“AGUERRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOO… I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!” Martin Tyler’s commentary perhaps perfectly summed up one of the greatest goal ever scored in the history of the Premier League; maybe not for its sheer brilliance but for its obvious importance to crown Manchester City Champions of England for the first time in 44 years. It was a glorious moment to behold for soccer fans worldwide, assuming Manchester United fans didn’t exist.
Argentina’s Sergio Agüero has had an exceptional football career but I’m sure he won’t be in a hurry to forget the events of May 13th 2012; the day he deeply carved his name into City folklore. His last gasp goal against Queens Park Rangers to pip their Manchester arch rivals to the Premier League title will forever be fondly remembered as being both spectacular and glorious, fresh in our minds just as at that very moment when it threw the City of Manchester Stadium into a temporary frenzied delirium.
Going into the final round of the season’s fixtures, Roberto Mancini’s city needed to match or better United’s result to win the title after spectacularly cutting down an eight point deficit to lead on goal difference in a space of five weeks. As fate would have it, City found themselves trailing the Londoners by two goals to one with ninety minutes gone and were now on the mercies of referee Mike Dean. Over at the stadium of light against Sunderland, United were winning their match and would soon be crowned champions if City didn’t score at least two goals. City got a lifeline and a glimmer of hope when Edin Dzeko scored to equalize in the second minute of added time but they were still waiting for a miracle with time running out quickly.
Then stepped Sergio Kun Agüero. He had been tightly marked by the Rangers defense throughout the game and this was the first time he was dropping deep into the midfield area to get the ball and played it directly to Mario Balotelli in front of him. 94th minute. Agüero ran around defenders to intercept the pass from a falling Balotelli and drove into the penalty box before unleashing a ferocious shot into the low corner past the QPR goalkeeper. The magical scenes that ensued soon after on the pitch, on the touchline and in the Etihad stands are still fresh in the minds of most if not all of the City faithful as it was a moment to pour out their decades’ agonizing wait for the league title; and an equally heartbreaking moment that Manchester United fans wish could be permanently deleted from football history. Whichever side you are, there can be no denying that it was a magical, spectacular moment in the history of English football; City fans, the despised of Manchester, finally got something to brag about. This was poetic justice, some fans claim.
References:
Noel Timothy. “Aguerooooooo! Manchester City 3-2 QPR. Last Minute Premier League Title Winner.” Youtube Video, Posted [Jan 11, 2013]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81bv_gF4j5k&t=11s
