Manchester City have been setting plenty of records under Pep Guardiola , and could yet achieve more as they chase an unprecedented Quadruple this season.
As well as their trophy hunts, the Blues are well on course to smash the English record for the most goals in all competitions in a campaign; a scarcely believable 61 since the turn of the year moves them onto 139, meaning they need just 18 from at least 11 games to beat the standard set by Manuel Pellegrini‘s City in 2013/14.
So swift has been the rise of the club since the 2008 takeover though that it is not hard to remember a time when they were exceptional for the wrong reasons. It is just 20 years since they were in the third tier of English football and things did not get easier on their return to the Premier League.
City fans that sat through home games under Stuart Pearce in 2006/07 wear it as a badge of honour as the Blues set a record low for goals scored. In 19 games, the home side managed to score only 10 – including, incredibly, none after New Year’s Day.
After a 2-1 win over Everton on January 1, 2007, City lost to Blackburn (3-0), Reading (2-0), Wigan (1-0) and Chelsea (1-0), drew 0-0 with Charlton and Liverpool and then lost to Villa (2-0) and United (1-0) to enter the record books for the wrong reasons. Following the end of a campaign that saw them finish 14th, Pearce lost his job.
That tally, though, is under threat.
Huddersfield have been so meek at the John Smith’s Stadium that Harry Kane held the title of top scorer at the ground for five months, and the Terriers are running out of time to catch up with Pearce’s City.
With just seven goals in 16 games this season, they have to get at least four from remaining fixtures with Leicester, Watford, and United to avoid taking the unwanted record away from the Etihad. Huddersfield are 16 points from safety in the Premier League with eight matches left, meaning their relegation could be confirmed before April.