It took millions of pounds to transform a club like Manchester City into Premier League champions, also beating fierce city rivals and 19-time champions Manchester United, who ended up runners-up after their noisy neighbours beat Queens Park Rangers on the final match of last season.

City strikers Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero's injury-time goals marked one of the dramatic finishes in the history of the league as the Blues were crowned champions of English football after 44 years.

Having dealt with the pressure from rival clubs over the decades, the Red Devils, apart from 'Big Four', had to overcome the superiority shown by their city neighbours ever since their take over between 2008 by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Once a mid-table club, City turned into one of Europe's richest and top teams competing against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. The 'Big Four' tag may not prevail after the rise and dominance of City.

Although City emerged champions last season, they had to wait it out until the dying seconds of the match against QPR, which proves the competitive nature of the Premier League. None other than rivals United were head-to-head to claim their record 20th crown.

However, the two Manchester giants failed in Europe's elite club competition, the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea, won the Premier League back in 2009-10 season during Carlo Ancelotti's reign, were crowned champions of Europe for the first time in their 107-year history. But the Londoners struggled during last season finishing sixth in the table.

Meanwhile, United are gearing up for the coming season aiming to reclaim the title back from City. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has reinforced his team with new signing Shinji Kagawa from German Bundesliga champions Borrusia Dortmund for 17 million and youngster Nick Powell from Crewe.

But City have not been very active during the summer transfer window. Boss Roberto Mancini has been ordered to offload the over-crowded line of strikers in order to finance a deal for Arsenal's want away forward Robin van Persie. But the Italian insisted he will not sell star striker Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko despite several offers from Juventus and AC Milan.

Even though City have been quite in the transfer market, they boast a team with immense talent, ready to end the Red Devils reign in the Premier League.

Endless names of world class strikers like Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, creativity in midfield with playmakers David Silva and Samir Nasri, an unbreakable defence led by captain Vincent Kompany and the golden gloves winner goalkeeper Joe Hart.

These are the just some of the names who made an impact at the Etihad stadium, such players can turn things around in a few minutes, handle huge expectations and pressures thrown at them.

The Blues not only managed to steal the title from the noses of United but they also overpowered their rivals by clinching the derby double. The Red Devils suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss in their own den while a solitary goal from skipper Kompany was enough to seal victory at the Etihad.

But can City repeat last seasons dominance this time around, a huge possibility considering their line-up and pre-season form. The Blues, however, will aim for European glory too.

OneIndia News