Sunday, 13 May 2012

Soccer - Premier League: Manchester City seal title at the last as Sergio Agüero sinks QPR


"The only word to describe it is bedlam. Manchester City are the champions, but that tells only part of the story of a day when it was difficult to know if there were enough superlatives in existence to describe what happened in the final, dramatic moments of the title race.
There can be only one other moment to compete with this and it was Michael Thomas's winner for Arsenal at Anfield in 1989. Roberto Mancini's team had been 2-1 down going into stoppage time, on the verge of a defeat that would have gone straight in at No1 in their portfolio of harrowing City stories. There were supporters leaving the ground in tears, scarcely believing the team could have been so reckless.
But then Edin Dzeko equalised and, suddenly, there was one last assault of the opposition goal. Four of the five minutes of extra-time had elapsed when the ball fell to Sergio Agüero. His finish was clinical and this was the moment football blurred with pandemonium.
City had played with their supporters' nerves to the point of brutality.
Pablo Zabaleta's 39th-minute goal really ought to have made this a far easier assignment but the entire complexion of the game changed two minutes into the second half when Joleon Lescott's mistimed header allowed Djibril Cissé to run clear and drive in the equaliser.
Joey Barton was then sent off for tangling with Carlos Tevez and, in the most remarkable scenes, quickly made it apparent he was not going to go quietly, felling Agüero with a knee to the back of his legs and trying to prolong the argument with any City player in his proximity.
What followed was extraordinary even before the game reached its conclusion. A man down, QPR went into a 66th-minute lead when Jamie Mackie headed in the substitute Arman Traoré's cross and, after that, there were periods when City seemed totally devoid of ideas. The title was heading Manchester United's way until the final, dramatic flourish and a celebration that will never be forgotten." @ guardian.co.uk


Manchester City 3-2 Queens Park Rangers por fasthighlights-2012