Manchester City hailed as Premier League greats

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are being widely hailed as one of the best sides in Premier League history after they set a stunning new record of 15 straight wins. In its 25-year history, the Premier League has boasted a series of outstanding sides including Manchester United's treble-winners, Arsenal's "Invincibles" and Jose Mourinho's powerful Chelsea side in his first stint at the club. But Guardiola's team -- even though they have not won any silverware yet -- are smashing record after record as they sprint towards the Premier League title, leaving allcomers a distant speck in their rear-view mirror. Wednesday's 4-0 win at Swansea took them clear of Arsenal's 14 consecutive victories under Arsene Wenger between February and August 2002. Their 49 points from 17 games is the best-ever start to an English top-flight campaign, bettering the record of Tottenham's great double-winning side of 1960-61 -- when a win was worth just two points.

Pep Guardiola now holds the longest winning streak in Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga history. 19 at Bayern Munich ?? 16 at Barcelona ?? 15 at Manchester City ??????? Genius. pic.twitter.com/STse3B56Ze

— City Watch (@City_Watch) December 13, 2017

BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce believes the current City side is at the top of the tree. "There have been great teams in the modern era but, in terms of fluent football and as an irresistible force, Manchester City are the best the Premier League has ever seen," he said. "I've never seen a team in all my years play like this." When asked whether City are one of the best sides we have ever seen, former England captain and TV pundit Alan Shearer agreed. "I don't think there is any doubt about that, and top players in that team, with hunger and desire to put in a performance week in, week out," he said. "It has to has to be admired."

Manchester City's winning run has been stunning, but Pep is still focused on the title pic.twitter.com/xG1T3Z8ZJs

— Goal UK (@GoalUK) December 14, 2017

Chastened Swansea manager Paul Clement described the pain of watching his side try to compete with Guardiola's free-flowing team. "At times it was horrible to be on the sideline watching that, seeing my side trying but suffering for long periods," he said. "They're not the games that will decide our season but it was hard to watch at times because they were so dominant. For me, one of the best sides I've ever come across. So many good athletes, so many intelligent footballers and it's really hard to pin them down." Guardiola, who managed a Barcelona side widely regarded as one of the finest club sides in history, is aware of his team's place in the English game. "In history there were amazing things like Liverpool in the 80s and Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson or Chelsea with Jose Mourinho," he said. "There were some amazing teams. "But we are the first ones to win 15 in a row. If we win the title it will just be a record and this record will be broken, but of course it will not be easy."

W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W 15 matches. 15 wins. 1 new #PL record. Congratulations, @ManCity… THREAD ? pic.twitter.com/QqYnpnK8GN

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 13, 2017

Premier League's longest winning streaks 11 wins Four teams have recorded sequences of 11 wins: Alex Ferguson's Manchester United between December 2008 and March 2009, Chelsea from April to September 2009 (under Guus Hiddink and then Carlo Ancelotti), Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool between February and April 2014 and Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City between April and September 2015. Ferguson's United and Ancelotti's Chelsea both finished as champions, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, but Liverpool missed out on the title in agonising fashion in 2014 after Steven Gerrard's infamous slip condemned them to a fatal defeat against Chelsea. City's winning streak bridged seasons in which they finished second and fourth. 12 wins: Manchester United (March-August 2000) United roared to the finish line in the 1999-2000 title race, winning their final 11 games and ending the campaign with a record 18-point advantage over nearest rivals Arsenal. They scored 37 goals in the process, including a 7-1 demolition of West Ham United in which Paul Scholes claimed a hat-trick. The following season began with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United and would once again end with United top of the pile. 13 wins: Chelsea (September 2016-January 2017) The seeds for this storming run of wins were sown during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in September 2016, when new manager Antonio Conte switched to his preferred 3-4-3 formation. It proved the catalyst for a stunning upturn in fortunes, with Chelsea notably beating Tottenham Hotspur (2-1), Manchester United (4-0) and Manchester City (1-3). Their run came to an end in a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham last January, but they finished the campaign as champions.

Manchester City are being widely hailed as one of the best sides in Premier League history >> https://t.co/u3297UIK8f pic.twitter.com/WQk47Fm1Gv

— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) December 15, 2017

14 wins: Arsenal (February-August 2002) Arsenal set a record for the most wins within a single Premier League season (13) and the most successive wins in the English top flight (14) -- both since beaten by City -- as they romped to a second league and FA Cup double under Arsene Wenger. Fourth in the table in early February, Arsenal tore to the front with a run of 11 wins on the spin before securing the title with a 1-0 success at the home of title rivals Manchester United. They finished the season by beating Everton 4-3 at Highbury and opened their title defence with a 2-0 win over Birmingham City before drawing 2-2 at West Ham United. 15 wins: Manchester City (August-December 2017) City manager Guardiola endured a mixed first season in English football, but he has made up for lost time in his second campaign, his team streaking clear at the top of the table thanks to some of the most scintillating attacking football England has ever seen. City have dropped just two points since the start of the season -- in a 1-1 draw at home to Everton in their second game -- and have scored a staggering 52 goals in their 17 games to date. Propelled by Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero, they have destroyed Stoke City 7-2, won 6-0 at Watford, thumped Liverpool and Crystal Palace 5-0 and claimed impressive victories over title rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.