MANCHESTER, May 23: Manchester City clinched a sixth Premier League title in 11 seasons on Sunday by scoring three times in five minutes to come from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the finale and hold off Liverpool’s challenge.
After starting the day in first place, City was at risk of an historic choke when it conceded twice to trail 2-0 at home to Villa. It took İlkay Gündoğan’s header to begin the comeback in the 76th and Rodri equalized two minutes later by placing the ball through a tight gap into the bottom corner.
The Etihad Stadium erupted in celebrations in the 81st when Gündoğan tapped in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross.
The importance of that goal became clearer moments later. Liverpool had been locked at 1-1 against Wolverhampton but Mohamed Salah then put the second-place team 2-1 in front in the 84th minute. That scoreline would have taken Liverpool into first place had City not just mounted its fightback to take the lead.
The jeopardy was still there – with Andy Robertson sealing Liverpool’s 3-1 win – while City would have conceded the title had it conceded a late equalizer.
But Pep Guardiola’s side held on for the win in a thrilling climax, retaining the trophy on the final day by a single point in a manner that was more jittery than expected.
City’s fourth championship success in five seasons produced a first for Guardiola. It’s the first time City has sealed the title in front of its own fans who spilled onto the field in their thousands at the final whistle against Villa.
“It was an unbelievable game,” Gündoğan said. “We are human beings and, after going 2-0 down, the chances were just very, very small. But we had to do the simple things and scoring two goals quickly and then having 10 minutes to score the third one gave us the right lift.
“It was about getting that goal and then the momentum was on our side then were able to score three goals in just a few minutes. These are the days you look back to, it was an unbelievable game.”
Liverpool finish 2nd
Liverpool’s bid for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies ended in agonizing fashion on Sunday despite coming from behind to beat Wolverhampton 3-1 on the final day of the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s team also needed Manchester City to drop points against Aston Villa – managed by Liverpool great Steven Gerrard – but that did not happen.
Liverpool finished a point behind City – just like in the 2018-19 season – and missed out on a record-tying 20th English league championship. It is still an extraordinary season for Liverpool, which has won both the FA Cup and League Cup and will play in the Champions League final against Real Madrid next weekend.
Pedro Neto gave Wolves the lead in the third minute after Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté misjudged a long ball forward, allowing Raul Jimenez to run through and cross for Neto to tap in.
Sadio Mane equalized in the 24th, and Liverpool wound up fulfilling its part of the final-day bargain by scoring through Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson in the final six minutes.
Other results
Ross Barkley scored in injury time as Chelsea concluded a season of ownership turmoil with a 2-1 win over Watford.
Arsenal finished the season with a 5-1 win over Everton on Sunday but it wasn’t enough to dislodge archrival Tottenham from fourth place in the Premier League.
Arsenal had to settle for fifth – and Europa League football next season – after Tottenham grabbed the last Champions League spot with a 5-0 win at Norwich on the final day of the campaign.
Manchester United slumped to one last defeat of a sorry season by losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace.
West Ham missed the chance to snatch a dramatic return to the Europa League after squandering a lead to lose 3-1 to Brighton.
James Maddison scored again Sunday to help Leicester rout Southampton 4-1.
Maddison scored for the fourth consecutive game, taking his league tally to 12 for the season. Two more goals from Spanish midfielder Ayoze Pérez and another goal from Jamie Vardy gave the home team a comfortable win to finish eighth.
Burnley was relegated from the Premier League after six seasons Sunday with a 2-1 loss at home to Newcastle that allowed rival Leeds to survive. Leeds survived after a tense 2-1 win over Brentford.
Salah, Son tied as EPL
top-scorers
Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min finished the Premier League season tied as the top scorers with 23 goals.
Salah has now captured the Golden Boot on three occasions. It is the first time Son has topped the scoring chart. (AP)
