Pep Guardiola has delivered “majestic” football at Manchester City and will be “desperate” to reclaim the Premier League title in 2020-21, says Micah Richards.
The Blues have been a dominant force under a Catalan coach, with two English top-flight crowns secured alongside FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs.
Guardiola’s debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium delivered no major silverware, but the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss soon got to grips with an entirely different challenge.
He was, however, knocked from a lofty perch again in 2019-20, with Liverpool sweeping to a record-setting title triumph.
City were uncharacteristically inconsistent at times last season, with further forays into the transfer market during the current window intended to address those faults.
Richards expects the Blues to be firing on all cylinders again in the upcoming campaign, with fresh bids for domestic and continental trophies about to be opened.
“City's football under him has been majestic and it's puzzling how a squad packed full of world-class stars lost nine league games and ended up 18 points behind Liverpool,” Richards told the Daily Mail of Guardiola’s charges.
“Guardiola will be desperate to wrestle the title back. The title race will be tighter this season.”
Richards believes City will wrestle the Premier League crown back from Liverpool and expects highly-rated midfielder Phil Foden to help lead that charge.
The 20-year-old has been making headlines for all of the wrong reasons during the recent round of international fixtures, but he is about to fill the boots of a legend at the Etihad as an opportunity to unlock his full potential at club level is presented.
Richards said of the creative playmaker: “Let's stop the talk about Foden being one for the future. This is his time, this is his season.
“He is not here to replace the departed David Silva, he's here to write his own story.
“Foden will be playing regularly for England in 12 months. We know about his special ability and already have seen enough glimpses of it.
“I have no doubt he is ready to shine — for Pep Guardiola and Gareth Southgate.”
City are due to open their 2020-21 campaign away at Wolves on September 21.