“Aguerooo...I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again. So watch it, drink it in... two goals in added time from Manchester City to snatch the title away from Manchester United.”
Perhaps no one could better sum up City’s dramatic first ever Premier League title triumph than Martin Tyler in an aforementioned manner. So what went in making the 2011-12 season of the Premier League such an intriguing one? Let’s dive a little deeper!
Early Gameweeks:
Going into the season, defending champions Manchester United were heavy favourites to clinch their 13th Premier League title and the way they started the campaign suggested no different. 5 consecutive wins to start the season which consisted of that 8-2 pummeling of Arsenal but there was a certain neighbour of theirs who kept going toe to toe on each game week. Manchester City kept level with United in terms of points up until game week 7.
City takes the initiative:
On conclusion of matchday 8, City had managed to overtake United and claim 1st position because of United’s draw against Liverpool. However, what followed the week after is sure to leave a bad taste in the mouths of United fans. The city did the unthinkable and thrashed United 6-1 and that too at Old Trafford with Mario Balotelli celebrating with his iconic “WHY ALWAYS ME?” undershirt! Both teams kept mirroring their results in terms of wins and draw right till matchday 14. City’s first defeat of the season came against Chelsea and this allowed United to cut down the points deficit to 2 points.
United did manage to get level on points with City but remained on 2nd place by virtue of City’s superior goal difference. Over the New Year period, City regained a 3 point lead after United suffered 2 consecutive defeats against Blackburn and Newcastle.
A cat and mouse scenario:
This neck and neck weekly drama continued till matchday 26 with City having a 2 point lead. An unexpected defeat to Swansea coupled with United’s win over West Brom meant that United claimed the 1st position for the first time since match week 7. Withdraws against Stoke and Sunderland, City was falling behind and their goal difference was also nearly cut down. The Sky Blues got back into their groove after some great showings against West Brom and Norwich but there was still a five-point deficit to recover. The following week, City cut the difference to just 3 points and the week after against United themselves, City emerged victoriously and dethroned United from the top spot by drawing level on points with a healthier GD.
The final day madness!
It came boiling down to the final set of games as both Manchester clubs were still in with a shot at the title. With simultaneous kickoffs, the excitement reached fever pitch. Wayne Rooney gave United a much-needed goal against Sunderland but at the Etihad, Pablo Zabaleta’s goal against QPR meant that City was still in the driver’s seat. QPR equalized through Djibril Cisse, after which Joey Barton was sent off. A goal from Jamie Mackie left City trailing and it was advantage United. But fate had something more exciting in store for everyone (except for the Red Devils)! Regulation time was over and City was running out of time to turn things around. In the 2nd min of added time (5 mins), Edin Dzeko headed one in from a David Silva corner to restore parity. 2 mins later, Sergio Aguero and Balotelli played a one-two at the end of which the Argentine managed to blast it into the goal to seal the game as well as the title.
A goal, a game that any Citizen will fondly remember for it was the time the noisy neighbours really made some noise and created some furore.
Video: Last five mins highlights | Manchester City Title Win
