men's club to win the sextuple. City clinched their first trophy of the season ten days later, on 16 August, in another one-off match, overcoming Sevilla on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time for the club's first-ever UEFA Super Cup. On 27 September, the Blues were knocked out of the League Cup in the third round by Newcastle United following a 1–0 away loss. On 22 December, City defeated Fluminense 4–0 in the Club World Cup final to win the competition for the first time, becoming the first English club to hold five major domestic and international titles simultaneously.

City's title defence in the Champions League came to an end at the quarter-final stage on 17 April 2024, when they were knocked out by Real Madrid in a penalty shoot-out after a 4–4 aggregate draw over the two legs, having met the Spanish giants in the knockout stages for the third year in a row.

City successfully defended their Premier League title for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season to become the first English club in history to win four consecutive top tier titles. They fought another close title race against Arsenal, only sealing the result on the final day of the season with a 3–1 victory against West Ham United at home.

In the FA Cup, Manchester City once again reached the final where they lost 1–2 against local rivals Manchester United on 25 May, in a rematch of the previous year's final.

The season was the first since 2015–16 without German midfielder and former club captain İlkay Gündoğan, who departed to Barcelona at the end of his contract in the summer. Kyle Walker eventually replaced him as the new captain.

Kits
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Pre-season
In the aftermath of their historic continental treble-winning season in 2022–23, City's main squad issues ahead of the new season were whether incumbent club captain İlkay Gündoğan would sign a new contract or leave the club on a free transfer after seven successful years; if Kyle Walker would be transferred ahead of his final contract year; whether Aymeric Laporte would be leaving for more playing time, following a season in which he had fallen down the pecking order for central defenders; and, after several years of pre-season speculation, if Bernardo Silva could attract an acceptable fee to allow him to move away from Manchester too.

It was rumoured that City were in transfer talks with Mateo Kovačić from Chelsea and with Joško Gvardiol from RB Leipzig as potential replacements for Gündoğan and Laporte, respectively.

On 21 June, it was announced that Gündoğan would be joining Barcelona on the expiration of his contract after all. His last action as a City player was therefore lifting the club's first Champions League trophy as team captain. On the same day, it was reported that Manchester City had agreed a fee with Chelsea for the transfer of Kovačić.

To further strengthen the team's midfield, City also entered a bidding race with Arsenal for West Ham's Declan Rice, a player similar in profile to Rodri. The club's first offer of £80 million guaranteed plus £10 million in add-ons was rejected by West Ham. Man City pulled out of the race to sign Rice, after West Ham rejected Arsenal's bid of £100 million plus £5 million in add-ons, instead opting to find other players to strengthen their midfield, first being linked with Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga.

Kovačić's transfer was duly announced on 27 June, for a reported initial fee of £25m plus £5m in potential add-ons.

On 28 July, City announced Riyad Mahrez was leaving the club after five successful years to join Al-Ahli in the Saudi Professional League for a £30 million fee. He was one of many high-profile players in their thirties attracted by lucrative contract offers to join the Saudi league that summer.

The transfer of Gvardiol was confirmed on 5 August after several weeks of negotiations with Leipzig for a reported fee of €90 million (£77.5 million). The club confirmed he would take the 24 shirt number for the season, last worn by John Stones during his first year at City.

The Blues started their pre-season preparations some one to two weeks later than their main rivals to account for their late finish to the previous treble-winning campaign. City played three friendly warm-up games in a tour of Japan and South Korea, where they defeated Yokohama F. Marinos, a fellow CFG club, and Bayern Munich, but lost to Atlético Madrid.

Start of season
City suffered a defeat for the third consecutive season in their opening competitive fixture, losing the Community Shield on penalties to Arsenal after a 1–1 draw in normal time at Wembley Stadium on 6 August. Cole Palmer had scored from a wonderful curling shot in the 77th minute, but Leandro Trossard equalised in the eleventh minute of injury time when a cruel double deflection from Julián Álvarez and Manuel Akanji wrong-footed Stefan Ortega. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Arsenal scored all four penalties, but Kevin De Bruyne's powerful drive hit the cross-bar and Rodri's attempt was saved by Aaron Ramsdale. Losing the English equivalent of a national super cup deprived Manchester City of the opportunity to become only the third European men's club to win the sextuple.

Manchester City started their Premier League campaign with a 3–0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Erling Haaland scored twice, and Rodri also chipped in with a goal to seal the victory. Kevin De Bruyne was substituted in the first half, and Pep Guardiola later confirmed that he had sustained a hamstring injury which could keep him out for up to four months if surgery was needed.

On 16 August, City played Sevilla in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup, winning on penalties after a 1–1 draw in normal time and lifting the trophy for the first time in club history.

On 22 August, it was revealed that Pep Guardiola had undergone emergency back surgery and would be unavailable until recovery. During this time, assistant manager Juanma Lillo took charge, winning two games against Sheffield United away and Fulham at home by the scores of 2–1 and 5–1 respectively. The latter game included Haaland's first hat-trick of the season as he became the fastest player to score 40 Premier League goals (in just 39 games), beating the previous records set by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer.

In the final days of the transfer window City brought in exciting Belgian winger Jérémy Doku from Rennes, to effectively replace Mahrez, and creative Portuguese midfielder Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers, both for fees in excess of £50 million. In the other direction, Aymeric Laporte left the club as expected to join Al Nassr in the Saudi League, João Cancelo joined Barcelona for a season-long loan, and academy graduate Cole Palmer joined Chelsea for a fee in excess of £40 million.

By the time of the first international break of the season on 3 September, City were the only remaining Premier League club with a 100% win record and topped the standings by a two-point margin. On 16 September, the Blues extended their winning start in the league to five games by defeating West Ham 3–1 at the London Stadium, with goals from new signing Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.

City's winning run came to an abrupt end at St James' Park vs Newcastle United in the EFL Cup third round, with the Blues being shut out by a reinvigorated Eddie Howe side and exiting the competition at the first hurdle. This was followed by the first league defeat after six consecutive victories at Wolves, with Álvarez scoring an equalising free kick in an eventual 1–2 loss.

Autumn period
Manchester City began October with a second consecutive league defeat, this time at Arsenal, losing 0–1 due to a late Gabriel Martinelli winner. This meant the Blues had lost all three games where Rodri served a suspension for a red card he received against Nottingham Forest in September, and they dropped below unbeaten Arsenal and Tottenham in the league table. However, City's good form soon returned and they notably beat their closest rivals Manchester United 3–0 at Old Trafford in the season's first derby match and achieved the biggest winning margin so far by defeating Bournemouth 6–1 at home. The latter game included four assists and a goal from Doku, who set a new club record, equalled the Premier League record for most assists in a single match and, at the age of 21 years and 161 days, became both the youngest player in Premier League history with five goal involvements and the youngest player to assist four goals in a single game.

A comfortable 3–0 home victory against Young Boys on 7 November ensured that title holders City would participate in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 11th consecutive season with two group games to spare.

Two league draws either side of the final autumn international break: an exciting game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge that ended 4–4 and a 1–1 draw against Liverpool at home; left City in second place, a point behind Arsenal with a third of the season played. The Blues ended November coming back from two goals down to beat RB Leipzig 3–2 and win their Champions League group for the seventh consecutive season with a game to spare and preserve their record unbeaten streak and winning home streak in the competition.

A third consecutive league draw against Tottenham at the start of December at home was followed by City's third league defeat of the season by a single goal away to an in-form Aston Villa who moved above them in the table. The champions had now not won a league game for a month and were in fourth place in the league table, six points behind leaders Arsenal.

This barren run was finally ended at Luton on 10 December, with a 2–1 victory, despite the absence of goalscoring talisman Haaland due to injury. The final Champions League group game against Red Star Belgrade on 13 December was a dead rubber with both sides' final positions already confirmed. Guardiola used this as an opportunity to make nine changes to the team and give debuts to a few academy players and playing time to less often selected first team players. All three City goalscorers in the subsequent 3–2 victory, Micah Hamilton, Oscar Bobb and Kalvin Phillips, scored their first senior City goals, with Hamilton scoring on his first team debut, and the victory meant City had completed a Champions League group with maximum points for the first time in their history.

On 16 December, Crystal Palace were able to pull back from being two goals down to inflict City's third consecutive home league draw and fourth league draw in six games, leaving them fourth in the table and five points behind leaders Arsenal. The Blues would drop to fifth and the gap to the top widened to six points by Christmas, as City's final pre-holiday game against Brentford had been postponed due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Manchester City travelled to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as favourites and duly returned as world champions, having beaten AFC Champions League champions Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0 in the semi-finals and Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense 4–0 in the final to lift the trophy at their first attempt. They became the first English team to hold five major domestic and continental titles simultaneously, and Guardiola emerged as the first coach to win the Club World Cup with three separate clubs, having previously succeeded at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. City would be the last team to win the title in its current format as the competition was to be expanded from seven to 32 participating clubs for the 2025 edition.

Christmas and New Year
City came back from a goal down for the second consecutive away game to defeat Everton 3–1 on their return to domestic football on 27 December, and remained undefeated over the holiday season to end 2023 third in the league standings, five points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

The Blues kicked off their FA Cup campaign with a convincing 5–0 home victory over Huddersfield Town in the third round, with two goals from Phil Foden and an assist from Kevin De Bruyne who was returning for his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury in August. The team's final game before the mid-winter break on 13 January saw them win 3–2 at St. James' Park in an exciting encounter against Newcastle United. City came back from 1–2 down with an injury time winner from youngster Oscar Bobb and a goal and an assist from De Bruyne in a 20 minute cameo.

Kalvin Phillips was loaned to West Ham for the remainder of the season after City returned from a week of warm weather training in Abu Dhabi. On 26 January, Nathan Aké scored an 88th-minute winner to beat Spurs 1–0 away in the fourth round of the FA Cup and qualify for the last 16. This was the club's first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scored in City's sixth fixture there since it opened in 2019 and after 102 goal attempts.

Phil Foden scored his second senior career hat-trick as the Blues won 3–1 at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium on 5 February. The victory put Manchester City within two points of leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

A brace from Erling Haaland, marking the first time he scored since his return from a two-month injury lay-off, were enough to defeat Everton 2–0 at home in an early kick-off on 10 February. The win put City ahead in the league standings for the first time since October, albeit briefly until Liverpool won against Burnley later that day.

On resumption of the Champions League, City beat Copenhagen 3–1 away from home on 13 February in the first leg of the round of 16. De Bruyne scored and assisted, having contributed eight goal involvements since his return from injury four weeks before.

By the end of February, Manchester City had extended their unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions, taking them to within a point of leaders Liverpool and a point ahead of third-placed Arsenal in what was turning out to be a three-way title race. The Blues ended the month with a convincing 6–2 victory at Kenilworth Road against Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round. Erling Haaland scored five goals in a single match for the second time in his short City career, with Kevin De Bruyne assisting four of them.

Season run-in
City were due to face a home derby and all of the other top-four sides in a crucial run of games in March and early April, which could go a long way to decide the destination of the league title. They started with a 3–1 victory against the local rivals, coming back from a goal down after a 25-yard Marcus Rashford strike with a dominant display and a brace of well-taken Phil Foden goals. This was the first time in the Premier League era that City had come from behind to beat United and the first time in 143 competitive games that United had lost when leading at half-time. It was also Rodri's 59th consecutive appearance for City without experiencing defeat, a new Premier League record.

On 6 March, the Champions League holders swept aside Copenhagen 6–2 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals for the seventh successive season and become the first English club to win 10 consecutive matches in the competition, and the first side in major European competition history to score 3+ goals in nine consecutive home games, a run which started with a 5–0 win over Copenhagen back in October 2022.

City drew 1–1 against Liverpool at Anfield on 10 March. The Blues had been ahead from a well-executed set piece corner that led to John Stones' first goal of the season, but Liverpool equalised via a penalty awarded after Ederson had fouled Núñez while dealing with an under hit Aké back-pass. This meant City slipped to third place, a point behind both new leaders Arsenal and Liverpool.

Two deflected goals from Bernardo Silva in the first half were enough in a comfortable 2–0 victory over Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-finals on 16 March, taking Manchester City to the semi-finals at Wembley for a record-breaking sixth season in a row and seventh time in Guardiola's eight seasons at the club.

Arsenal held City to a 0–0 draw at the Etihad on 31 March, leaving the Blues in third place. However, victories against Aston Villa at home and Crystal Palace away kept pressure on the leading two clubs. These games were also notable for including Phil Foden's second hat-trick of the season, taking him to over 20 goals for the first time in his professional career; and a brace from Kevin De Bruyne which marked his 100th goal scored for the club. With Liverpool drawing at Manchester United on 7 April, City were now a point behind both Arsenal and Liverpool with seven games to go.

In the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid on 9 April at the Santiago Bernabéu, City were missing both their first choice full-backs Walker and Aké due to injuries picked up in the last international break and De Bruyne spent the entire match on the bench with a bout of gastroenteritis. Madrid players had also recently benefited from a nine day rest, while City played two league matches at the start of April. In the game, Bernardo Silva opened the scoring with a low shot from a free kick after just two minutes, before Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo gave Real the lead with two deflected goals a minute apart. In the second half, City applied more pressure and levelled in the 66th minute through a Phil Foden strike from the edge of the area into the top corner and then went ahead five minutes later when Joško Gvardiol produced another stunning long range shot to score his first goal for the club. Federico Valverde's superb volley in the 79th rescued a draw for Real, and the match ended 3–3.

Manchester City moved back to lead the league table by two points after an eventful weekend on the following matchday. The Blues comfortably beat Luton 5–1 at home on 13 April as Guardiola rested several key players in anticipation of the upcoming second leg against Madrid. Both City's title rivals were then beaten the following day at home: Liverpool by Crystal Palace and Arsenal by Aston Villa.

On 17 April, City were dramatically eliminated by Real Madrid in the reverse leg at the Etihad Stadium. An early goal from Rodrygo was cancelled out in the 76th minute by a Kevin De Bruyne strike in a game dominated by City possession and resolute defending from Madrid. With no further goals the match ended 4–4 after extra time on aggregate and duly went to penalties. Despite Luka Modrić missing Madrid's first attempt, Los Blancos ran out 4–3 winners, with Bernardo Silva's attempted panenka being easily saved and another from substitute Kovačić also saved by keeper Andriy Lunin.

Three days later, the Blues were at Wembley Stadium to play their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson had several promising chances to score during the match but failed to convert them. An 84th minute goal from Bernardo Silva eventually proved to be the difference. City would play their closest rivals Manchester United in the final for the second consecutive season, who had scraped past Coventry City in the other semi-final on penalties.

End of season
Two away wins the following week; 4–0 at Brighton and 2–0 at Nottingham Forest, respectively; ensured City remained in second place, a point behind Arsenal with a game in hand and just three games remaining for the league leaders. Liverpool's title challenge had by then been curtailed in dropping points to Everton and West Ham, leaving them in third, four points behind the Blues with a game less to play. City won all five league games in April and were by then on a club record 31 game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

On 3 May, Phil Foden was named FWA Footballer of the Year, the season's first top level award.

Both Arsenal and City continued their winning streaks up to their penultimate games, including an Arsenal victory by 1–0 at Old Trafford, and a first City league goal and league win at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in a tense 2–0 win, which included a 89th minute save by deputy goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from a Son Heung-min one on one chance which would have set the score at 1–1. Ortega had come on for an injured Ederson in the second half. Haaland scored both goals with a tap in from a Kevin De Bruyne assist and an injury time penalty after Doku had been fouled by Pedro Porro. Both games were played in front of uncertain fans of their rivals closest rivals, supposedly torn between supporting their team and hoping their rivals would be denied a title win, although United fans were far less likely to support Arsenal, owing to their own fierce rivalry with the Gunners.

These results meant City would go into the final round of fixtures two points ahead of Arsenal on points, but a goal behind on goal difference, meaning a victory against West Ham at home would be enough to secure their fourth consecutive league title but dropping points could let Arsenal back in with a victory against Everton at the Emirates Stadium.

On the eve of these matches, it was announced that Phil Foden had been voted the Premier League Player of the Season to add to his FWA award. It was the fifth consecutive season that a City player had won this award.

A Phil Foden goal after 74 seconds in the final league game set City on their way to what turned out to be a comfortable 3–1 victory against West Ham that sealed their historic fourth consecutive title win at the Etihad Stadium. Foden ended up scoring a first half brace and, although West Ham got a goal back through a stunning Mohammed Kudus bicycle kick, Rodri sealed the victory with a third goal in the 59th minute and the blues held on until the final whistle to deny Arsenal despite their late 2–1 victory at home to Everton.

Haaland had won the Premier League Golden Boot award for both his inaugural seasons with his 27 league goals. Guardiola had won the Premier League Manager of the Season for the second consecutive season and the fifth time overall.

City could now go onto to become the first English club to complete consecutive league and FA Cup doubles. However, first half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were sufficient for Manchester United to deny the favourites and win 2–1 at Wembley. City had the majority of the possession throughout the game, but Guardiola was forced to make changes at half time after an innocuous first half, bringing on Jérémy Doku and sacrificing the midfield double pivot provided by Mateo Kovačić. Doku duly got a goal back in the 87th minute but City were to be denied an equaliser through a combination of good defending, the woodwork and wayward finishing,

Thus ended City's club record 35 game unbeaten run (the second longest in league history) and Rodri's remarkable 74 game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

The following day, Foden was announced as the club's Etihad Player of the Season after an on-line poll of fans.

A total of 13 current City players were selected for squads for Euro 2024, the joint most alongside Inter Milan, and one player was selected for the 2024 Copa América. Both competitions would be played during June and July 2024.

First-team squad

 * As of 26 January 2024

Includes first team players and EDS players who train routinely with the first team and have made at least one league appearance. Ages are as of the end of the season (30th June 2024)


 * Key

Pre-season and friendlies
On 20 April 2023, Manchester City announced a tour of South Korea as part of the pre-season preparations in July, where they would take on Atlético Madrid in the Coupang Play Series. This tour was the first time City visited South Korea since 1976. The club later announced that two friendlies against Yokohama F. Marinos, a fellow CFG club, and Bayern Munich, who City faced a year ago in the United States, would take place in Tokyo before the team traveled to South Korea.

Results by matchday
1 Matchday 18 (vs Brentford) was postponed to 20 February 2024 due to Manchester City's participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. 2 Matchday 29 (vs Brighton and Hove Albion) was postponed to 24 April 2024 to accommodate Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final fixture against Newcastle. 3 Matchday 34 (vs Tottenham Hotspur) was postponed to 14 May 2024 to accommodate Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final fixture against Chelsea.

Matches
The league fixtures were released on 15 June 2023.

FA Cup
As a Premier League team, Manchester City entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, and were drawn at home to EFL Championship side Huddersfield Town. In the fourth round, City were drawn away to fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. In the fifth round, they were again drawn away to a fellow Premier League side in Luton Town. In the quarter-finals, the Blues were drawn at home to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United. In the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium, City were paired with Chelsea, with a potential Manchester derby and rematch of last year's final at stake, which eventually proved to be the case.

EFL Cup
As a Premier League team involved in European competition, Manchester City entered the EFL Cup in the third round, and were drawn away to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United.

FA Community Shield
As the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup winners, Manchester City faced league runners-up Arsenal in the traditional season curtain raiser.

Group stage
The draw for the group stage took place in Monaco on 31 August 2023.

Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 took place in Nyon, Switzerland, on 18 December 2023.

Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals took place in Nyon, Switzerland, on 15 March 2024.

UEFA Super Cup
As the previous season's UEFA Champions League winners, Manchester City faced the reigning UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla.

FIFA Club World Cup
Manchester City entered the tournament in the semi-finals as the European representative, having been drawn against the winner of the quarter-final match between Club León and Urawa Red Diamonds.

Overall
Appearances numbers are for appearances in competitive games only, including substitute appearances.

Red card numbers denote: numbers in parentheses represent red cards overturned for wrongful dismissal. Source for all stats:

Goalscorers
''Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total goals are equal. ''

Assists
''Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total assists are equal. ''

Disciplinary record
''Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total cards are equal. ''

Hat-tricks
4 – denotes player scored four goals 5 – denotes player scored five goals

Clean sheets
''The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play.''

Etihad Player of the Month
Awarded by an online vote of supporters on the official Manchester City F.C. website.