Manchester City Wins First Premier Title Since 1968

Photo Credit: Dave Thompson/AP Photo

Manchester City has been considered to be the second-rate team of their city for decades. They have had to live in the shadow of their bitter rival, Manchester United. Today, Manchester City needed a win over Queens Park Rangers. If they won the match, it would mean that they would win their first Premier League Title since 1968. Not only would they win it, but they would keep their inner-city rival, Manchester United, from winning the title. With United's 1-0 defeat of Sunderland in the books, City knew they were playing a must-win game.

Neither Manchester City or Queens Park Rangers played particularly well in the first-half. In the 39th minute, City pieced together some nice passing to set up a short angle shot for Pablo Zabaleta. The Argentinian's shot found the net, thanks in part to some poor goalkeeping work by Patrick Kenny. The lackluster half came to a close, but at half-time, QPR received news that a loss could potentially mean relegation from the Premier League. Wanting desperately to avoid that fate, QPR came out with a renewed energy to begin the second half. It didn't take long before that energy forced a mistake by City's defender Joleon Lescott. Lescott attempted to head the ball clear, but his header ricocheted backwards to the feet of QPR's Djibril Cisse, who buried the equalizer.

With the match still level at 1-1, Man City caught a break when QPR's captain, Joey Barton, got issued a red card in the 55th minute for elbowing Carlos Tevez in the face. Despite being down to ten men, QPR's defense refused to give in. In the 66th minute, QPR was rewarded when an unmarked Jamie Mackie headed home a ball from Armand Traore. The panic began to set in for City and their fans as they felt the title slipping away. Into stoppage time, they went still down 2-1. About a minute into stoppage time, City earned a corner. David Silva's beautiful ball into the box found the head of Edin Dzeko, who finished in cleanly. City's late heroics weren't over yet. Forward Sergio Aguero's shot found the bottom right corner. City's improbable comeback was complete.

The two late goals secured Manchester City's first Premier League Title since 1968. Granted that some of this success is due to the money that was spent to bring in many of these players. Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour has made more than a $1 billion dollar investment since purchasing the club from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2008. The real credit though has to go to the players. In what was a crazy and surprising Premier League season, Man City was the most consistent club by far. As a result, they are unquestionably the most deserving of the title. The atmosphere of Manchester, England has changed today. No longer does United remain forever supreme. Today belongs to City's players, coaches, fans, and everyone associated with the club.