Manchester City 3 QPR 2:Manchester City scored twice in stoppage time to clinch their first league title since 1968. The Blues looked set to endure a disastrous afternoon when Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie overturned Pablo Zabaleta's first-half strike in between Joey Barton getting sent-off.
But Edin Dzeko rose to give the Blues fresh hope before Sergio Aguero drove home the goal that turned City into champions. QPR’s consolation for a wonderfully gritty performance is that they survived in the Premiership after Bolton could only draw 2-2.
City boss Mancini admitted in the immediate aftermath: "It was incredible; they (the players) deserved this. To win it like this is incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finale like this. We didn’t deserve to lose, we had a lot of chances and we deserved to win the game and championship. It’s fantastic for the club and the supporters after 44 years. It’s been a crazy season and a crazy last minute.”
The atmosphere was electric at kick-off, with the home fans eagerly anticipating the opportunity to confirm their status as England’s top club. QPR quickly found themselves pegged back and it took a rushed Clint Hill clearance to prevent Carlos Tevez getting a clear sight of goal.
Sergio Aguero cut a cross back for Tevez, but after he mishit, Yaya Toure sliced his shot wide. Another Hill intervention turned Gael Clichy’s cross away for a corner, then after a sense of panic gripped the visitors’ penalty area Paddy Kenny booted clear.
Almost 10 minutes were on the clock before QPR even touched the ball in the City half, so dominant were the hosts. Samir Nasri let fly from long range, although the effort was well off-target. It was one of those days when scores elsewhere can have a major impact, and the celebrations of the QPR fans at Stoke’s goal could not have been missed by their players.
Kenny almost dropped David Silva’s cross at the feet of Nasri but managed to retrieve the situation, then the diminutive Spain star let fly with a near-post effort that the keeper got down well to save.
Gareth Barry earned a ticking-off for flattening former Blues midfielder Joey Barton before Pablo Zabaleta lashed a cross straight through the QPR box.
Barry then chopped Cisse down on the edge of the area to give QPR their first sight of goal. Taye Taiwo took the free-kick short to Cisse and his low shot brought a decent save out of Joe Hart.
Wright-Phillips was fortunate to escape a yellow card when he handled the ball right on the edge of the area when he was attempting to clear with a diving header.
Silva curled the free-kick straight into the QPR wall as the visitors, if not starting to get comfortable, were at least bringing some order to their last-ditch defending. Thankfully for them, the City players were not performing with the same sense of anxiety that had gripped the stands as the half-hour mark ticked by.
Silva had a shot blocked by Barton, then he drove wide after being set up on the edge of the area by Carlos Tevez. With Yaya Toure trying to shake off a knock, Tevez’s cross fly across a packed penalty area.
City required inspiration, and with seven minutes of the first half remaining they got it from an unlikely source. Zabaleta cut in from the right flank and kept going as Silva and Toure got involved in a move that led to the Ivorian clipping a pass into the box.
The Argentina defender got too much power into his shot for Kenny to hold and the ball slipped through his grasp, hit the inside of the far post and bounced in. Toure had not recovered from his earlier injury and limped off just before half-time, replaced by Nigel de Jong.
City needed another to be safe, and Aguero almost provided it as he met Clichy’s cross with a near-post flick that Kenny managed to bundled wide. Nasri curled a free-kick over after De Jong had been brought down.
But from a position of near-hopelessness, QPR were handed a lifeline when Lescott attempted to head Wright-Phillips lofted pass back towards Hart. Cisse read his intentions, raced forward and drilled a first-time shot beyond Hart. The goal was greeted with stunned disbelief from the home faithful.
It brought a greater sense of urgency from the City players, though, and Hill turned Nasri’s cross over his own bar while Zabaleta’s fierce shot cannoned into Lescott, only to loop over the bar.
The game erupted soon after when Barton elbowed Tevez on the edge of the area, an infringement that was spotted by the far-side linesman and deservedly brought a red card.
In the skirmish that followed, Barton kneed Aguero, sending the striker to the ground, before being ushered off the field amid amazing scenes, with Mario Balotelli amongst those who seemed to be trying to get involved.
Hughes replaced Cisse with Armand Traore and a siege around the QPR goal began, with Kenny brilliantly denying both Tevez and Aguero. In the melee, Nedum Onuoha was lucky to get away with a handball inside the box.
City were now camped in the QPR box. But when Traore broke and skipped past Zabaleta, his far-post cross was met perfectly by Jamie Mackie, and neither Lescott nor Hart could keep it out.
Edin Dzeko replaced Gareth Barry as City threw caution to the wind, requiring two goals in the final 25 minutes to save themselves. Tevez fired wide before being replaced by Balotelli 15 minutes from time as the City goal attempts began to mount.
Dzeko struck the post from Nasri’s cut-back as QPR remained defiant on the edge of their own box, clearly uninterested in any form of attack. Kenny denied Balotelli, then Dzeko created room for himself in the box, only to fire his shot so far wide it rolled out for a throw-in.
The QPR keeper turned away Balotelli’s point-blank header as the game entered five minutes of stoppage time. With precisely three minutes and 20 seconds of injury-time left, Dzeko rose to power home a corner at close range.
City now went for it — and who should be on hand but Aguero to lash home after collecting Balotelli’s return ball inside the box.
Man City:Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Nasri, Toure Yaya, Barry, Silva, Tevez, Aguero. Subs: Pantilimon, Richards, Milner, Dzeko, Kolarov, De Jong, Balotelli.
QPR:Kenny, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Hill, Taiwo, Wright-Phillips, Barton, Derry, Mackie, Cisse, Zamora. Subs: Cerny, Gabbidon, Taarabt, Campbell, Bothroyd, Traore, Buzsaky.
Referee:Mike Dean (Wirral)
