Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions yesterday after an incredible fightback which saw them score twice in injury time to beat QPR 3-2 and seal the title on goal difference.

City’s dreams of a first title in 44 years appeared to be in tatters as 10-man Rangers led 2-1 after 90 minutes courtesy of goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie following Pablo Zabaleta’s opener.

But as Manchester United prepared to celebrate snatching a 20th league title following their 1-0 win at Sunderland, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero struck twice in two minutes to seal the most enthralling title duel in years.

“The last few minutes were incredible. This is for our supporters, they deserve this,” City manager Roberto Mancini said.

“I have never seen a finish like this.

“We had a lot of chances, we deserve to win this championship. It’s fantastic. After 44 years I dedicate this to all our supporters. It’s a crazy season, crazy last minutes.”

After a nervy start, City took the lead six minutes from half-time through Zabaleta, the Argentinian full-back darting onto a deft through-ball from Yaya Toure to shoot high into the net past keeper Paddy Kenny.

The goal sent relief coursing around as City prepared for their championship party.

But Eastlands was stunned into silence shortly after half-time when a blunder by Joleon Lescott let in Cisse who raced clear and thundered an equaliser past Joe Hart.

Even then, the force still seemed to be with City, as QPR captain Joey Barton was sent off in an incident that defied belief.

The fiery midfielder was given his marching orders by referee Mike Dean for a retaliatory elbow on Carlos Tevez following an off-the-ball clash.

As Barton left the pitch, the midfielder then angrily kneed Aguero in the back of the thigh to leave himself facing a lengthy ban.

Yet instead of ramming home their advantage, City were left shellshocked as 10-man Rangers took a 2-1 lead, Mackie heading in at the far post after Armand Traore’s swift break from defence.

Amid unbearable tension, City looked set for a traumatic defeat until substitute Dzeko nodded in to equalise in the second of five minutes of injury time.

Then, out of nowhere, Aguero skipped clear of the Rangers defence to spark bedlam at Eastlands with the most dramatic winner imaginable.

City celebrated but it was a different story at the Stadium of Light, where for a fleeting moment after the final whistle United’s players believed they had done enough to retain their crown after Wayne Rooney’s first-half goal completed a 1-0 win.

But then news of Aguero’s late winner filtered through and United’s players trudged off in disbelief having been all smiles just moments before.

“Nobody expected that. Everybody expected City to win, but they did it against 10 men for half an hour and with five extra minutes to help them,” Alex Ferguson said afterwards.

“But I congratulate City on winning the league. Anybody who wins it deserves it, because it’s a long haul. At the end of our game our players didn’t actually know the results.”

Meanwhile, QPR’s fans celebrated after the club’s Premier League survival was ensured as Bolton could only draw 2-2 at Stoke.

Gunners third

In the other issues to be settled, Arsenal clinched third place with a 3-2 win at West Brom while Tottenham sealed fourth place with a 2-0 win over Fulham at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham, however, face a nervous wait to see if they will advance to next season’s Champions League.

A win for Chelsea in Saturday’s final against Bayern Munich would see Spurs miss out. Chelsea warmed up for the final with a 2-1 win over relegated Blackburn.

Elsewhere, Newcastle’s brave challenge for a top-four finish ended in a 3-1 defeat at Everton which left the Magpies in fifth place.

Liverpool’s disappointing season ended on a downbeat note with a 1-0 loss at Swansea.

All-time English title winners

A total of 23 clubs have been crowned champions since Preston North End won the first league title in 1888-89:
19: Manchester United.
18: Liverpool.
13: Arsenal.
9: Everton.
7: Aston Villa.
6: Sunderland.
4: Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea.
3: Manchester City, Wolves, Leeds, Huddersfield, Blackburn.
2: Preston, Tottenham, Derby, Burnley, Portsmouth.
1: Sheffield United, West Brom, Ipswich, N. Forest.

Last 10 champions
2003: Manchester United. 2004: Arsenal. 2005: Chelsea. 2006: Chelsea. 2007: Manchester United. 2008: Manchester United. 2009: Manchester United. 2010: Chelsea. 2011: Manchester United. 2012: Manchester City

Summaries and final standings

Chelsea 2
Terry 31; Meireles 34;
Blackburn 1
Yakubu 60;

HT: 2-0. Att: 40,742.

Everton 3
Pienaar 16; Jelavic 27; Heitinga 65;
Newcastle 1
Hibbert 73 og;

HT: 2-0. Att: 39,517.
Red card: Cahill (E) 90.

Man. City 3
Zabaleta 39; Dzeko 90+2; Aguero 90+4;
QPR 2
Cisse 48; Mackie 66;

HT: 1-0. Att: 48,000.
Red card: Barton (QPR) 55.

Norwich City 2
Holt 8; Jackson 21;
Aston Villa 0

HT: 2-0. Att: 26,803.

Stoke City 2
Walters 13, 77 pen;
Bolton 2
M. Davies 39; K. Davies 45;

HT: 1-2. Att: 27,789.

Sunderland 0
Man. United 1
Rooney 20;

HT: 0-1. Att: 46,452.

Swansea 1
Graham 86;
Liverpool 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 20,605.

Tottenham 2
Adebayor 2; Defoe 63;
Fulham 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 36,256.

West Brom 2
Long 11; Dorrans 15;
Arsenal 3
Benayoun 4; Santos 30; Koscielny 54;

HT: 2-2. Att: 26,358.

Wigan 3
Di Santo 12; Boyce 14, 79;
Wolves 2
Jarvis 9; Fletcher 86;

HT: 2-1. Att: 21,986.


 P W D L F A Pts
Man. City 38 28 5 5 93 29 89
Man. United 38 28 5 5 89 33 89
Arsenal 38 21 7 10 74 49 70
Tottenham 38 20 9 9 66 41 69
Newcastle 38 19 8 11 56 51 65
Chelsea 38 18 10 10 65 46 64
Everton 38 15 11 12 50 40 56
Liverpool 38 14 10 14 47 40 52
Fulham 38 14 10 14 48 51 52
West Brom 38 13 8 17 45 52 47
Swansea 38 12 11 15 44 51 47
Norwich 38 12 11 15 52 66 47
Sunderland 38 11 12 15 45 46 45
Stoke City 38 11 12 15 36 53 45
Wigan 38 11 10 17 42 62 43
Aston Villa 38 7 17 14 37 53 38
QPR 38 10 7 21 43 66 37
Bolton 38 10 6 22 46 77 36
Blackburn 38 8 7 23 48 78 31
Wolves 38 5 10 23 40 82 25

Top scorers
30 goals: Van Persie (Arsenal).
27 goals: Rooney (Man. United).
23 goals: Aguero (Man. City).
17 goals: Yakubu (Blackburn), Dempsey (Fulham), Adebayor (Tottenham).

Note: The 2012-13 Premier League will start on weekend of August 18-19.

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