MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City won the English title
for the first time in 44 years, surging past Queens Park Rangers
3-2 on Sunday with Sergio Aguero scoring his team's second goal
during stoppage time.
Aguero's goal in the fourth minute of injury time snatched the
trophy from defending champion Manchester United on goal
difference. United had been top when its game at Sunderland ended
in a 1-0 win.
United's players left the field in Sunderland with shell-shocked
expressions, while the fans looked at each other in disbelief and
stood with hands on heads in a stunned silence.
This was the first time the English title was decided on
tiebreaker since 1989, when Arsenal and Liverpool were even on
points and goal difference, and the Gunners won on total goals.
Pablo Zabaleta had put City on course for the title with a
39th-minute goal, but Djibril Cisse evened for QPR three minutes
into the second half.
City had a man advantage after QPR captain Joey Barton was sent
off in the 55th, but Jamie Mackie managed to put the visitors in
front on a header.
City's expensively assembled squad had been facing its first
loss at home since December 2010, but substitute Edin Dzeko sparked
the recovery by heading in a corner kick in the second minute of
stoppage time.
There was still time for one final moment of drama in an
unpredictable season when Aguero drove home the winner. As the
final whistle blew, thousands of City fans poured onto the field
and blue smoke wafted around the stadium.
Winning the title is the result of more than a $1 billion of
investment by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour, who rescued a financially
stricken club from ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in
2008.
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