There was no time for our players to rest after the winter World Cup in Qatar.
Instead, a busy Christmas period was followed by a packed January and February that would dictate whether we were in position to compete for trophies come spring.
After the confirmation of Pep Guardiola’s new City contract, the third episode of Together: Treble Winners picks up with the squad gathering in Manchester.
Later we see Julian Alvarez receive a well deserved hero’s welcome, given his starring role in Argentina’s triumph. The striker gets bumps from his team-mates before having a massage sat next to a replica of the famous golden trophy.
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Before that, there’s the small matter of a meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool just four days after the end of the tournament in the Middle East.
City win an entertaining Carabao Cup clash but before the game we get a glimpse of Erling Haaland’s pre-match routine, with the Norwegian receiving treatment on his bruised and battered feet.
Being the goalscoring phenomenon he is, Haaland is used to rough treatment from defenders but as Kevin De Bruyne’s short videography stint shows us, everyone at City is keen to protect his ‘expensive toes’.
Moving on to the return of the Premier League, Rodrigo calls for his team-mates to prove the doubters wrong in a tight dressing room at Elland Road before contributing with a goal himself.
It’s not all plain sailing as Frank Lampard’s Everton deny us victory on New Year’s Eve but the good feeling quickly follows when Jack Grealish heads upstairs to meet Finlay Fisher again.
The winger shared a heartwarming moment with the young City fan before the World Cup and then again when performing his chosen celebration after scoring against Iran. In this episode, we see him sit down with the family and compare Christmas traditions.
Back on the pitch, City squeeze past Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but Guardiola can see something he doesn’t like in training, calling on his players to take more responsibility for their own actions.
It’s the first suggestion that we won’t have things all our own way throughout what proves to be a very difficult January.
His fears are realised in the Carabao Cup defeat at Southampton, which is promptly followed by Guardiola’s most emphatic dressing down of the whole season.
Filmed from the perspective of one of the players, the boss strides around the room for more than three minutes questioning the hunger of his squad.
It’s a breathtaking monologue that truly reveals the manager’s relentless desire to win.
We lose again a few days later, but much of the focus in the Manchester derby is on the highly controversial Bruno Fernandes strike, which Manuel Akanji gives his honest opinion on.
At half-time of the next Premier League clash against Spurs, we’re 2-0 down and it looks like our season could be unravelling.
The boss focuses his energies during that short period to praise Academy graduate Rico Lewis and demand that he gets more on-pitch protection from his peers.
It works. City win 4-2 and the fire is back in their eyes.
Immediately after the game we’re taken to Lewis’ dad’s gym in the Manchester suburb of Whitefield, where father Rick’s pride shines through in every word.
As the end of the episode approaches, the two most pivotal moments are still to come.
Ahead of the home meeting with Aston Villa, we join an impassioned Pep in the centre of a large huddle containing all players and backroom staff.
Staring into the eyes of everyone as he moves around, Guardiola reveals his desperation for the Premier League and cries ‘I want my warriors!’.
We beat Aston Villa 3-1 and then head south for a potential title decider with Arsenal, where we put in perhaps of the performance of the season so far.
The impromptu party that breaks out in the dressing room at Arsenal perhaps reveals the players know they’re on to a good thing.
You can watch all six episodes of Together: Treble Winners on Netflix now.
And you check out all of our episode recaps here.
