5 reasons behind Manchester City's great performances this season

Sitting 16 points clear of Manchester United and cruising to this season's Premier League title, Manchester City are playing some of the most exciting football ever seen in England.

It is testament to their brand of football, as the top-flight is one of the world's best and the Citizens have it all but wrapped up in mid-March. On the road to the title this term, they won 18 consecutive matches: a new league record and have beaten almost every side they came across, losing only once thus far this campaign.

In Europe, they cruised to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League - where they will face Liverpool. So with all of that in mind, here's a look at why they have been so good this term:

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#5 Rebuilding the squad in the right areas

Ederson has been a brilliant purchase for the Citizens

Manchester City are not a team known for being silent in the transfer window.

Pep Guardiola along with football director Txiki Begiristain identified key areas in the squad that needed to be freshened up.

There was a mass exodus at at the end of last season as players like Gael Clichy, Alexander Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta, Jesús Navas, Nolito and Bacary Sagna were offloaded.

In the summer, the club spent premium money to bring in Kyle Walker, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy to reinforce the full-back positions - which were simply not up to their high standards last year.

They also brought in Bernardo Silva from AS Monaco, as well as Benfica's highly-rated goalkeeper Ederson. Long-term target Aymeric Laporte was purchased from Athletic Bilbao in January, to reinforce their defensive options while adding more quality.

Laporte aside, their new acquisitions were precisely the right injection of spirit and confidence to start the campaign off well and use that momentum to build onto successive victories.

#4 Team setup

Pep Guardiola now understands the Premier League better

Last season, many critics suggested that Guardiola had underestimated the league - his ideas were deemed too complex for the squad of players that he'd inherited. His ageing fullbacks could not keep up with his demands, which ultimately showed on the pitch as they appeared confused and looked out-of-place at times too.

This season though, the new fullbacks are hungry, ready to learn and execute his ideas. Having had more time to communicate his ideologies across to the team has helped, as he lets everyone know what their individual roles are.

He has selected the same starting eleven more or less every game, barring a few changes on a consistent basis throughout the campaign. He has learned more about the side, which in turn has helped him to set-up the side in a more effective manner.

The average formation he chooses to play is a 4-3-3 but with the way in which he sets up his side as well as their instructions, it appears more like a 2-3-2-3 - where fullbacks act as inverted midfielders. Pep Guardiola's tactical nous helps give his side an advantage every time they're on the pitch.

#3 Guardiola's tactics have been spot on

Manchester City have been terrorizing and stretching teams this season

The way that Guardiola has set up the team has been great to see. He has got the team playing so aggressively that a certain fear factor exists when teams come up against Manchester City.

Whenever they have the ball, the full-backs come into midfield alongside the defensive midfielders. In this position they are more involved in the attack and can charge up and down the flanks as a result.

The wingers go so wide that they use every blade of grass available on the pitch to stretch the opposition's backline. This naturally creates space for the two attacking midfielders to create havoc through the middle third. Also, players are keen to never remain stationary for too long - they're always interchanging positions and attack with such numbers that defenders are often overwhelmed by who they should be marking.

When they lose the ball, they press so high up the pitch and with so much intensity that opponents tend to clear the ball and thus waste possession. This term, their average possession is a whopping 71.1%, justifying their comfortability on the ball.

#2 Quality of the squad

A lot of City players have been firing on all cylinders this term

A lot of players in the squad has raised their game from last year as they have gained new levels of consistency and creativity.

Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Leroy Sané, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otámendi and co. have shown marked improvements from last season.

Currently, Sterling is having the best season of his career - he's already netted 15 and assisted a further seven goals in the Premier League. de Bruyne meanwhile, is showing that he has become a truly world-class player whilst firmly staking his claim for winning this season's Player of the Year award with seven goals and 14 assists in the top-flight alone.

Leroy Sané has chipped in with important goal contributions too - eight goals and 11 assists, whilst the Spanish magician David Silva has delivered eight goals and 9 assists too.

Despite his injury struggles in recent seasons, Sergio Aguero is still the goalscoring machine he always has been. 21 goals and a further six assists prove the Argentine remains a world-class forward.

These individual performances from City's frontline have led to the sky Blues winning 18 games in a row, thus breaking a Premier League record in the process.

#1 Fear factor

Following a 3-0 win over Arsenal last month, the Citizens have already tasted cup success this season

Manchester City are playing some of the Premier League's most attractive football ever played - a style that seems to have struck fear into all of their other opponents.

Into the last eight of this season's UEFA Champions League, they are being mentioned in the same breath as Real Madrid and Barcelona. No European side wants to face them and rightly so, as they have already lifted the Carabao Cup and did so in convincing fashion, dismantling a poor Arsenal side last month.

Now, the Premier League title appears just a formality at this point and they could officially be crowned champions by beating local rivals United at home on April 7th.

The way they've dominated this term, it appears as though they can continue to replicate the same success for years to come, provided the spine of their side remains the same and they maintain consistency with Pep at the helm.