2018–19 Manchester City F.C. season

Did You Know?

• Manchester City began their 2018–19 campaign with a tour of the United States in the 2018 International Champions Cup, playing Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich.
• The season was the first since 2009–10 without Yaya Touré, who departed to Olympiacos, and the first since 2005–06 without Joe Hart, who joined Burnley after two seasons of loans.

Season summary

Manchester City maintained their free-scoring form under manager Pep Guardiola. On 20 January 2019, they became the first club in Europe's top leagues to pass 100 goals scored in a season when Danilo scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory at Huddersfield Town. City later broke their own record for goals scored in all competitions by a top-flight English club; Leroy Sané's goal in a 2–0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United on 24 April 2019 surpassed the previous tally of 156 set by Manuel Pellegrini's City side in 2013–14.

By season's end, the team had reached 169 goals. On 24 February, City won their sixth League Cup title, defeating Chelsea 4–3 on penalties after a goalless draw over 120 minutes at Wembley Stadium. In the UEFA Champions League, City won their group and routed Schalke 04 7–0 at home in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, they faced Tottenham Hotspur.

After losing the away leg 0–1, with Sergio Agüero missing a penalty, City led the home match 4–2 with 20 minutes to play. However, a contentious goal by Fernando Llorente for Spurs meant City needed another goal. In added time, Raheem Sterling converted a pass from Agüero, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review, eliminating City. The Premier League title race was one of the closest in the league's history; City and Liverpool exchanged the lead 32 times and jointly amassed 195 points, the highest combined total in English top-flight history at the time.

Competitions

As champions of the 2017–18 Premier League, Manchester City faced 2017–18 FA Cup winners Chelsea in the season-opening FA Community Shield. City entered the Premier League as defending champions; the fixtures were announced on 14 June 2018. In the FA Cup, City entered in the third round with a home tie against Rotherham United. The fourth-round draw was made on 7 January 2019, the fifth-round draw on 28 January 2019, and the quarter-finals draw on 18 February 2019.

In the EFL Cup, City entered as defending champions in the third round, drawn away to Oxford United. A home tie against Fulham was set for the fourth round; the semi-finals draw was made on 19 December 2018. City advanced to the final and defended their title by defeating Chelsea on penalties after a goalless draw over 120 minutes. In the UEFA Champions League, City were drawn in Group F on 30 August 2018 alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon, and 1899 Hoffenheim.

The round of 16 draw was made on 17 December 2018 in Nyon, Switzerland, and the quarter-finals draw on 15 March 2019 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.

Statistics

Only competitive matches count for appearances, including those off the bench. Red card totals in brackets indicate dismissals later overturned. When players have the same goal tally, they are ordered alphabetically by last name. For goalkeepers, equal clean sheet totals are sorted by jersey number; a bracketed number next to a clean sheet means both keepers played and kept a clean sheet, with that number given to the substitute.