If all goes to plan, Manchester City will be lifting the Premier League trophy on the Etihad Stadium pitch at around 7pm on Sunday.
The Blues must beat West Ham at home to secure the title, or simply match Arsenal’s result when they take on Everton. If City do their job, they will be crowned Premier League champions for the fourth season in succession, setting a new English football record for the first team to do so.
After any potential pitch invasion is cleared, the familiar sight of City players and staff receiving their winners’ medals and lifting the trophy will take place on the Etihad pitch, with each member of the City squad receiving a medal.
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One player who will hope to get a medal is forgotten midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who left on loan in January in search of regular games at Sunday’s opponents West Ham. His spell at the London Stadium hasn’t gone to plan, however, with a number of gaffes and a foolish red card seeing him drop out of the starting line up soon after arriving. A medal may be a small consolation after a truly forgettable season.
He has started just three league games for David Moyes’s side, but since being replaced at half-time against Burnley when West Ham were 2-0 down, Phillips has played just 36 minutes scores two substitute appearances in the following nine games. He has now suffered an injury that ended his season prematurely, and his hopes of making England’s Euro 2024 squad look non-existant.
However, having started the season at City, Phillips could be entitled to a winners’ medal if the Blues get over the line, having been a part of the squad until January. It could open up an awkward scenario where Phillips arrives with the West Ham group, and then joins the City celebrations.
But because Phillips only made four substitute appearances for City between August and January, he is not automatically entitled to a medal, with Premier League rules saying only players with five appearances are guaranteed one. The victorious club will get 40 commemorative medals which can be distributed among the players, manager and officials ‘as the club see fit’, as long as every eligible player (wth five appearances) gets one.
After that, it is up to the club to give out the remaining medals at their own discretion, which would be Phillips’ only chance of getting a memento of his small role in a potential second league title – his four appearances total just 89 minutes.
City have 21 players who have played five times or more in the league this season, and have also traditionally given third-choice goalkeeper Scott Carson a medal for his role in the squad after previous title wins. Sergio Gomez has played fewer minutes than Phillips in the league this season with just 47, but those have been spread over six appearances so he will be entitled to a medal before Phillips.
Phillips would be expected to leave City in some capacity this summer after his nightmare season, with Sunday’s possible celebrations highlighting an awkward situation that sums up his struggles at both West Ham and City.