Man City celebrate Premier League title at home with fans

Manchester, May 23: With an explosion of blue-and-white ticker tape, Manchester City's Premier League title celebrations erupted.

That's three league titles in a row, five out of six and who knows how many more for a team that keeps on reaching new heights?

"They've set a benchmark that has pulled them apart," Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said after his team was beaten 1-0 by the newly crowned champions on Sunday. "I think they're outstanding ... that's why they are on for a possible treble."

The first leg of that three-pronged trophy pursuit is complete, with the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League still to come.

The concern for Manchester United and Inter Milan in those respective finals is that this City team only appears to be getting stronger as the season nears a spectacular climax for Pep Guardiola.

"To be considered one of the greatest teams we have to win Europe, win the Champions League," the City manager said.

Victory against Chelsea extended City's unbeaten run to 24 games in all competitions. And even with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and a host of star players named on the bench against Chelsea, a 12th straight win in the league was secured.

It was a run that proved too much for an Arsenal team that had led the way for much of the season, but buckled on the final stretch.

Nobody at City appears to be tiring of that winning feeling.

Certainly not Guardiola, who has now won 11 league titles in 14 seasons of management, spanning Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

Not the players either, who answered their coach's challenge earlier in the season by proving they had not lost their edge and sang "We Are The Champions" in the locker room.

And not the supporters, who flooded the field after the final whistle at Etihad Stadium, letting off canisters of blue smoke and celebrating joyously as a period of unprecedented success for their beloved team goes on.

"Arsenal brought us to our limits, otherwise (we) would not win these 12 games in a row," Guardiola said. "We didn't give up and they felt that we were there." It is possible to imagine City getting stronger next season, with 52-goal Haaland more settled in the team and the league.

Leeds near relegation

The Sam Allardyce experiment looks destined to fail after Leeds' 3-1 loss at West Ham on Sunday pushed it to the brink of relegation.

Leeds needs to win against Tottenham on the last day of the season and hope that other results go its way to avoid the drop.

Rodrigo opened the scoring at London Stadium, but goals from Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini consigned Leeds to a latest defeat.

Roberto de Zerbi might be one of the most in-demand coaches around this summer — but he says he has his sights set on leading Brighton into Europe next season.

"The club, the players, me, my staff, and the fans, they have to organize their passports to travel in Europe next year because we have to grow together," he said after a 3-1 win against relegated Southampton on Sunday.

That was secured against Southampton, with Evan Ferguson scoring twice in the first half to set up the win.

Brighton can't now finish lower than seventh — in the Europa Conference League spot — though a sixth-place finish and a Europa League berth are all but mathematically guaranteed.(AP)