Match Report: Manchester City 3-2 QPR
Manchester City overturned a mammoth 2-1 QPR lead in stoppage time on Sunday to lift the Premier League title in dramatic fashion at the Etihad Stadium.
The Sky Blues were trailing to relegation threatened Queens Park Rangers until the second minute of second-half stoppage time when City scored two successive goals to catapult them to first spot.
Anything less than a win against QPR would have meant a second spot finish for Manchester City if rivals United won their match Sunderland, in which they did.
City struggled to gain any passing momentum against a confident Queens Park Rangers, who were not aware of their top-flight status until the final whistle when they were made aware that Bolton were relegated and that they would live to fight another day.
Roberto Mancini left his side unchanged team from their last top-flight outing, Mario Balotelli started on the bench for the home side.
QPR saw Cisse move up front alongside Bobby Zamora, with Akos Buszaky missing the fixture completely.
Despite a lack of domination in the first half, City took the lead after 39 minutes when Pablo Zabaleta fought his way through a barrage of visiting defenders before firing at Paddy Kenny in the QPR goal, the ball tapped the goalkeepers hand but ultimately fell back to hit the back of the net.
Queens Park Rangers replied early in the second half when Djibril Cisse took advantage of a poor Lescott clearance to ultimately slot the ball into the back of the City net.
Jamie Mackie seemed to have sealed Manchester City fate to remain second when he fired the visitors in front in the 66th minute.
QPR continued to push up field for the remainder of the match, but in the dying embers of the game, City seemed to fight back with extreme ferocity.
Two minutes into stoppage time saw Edin Dzeko equalize for City, gifting them the slightest whimper of hope of clinching the title with just seconds left to run.
The home side proved to be inspired by Dzeko’s strike and they won the title in dramatic fashion thanks to a last-gasp winner from Kun Aguero, the youngster’s strike proved to be the last kick of the game.
Aguero’s last-gasp winner came 18 seconds after the end of Manchester United’s win over Sunderland. United were almost certain to win the league with City’s score at 2-1 and even 2-2, but a 3-2 winner for City ultimately clinched the title with the smallest of margins.
