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How Manchester City won the Premier League title B*l**x
One of the most enthralling Premier League seasons in history went down to the final minute as Manchester City snatched the title from Manchester United in stoppage time against QPR.
It was a season full of twists and turns with plenty of drama off the pitch as well as on it, but in the end it was the blue half of Manchester celebrating their first league title since 1968.
August: First blood to Manchester United
Alan Hansen
Football Analyst It's unusual for me to take any notice of the Community Shield but this time I did. It was a real statement by United and, if you were one of the other sides with an eye on the title, you would start to worry
Before a ball was even kicked in the Premier League there was a fixture that set-up the see-saw rivalry that unfolded over the season, as Manchester United came back from two goals down to beat Manchester City 3-2 in the Community Shield.
Manchester United lift the Community Shield Trophy
One side had aspirations of mounting a successful defence of their league title, while the other was determined to emerge from the shadow of their city rival and prove they too were serious title contenders, rather than just the 'noisy neighbours' Sir Alex Ferguson once called them.
Both sides were quick out of the traps when the Premier League season got under way as Ferguson's men took maximum points from their first three games with wins over West Brom and Tottenham, before sending out a signal of intent with an 8-2 demolition of Arsenal, while Manchester City followed up a dominant 4-0 victory over Swansea with a 3-2 win over Bolton.
They then inflicted a hefty 5-1 defeat on Tottenham to ensure they joined Manchester United at the top of the standings with nine points heading into September...
September: Tevez saga rocks City
Manchester City made their way to the top of the table with a 3-0 win over Wigan, but it was to be a brief stay after Wayne Rooney's second hat-trick of the season helped Manchester United to a 5-0 win over hapless Bolton.
Danny Mills
Football Analyst You cannot keep disrespecting the manager. Whether you like him or not, it doesn't make any difference. You're playing for yourself, your club, your team. There's quite a few managers I didn't get on with but you put your shift in, you play for pride because you're a professional. You simply cannot refuse to play in a football match. It's selfish, it's cowardly and bang out of order.
A 2-2 draw with Fulham - where Manchester City threw away a two-goal lead - paved the way for United to open up a two-point gap at the top of the table if they could beat Chelsea, who themselves had high hopes of challenging for a fourth Premier League title, but it was Ferguson's side who emerged triumphant, scoring three first-half goals for a 3-1 win.
That victory moved them five points ahead of Chelsea and two clear of Manchester City, who were about to become embroiled in a bitter feud with key striker Carlos Tevez.
The Argentine had been named on the bench as Manchester City beat Everton 2-0, and he was again among the substitutes for a Champions League fixture with Bayern Munich.
However, boss Roberto Mancini claimed he refused to warm up with 35 minutes left to play, prompting the Italian to insist that Tevez would never play for the club again for as long as he was in charge.
October: City run riot in Manchester derby
The Italian kept his word and Tevez was nowhere to be seen for City's next Premier League game against Blackburn and they certainly did not miss him as they eased to a 4-0 win.
City stun United at Old Trafford
Manchester United kept hold of first place with a 2-0 win over Norwich but their grip was relinquished when they could only draw 1-1 with Liverpool, during which Luis Suarez racially abused Patrice Evra.
Manchester City maintained their superb goal-scoring form as they swept aside Aston Villa 4-1 to set-up a tantalising encounter between themselves and Manchester United. However, nobody could have anticipated just what was to unfold at Old Trafford.
Mark Lawrenson
Football Analyst The 6-1 thrashing at Old Trafford says more about City than it does about their closest rivals and makes them an even bigger scalp - it is the announcement that they have seriously arrived on the big stage.
Having not lost at home in any competitions in more than a year, it was hard to see past the home side. But Manchester City were at their attacking best as Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko both scored twice, while Sergio Aguero and David Silva were also on the scoresheet in a 6-1 rout.
That victory moved Manchester City five points clear of their city rivals and strongly suggested that the Premier League title battle was going to be contested exclusively in the north west of England.
November: A Ferguson milestone, while City lose
Phil McNulty
Chief football writer, BBC Sport Even those who temper their admiration for the Scot cannot contest his right to be regarded among the finest managers football has known
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years as manager of Manchester United with a 1-0 win over Sunderland, but Manchester City maintained their five-point advantage at the top as they dug out a 3-2 win at QPR.
Both sides won their next Premier League fixtures, with United edging Swansea 1-0, while City handed Newcastle a first defeat of the season, beating Alan Pardew's side 3-1 at Etihad Stadium.
Newcastle, whose fine start to the season had them snapping at the heels of the leading duo, next travelled to Old Trafford where they held the home side to a 1-1 draw - crucial points were dropped by Manchester United in their title challenge.
Fortunately for United, Mancini's men also dropped points as they were held 1-1 by draw specialists Liverpool at Anfield.
December: United close the gap
Phil Jones scores the winner against Aston Villa
It is often said a side that wins league titles is a side that is capable of grinding out victories and Manchester United were doing just that as a first career goal for Phil Jones secured a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.
Manchester City, meanwhile, maintained their 100% home record and their five-point lead over Manchester United with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Norwich.
December saw both sides crash out of the Champions League but United put their European disappointment behind them with a resounding 4-1 win over struggling Wolves, but for City the hangover lasted longer as they slumped to a first Premier League defeat of the season, losing 2-1 at Chelsea.
Finally, after weeks of chasing down their lead, Manchester United moved level on points with their city rivals after Dimitar Berbatov scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Wigan, while Mancini's side could only draw 0-0 with West Brom.
United had the chance to ensure they entered 2012 top of the table but suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat by Blackburn at Old Trafford on New Year's Eve, leaving the title race delicately poised for the second half of the season.
January: Scholes back as United move level
Scholes scores against Bolton after coming out of retirement
Both sides kicked off 2012 with a defeat as Manchester United lost 3-0 to Newcastle, while Manchester City suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by Sunderland.
Only 48 hours after that surprising loss, City responded in style with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Liverpool that opened up a three-point gap at the top.
That put the onus back on United, who needed to do something special in January to reignite their title challenge.
That something was to be the return of midfielder Paul Scholes from retirement, and he made his Premier League return against Bolton on 14 January.
It was to be a memorable one as he scored the opener that put United on the way to a 3-0 win that moved Ferguson's side level on points with Manchester City once again.
February: Tevez set for return?
United players celebrate a goal against Chelsea
With Manchester City easing to a 3-0 win over Fulham on 5 February, the pressure was on Manchester United to win their game against Chelsea the following day.
Things could hardly have gone worse for United as they found themselves 3-0 down with less than an hour gone but, inspired by Wayne Rooney, they staged a remarkable comeback as a double from the England striker and a Javier Hernandez strike ensured they escaped with a point.
It was a vital result and one that was looked upon as somewhat of a turning point in their bid to defend the Premier League title. Crucial wins over Liverpool and Norwich were to follow.
City kept themselves top with victories against Aston Villa and Blackburn, but their title rivals were keeping pace as the two clubs entered the business end of the season.
However, big news was developing behind the scenes at Etihad Stadium as Tevez returned from the wilderness to train with the first team, suggesting Mancini was prepared to reconcile differences and involve the striker in the club's end of season run-in.
March: United take control as City lose ground
A win against Bolton was followed by defeat by Swansea for Manchester City, while victories over Tottenham and West Brom were enough to move Manchester United into pole position.
Phil McNulty
Chief football writer, BBC Sport It was also time for an old feud to be forgotten. It was time for pragmatism to overcome what many regarded as the unpalatable. It was time for Carlos Tevez.
In an effort to boost Manchester City's faltering title challenge, Mancini brought Tevez back into the fold for a crucial clash with Chelsea and, in a fairytale-esque return, he had a hand in the winner, providing the assist for Samir Nasir to fire home with only five minutes remaining to seal a 2-1 win.
That closed the gap on United to one point, but Mancini's men failed to build on that as successive draws with Stoke and Sunderland followed, which left them two points behind the defending champions, who had a game in hand over their rivals, heading into the penultimate month of the season.
April: Title race thrown wide open
Kompany scores the winning goal against United
Manchester United's lead at the top of the standings increased further as wins over Blackburn and QPR combined with a damaging 1-0 defeat for Manchester City at Arsenal looked to have effectively secured them the title, with the gap between the two sides an intimidating eight points.
Robbie Savage
BBC Sport The title race is not over yet. City have to go to Newcastle which is going to be a tough game. With two games left, the momentum is with City.
But a season that had already served up plenty of twists and turns was not finished just yet as Manchester United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by fast-improving Wigan, and though they responded with a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, they twice threw away two-goal leads to draw 4-4 with Everton.
Tevez, meanwhile, was making the most of his return to first team action as he scored four goals to help Manchester City to wins over West Brom, Norwich and Wolves, in the process closing the gap on Manchester United to three points.
A mouth-watering match between the two sides at Etihad Stadium on 30 April had City needing victory, while Ferguson knew a draw would suit his purposes.
That permutation perhaps proved Ferguson's undoing as his team selection suggested he was erring on the side of caution, and a Vincent Kompany header just before half-time was enough to hand City the win they needed to go top on goal difference.
A Yaya Toure brace gave Manchester City a 2-0 win at Newcastle and while Manchester United saw off Swansea by the same scoreline, Mancini's men were firmly in the driving seat.
May: City snatch Premier League title on goal difference
Sergio Aguero nets the title-winning strike
The two teams went into the final game of the season level on points, but City's vastly superior goal difference meant a win at home to QPR would guarantee a first Premier League title.
United, meanwhile, travelled to Sunderland where they had to better City's result.
After 90 nerve-shredding minutes of normal time, it looked like United would be celebrating a 20th league title, leading 1-0 at the Stadium of Light while City trailed 10-man QPR 2-1 at the Etihad.
However, two dramatic stoppage time strikes from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero sent the blue half of Manchester into ecstasy and capped off a truly memorable tussle for the title.
http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-Manchester ... fault.aspx
Phil McNulty | 22:30 UK time, Sunday, 13 May 2012 At Etihad Stadium ... B*l**x
The group of Manchester City fans standing on Joe Mercer Way were smiling but silent. It was as if they could not find the words to articulate what they had just witnessed. . . .They were not alone.
Manchester City's history suggested they might put their supporters through late dramas before ending a 44-year wait to be crowned champions.
Nothing, however, could have prepared anyone for this as City threatened to collapse in a manner that would have haunted them forever before winning the Premier League just as dramatically as they had threatened to lose it.
With City, needing to beat Queen's Park Rangers to lift the title, trailing 2-1 as five minutes of stoppage time began, some tearful fans upped and left rather than experience the suffering they feared referee Mike Dean's final whistle would bring them as it looked like the crown would remain at Manchester United as they beat Sunderland.
They will harbour regrets of a different kind after missing the moments that will be carved into Manchester City's history forever.
For those who stayed, tears of despair had been replaced by tears of triumph in the space of two minutes of the most enthralling, nerve-shredding theatre produced in the Premier League's 20 seasons.
Michael Thomas's pre-Premier League goal that won Arsenal the title at Liverpool in 1989 was dramatic enough. This was something else. It was a victory plucked from the depths of improbability, not just on Sunday but from the moment in early April when defeat at Emirates Stadium left City trailing United by eight points.
Edin Dzeko headed City level after 92 minutes and then, with QPR goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock racing around his technical area in celebration of their survival after confirming Stoke City had beaten Bolton, redemption arrived for the club that has spent so long in the shadow of their neighbours.
Sergio Aguero broke into the QPR area and showed commendable composure and sense of purpose amid the tumult to fire past keeper Paddy Kenny. In that moment the title was won, a cloud lifted.
The scenes that followed bordered on hysteria as the Argentine swirled his shirt before being submerged by team-mates, many of whom were also in tears according to City's great inspiration, captain Vincent Kompany.
Mancini had long since lost his cool, raging at his players consistently from the sidelines in those excruciating final phases when they could not breach QPR's barrier. Now he took off, accompanied by substitutes and assorted backroom staff including as Brian Kidd and David Platt, in undiluted ecstasy.
The whole stadium was a seething, swaying mass of celebration.
It was as if a valve had been opened to release the years of suffering for City and for that famously good-natured support who have been sustained through the lean years by some of the game's finest dark humour.
Those final seconds before the triumph was confirmed passed in a blur for just about everybody inside the Etihad. City were champions, QPR were safe - everyone a winner.
City once helped themselves win promotion to the First Division with two late, late goals from Kevin Horlock and Paul Dickov in a Wembley play-off with Gillingham in 1999.
The instant feeling here was that this was their Nou Camp moment, on a scale of importance to this particular club that could be compared with Manchester United's last-gasp comeback to win the Champions League against Bayern Munich in the same year.
It was an afternoon fuelled by the best and worst of football's emotions, the latter illustrated by the behaviour of Joey Barton, sent off for clashing with Carlos Tevez but not shy of giving Aguero a sly kick from behind on the way off for good measure.
Luckily for Barton, he did not cost QPR their Premier League status but manager Mark Hughes may not wish to take the risk with this flawed personality next season.
The best was reserved for City, nourished by the petrodollars pumped into the club by their Abu Dhabi owners. Sheikh Mansour was not tempted to travel for the day he will have envisaged in his master plans when City were renewed by his investment in 2008 but he will surely have watched at home with great satisfaction.
The cynics will suggest this was the day City proved the Premier League was something money could buy, but the outpouring of emotion on the pitch and in the stands when Aguero's shot hit the back of Kenny's net was the product of the old glory of the game not financial rewards, as captain Kompany was keen to point out.
The great old City names were there to share in the triumph, with their last title-winning captain Tony Book and the great champion of all the club's causes Mike Summerbee bringing the trophy on for a tumultuous presentation ceremony with those two greats Francis Lee and Colin Bell in close attendance.
In so many ways this is a new club but a conscious effort is made to keep in touch with its past - the mantle of champions bring a fresh start for City because history and expectation was also altered in the time it took Aguero to score that landmark goal.
The footballing landscape in Manchester and beyond has changed. Mancini, vindicated with the FA Cup last year and the title this, will now look for more improvements next season. The Champions League is there to be conquered, or at least handled more effectively than their uncertain first steps this season.
The balance of power has shifted in Manchester but not by much because United - with a squad not regarded as vintage quality - still came within two minutes of title number 20 and the decisive margin came down to goal difference.
But the building blocks so effectively put in place by Mancini, and lest we forget also the man in the nearby dug-out yesterday Mark Hughes, will now be strengthened by the confidence of champions.
Joe Hart is an outstanding keeper, Kompany arguably the Premier League's finest central defender while Yaya Toure is the supreme combination of footballer and athlete. It was no coincidence City were far less impressive after he went off injured.
And in attack, irrespective of what may happen next with Tevez, City can count on the tireless and potent Aguero and the elegance of David Silva.
The worry for United and the rest of the Premier League is that those events in the final minutes will provide new impetus for City. It is a challenge, however, that Sir Alex Ferguson insists he and his club are ready to meet.
That is for another day. It will take City some time to come down from the emotional high of this victory, not least because of the fashion in which it was achieved.
"We have changed the history of this club," said Mancini, draped in the Italian flag and sipping a well-deserved glass of champagne.
The new era begins on Monday. If you are going to end a 44-year wait for a title then you might as well make it spectacular - and it does not get much more spectacular than that which was seen on Sunday.
Man City win Premier League title: Players and managers reaction
Manchester City players have hailed their club's historic Premier League title win on Twitter.
Argentine striker Sergio Aguero netted a crucial injury-time winner against QPR as City became English champions for the first time in 44 years.
"It was a thrilling match but we never stopped believing," Aguero tweeted.
Team-mates including skipper Vincent Kompany and England defender Joleon Lescott also posted triumphant messages on the social networking site.
"Now we are champions, I'll say it again - I hope this is the start of something huge," added Aguero.
City's neighbours Manchester United looked set to lift their 20th top-flight title as Roberto Mancini's men trailed 2-1 against visitors QPR heading into the dying stages at Etihad Stadium.
United had already beaten Sunderland in a 1-0 win before late goals from substitute Edin Dzeko and Aguero dramatically swung the season in City's favour.
Belgian defender Kompany, who lifted the Premier League trophy amid joyous celebrations, tweeted: "No words can describe this feeling! This team has worked hard, the fans have suffered long time, today we bring the trophy home for you!"
Lescott, whose mistake allowed QPR to go 1-0 ahead, added: "Can't describe how I feel. When I come back down off this high I will try and explain but to all City fans enjoy tonight."
Left-back Gael Clichy moved to City from Arsenal last summer and tweeted a picture of himself and fellow ex-Gunner Samir Nasri celebrating.
Clichy said: "Nothing to say!" And Nasri added: "Best feeling ever thank you so much guys you were amazing."
Players and managers from other clubs across England's top-flight also moved to applaud City's achievement on Sunday.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was among the first of Mancini's peers to offer his congratulations.
"That's what makes our league so great," said the 65-year-old.
Premier League players on Twitter
•Everton captain Phil Neville: "Well done Man City! Got to say though Man United know how to act in defeat - very gracious. Class acts!"
•Everton midfielder Tim Cahill: "Congratulations to Joleon Lescott and Man City on winning the league. Can remember playing City 12 years ago with Millwall - [they've] come a long way."
•Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong: "Congrats City. Top team [with] top players. Good luck and enjoy the moments."
"I thought Manchester United had won the title [but what happened was] just amazing. They've won it so good luck to them.
"I'm sure Alex [Ferguson] will look back and think the Everton game cost them. That's football, you do not have a divine right to beat anyone."
QPR manager Mark Hughes, who was sacked by City to be replaced by Mancini in December 2009, said: "I congratulate City. It is a huge achievement for them. I am sure there will be many more in the future.
"We touched the well of apprehension they experienced. It was all the more exciting because of that."
QPR midfielder Joey Barton, who was sent off in his side's 3-2 defeat, also congratulated his former club City on Twitter.
Manchester United striker Michael Owen tweeted: "Football can be the best/worst game in the world! Unbelievable day. The lads can hold their heads high and regroup for next season.
"[It's been] an unbelievable season. Congratulations to all the winners and commiserations to those relegated."
Roberto Mancini's team dethroned United with the most mind-blowing ending since the 1999 European Cup final
So for Manchester City, whose supporters sing of being without a dream of their own, the blue moon has finally turned to gold. The depth of the desire to end their 44-year ache could be seen when Mike Dean blew the final whistle and the fans poured over the barriers on to the Etihad Stadium pitch to display a joy suffused with relief and astonishment.
Whatever the performance of Roberto Mancini's team lacked in the sort of clarity and authority that might be expected of champions, it more than made good the promise of the 2011-12 Premier League season to provide drama all the way from beginning to end. "A crazy finish for a crazy season," Mancini said afterwards, and what happened in those five minutes of stoppage time, when the world first tilted on its axis and then turned upside down, was entirely consistent with a campaign that will always be remembered for its jolting fluctuations, for its 8-2s and its 6-1s and its 5-0s, as much as for its outcome.
Something had to happen in order to remove the sour taste left by the 54th-minute dismissal of Joey Barton, who may or may not have been provoked by Carlos Tevez but had no excuse for using his elbow on the Argentinian and even less for the cowardly kick administered to the back of the legs of Sergio Agüero after the red card had been shown. Barton's further confrontations with Vincent Kompany and Mario Balotelli as he finally made his way to the touchline should ensure that there will be no more attempts to treat him as some sort of misunderstood philosopher, and one can only pity the poor fellow charged with the job of ghost-writing his forthcoming autobiography.
The memory of that unpleasantness was dispelled by surely the most mind‑blowing conclusion to a football match since City's local rivals scored two goals in injury time in the Camp Nou to snatch the 1999 European Cup final from Bayern Munich's grasp. This time it was the turn of Sir Alex Ferguson and his men to lift the champagne to their lips, only to have it dashed away.
So Mancini has dethroned Ferguson, whose team won the title the preceding year. It will be interesting to see what effect the outcome of yesterday's traumatic climax has on the United manager, now in his eighth decade, who claimed this week that City's challenge had taken three years off him and renewed his appetite for the fray.
Other managers, most notably Arsène Wenger, José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, have deprived the Scot of the title, only to find him coming back at them with even greater vigour. This time it may be slightly different, thanks to the shift in the formerly one‑sided balance of power between the two Manchester clubs, and to the resources available at City.
The effect of Uefa's financial fair play rules on future investment at the Etihad Stadium remains to be seen, but in the meantime we can only applaud Mancini's achievement, most notably the effect of his reaction over the final stages, when he coped brilliantly with watching United erode a lead held by City for a 28-week stretch and then build a daunting eight‑point lead of their own. Few who had watched Ferguson's skill at guiding and motivating his team through the closing stages of a tight season expected anything other than a 13th title for the Scot and a 20th for his club.
Instead Mancini, always holding a strong hand in terms of available players, showed the instincts of a bridge-player and gave a masterclass in the art of the bluff. The season was over, he told the world when City lost 1-0 at Arsenal on 12 April, just four weeks ago. If there had been a City project, it appeared to be in ruins, the Premier League campaign going the way of City's unimpressive participation in the Champions League. United, according to Mancini, were not just favourites for the title, but practically had their red ribbons attached to the trophy. The message to the players was somewhat different, but the public declaration had its effect. "I wanted to take the pressure off for three or four games," he said last night. "I was sure that we would have another chance."
All charm and bella figura in front of the cameras, Mancini is a hard nut who does exactly what it takes to achieve his ambitions. Not many managers, having declared that Tevez and Balotelli would never play for the club again, could have swallowed their pride so readily and restored the miscreants to the team sheet when the going got tough and City needed goalscorers. The return of Tevez in particular, and the establishment of a fertile partnership with his compatriot Agüero, was pivotal to the late burst of acceleration that brought City back on to level terms with a faltering United.
And so, most fittingly, the 95 minutes in which the title was won encompassed just about everything the Premier League has to offer: feverish anticipation, sudden anguish, immoderate exhilaration, profound disgust and ultimate catharsis, with each emotion cranked up to the max and beyond. It was not like that in Joe Mercer's day. But the good Joe would have applauded his successor yesterday. And as reality shows go, it wasn't bad, was it?
James Lawton: Aguero delivers on his promise with golden shot to transform City
It required a superior footballer – and competitive man – to impose a little order and quality and character on something that was otherwise destined to be remembered as one of football's most expensive and unbridled disasters.
That it finished something quite different from that in the pale spring sunshine of east Manchester, that the most neurotic fans in English football found themselves stumbling joyfully from a Stephen King movie to something more worthy of Walt Disney, and were able to sing at last "We are the Champions", was because such a man announced himself at almost the very last moment.
Sergio Aguero not only saved Manchester City's title in circumstances that had become surreal.
He also made his entry in City's billion-pound title inventory shine with a new brilliance.
At £38m he is, officially at least, City's most expensive signing – one day he may be dislodged from this honour by a full accounting of the Carlos Tevez deal – but shortly before 5pm last night in a part of this great city which until the last few years has not often been associated with extreme wealth, the obligation was to weigh Aguero in the purest gold.
Not only did he win back a title that was ebbing away in a way that would have fulfilled the most sinister fantasy of the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who had talked so darkly of the psychological damage City might collect with a shocking failure against Queen's Park Rangers, he confirmed something he had promised early this season when he made his first appearance in this stadium.
It was the delivery of a new dimension to English football's most lavishly rewarded but still under-achieving mercenaries. He came on a substitute against Swansea City, linked sublimely with David Silva for one goal, scored two others of bewitching authority and suggested most powerfully that it might certainly be the first night of the rest of City's life.
So it proved here on an afternoon of withering tension, which towards the end seemed to be threatening a particularly heavy toll on the man who was carrying the most pressure.
The City manager, Roberto Mancini, had protested that his job would have survived a pratfall on the last lap. Maybe, maybe not, but when City became enmeshed in the desperate trenches of 10-man QPR's defence, after Mario Balotelli had been sent on in place of Tevez as the running, volatile evidence that here indeed was a crisis of unexpected weight, Mancini became a figure of torment, pleading, entreating, raging.
You could hardly say it was an over-reaction, not when you were reminded of the level of expectation which had been created in this half of the city, nor when you recalled the extent of investment – and least of all in the context of the huge advantage which came to his side when Joey Barton, masquerading for a while as someone you might entrust with a football team in highly pressurised conditions, got himself sent off in the most disgusting manner.
His assaults on Tevez and Aguero were cheap shots which brought a fresh burst of dismay to all those who see in his Twitter volume a searcher after truth rather than a head-banging recidivist. However, his disappearance should have made the City task that much simpler. Instead, it became an intensifying nightmare after goals from Djibril Cissé and Jamie Mackie sent shock waves across English football – with perhaps one or two of them even reaching the Middle East – and injury to the great and influential Yaya Touré.
Mancini was stripped of his favourite option when the going becomes a little problematical, as it did at Newcastle the week before, and the big man from the Ivory Coast was pushed forward to break an impasse and inject new levels of confidence.
Yesterday, the vital moment of breakthrough appeared to have been achieved when Touré was helped off the field to be replaced by Nigel de Jong. Pablo Zabaleta had pushed City ahead and suddenly there was the sense of impending celebration. It was that feeling of well-being that sometimes precedes an ambush.
For City, the wounds could hardly have run deeper right up to the moment Aguero delivered salvation. Edin Dzeko set up the rescue and then Diego Maradona's son-in-law did something that placed him in the folklore of a club now measuring itself for a sustained impact on the English and European games.
He carried his club across the line. He did it in that way that he had promised from the start, the way of a player who is not easily deflected from his task, who believes that his destiny is not just to enjoy the most enviable of lifestyles but also to win. When Aguero fulfilled all of that promise, when he shot City out of their ultimate anti-climactic misery, he may also have lifted the club – and the project – not just to a title but a new way of seeing itself.
Maybe it won't happen overnight. Perhaps there is some serious work to do on the building of some of that culture of winning that gets into the bones. Yesterday, City, it has to be said, were not so heavy with such quality. In fact, they might easily have woken this morning to the kind of devastation that Ferguson was so desperately wishing upon them.
That they didn't suffer such a fate was a finely run thing even by the standards of a season in which the only certainty was that nothing could be taken at face value. It was desperate and at times it seemed to become impossible, but City kept playing, and they kept reminding themselves, the fine captain Vincent Kompany said later, that they had done rather too much to let all of it slide away on a tide of bitterness they would never be able to forget.
The prospect had, of course, been one of coronation but soon enough that possibility had become besieged by doubt. So it meant that City simply had to fight for what they believed had become their right. Aguero's brilliant statement was that they may indeed become a lot stronger at a place where they could have been broken – and shatteringly so.
[b]The title in figures
55
Home points for City. Equals the Premier League record.
1,066
Number of goals this campaign, a record for a 20-team PL season.
18
Clean sheets for Joe Hart in the league this season.
93
League goals by Man City this season, at a rate of 2.4 per game.
89
United's points, a record for a team finishing second.[/b]
THE HEADLINES THAT MARKED MANCHESTER CITY'S TITLE WIN
"Miracle Manc!" - the Sun
"We won it in Fergie time" - the Sun
"Foot of God" - Daily Mirror
"Wincredible - most amazing title clincher ever" - Daily Star
"Paradise City" - Guardian
"Over the blue moon" - Daily Express
"Mancini's crazy gang make every last second count" - The Times
"Miracle men - City end 44-year title hoodoo with most dramatic finale in history" - Daily Telegraph
OTHER BOLLOX
Manchester United and Newcastle are considering making bids for £6.5m-rated France right-back Mathieu Debuchy after Lille indicated the 26-year-old would be allowed to leave in the summer transfer window. Metro
Spain legend Raul has left German club Schalke, where he became a fans' favourite with 27 goals in 63 Bundesliga appearances, to sign for Qatari side Al Sadd. Daily Mirror
Derby have rejected a £1.2m offer from Burnley for defender Jason Shackell, 28. the Sun
Liverpool target Rasmus Elm has warned the Reds he is far from certain to leave his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar in the summer transfer window. The 24-year-old Sweden international says he "feels good at AZ".
Berbatov moved to Man Utd from Tottenham in 2008 Metro
Middlesbrough are interested in Portsmouth's Luke Varney, 29, and the striker could be available for as little as £375,000. the Sun
Liverpool are also set to make an offer for Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, who has made just five Premier League starts this season. Caughtoffside.com
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy maintains that none of the club's top players will leave White Hart Lane this summer. the Sun
Everton want to sign Olympiakos' Hungarian goalkeeper Balazs Megyeri to provide competition for Tim Howard at Goodison Park. The 22-year-old, who is entering the last year of his contract, would cost around £800,000. Daily Mirror
Cardiff and Ipswich have held discussions with goalkeeper Joe Lewis, 24, who is set to leave Peterborough on a free transfer. the Sun
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, 37, is open-minded about speaking to new England manager Roy Hodgson about a return to international football.
Paul Scholes retired from England duty in 2004 Guardian
Alex Ferguson has delivered a worrying message to Manchester United fans by confirming skipper Nemanja Vidic will miss the club's pre-season tour. Metro
Hull City have approached former Leeds and Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell about becoming their next manager. The Tigers sacked boss Nick Barmby last week. Daily Mirror
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has eased fears that England's Kyle Walker is an injury doubt for Euro 2012 by predicting the full-back, who came off during Tottenham's win over Fulham, would be "dancing in a disco" by Monday night. talkSHIT
Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel broke down in tears as he announced he will leave Italian giants AC Milan and sign for PSV. 101 Great Goals
