Let us observe a minute of silence for all those people who donai??i??t have football in their lives. [via @Nikhil Kale]
An unforgettable season of football culminated in astounding fashion on Sunday night as new champions were born while the world took notice ai??i?? The English Premier League, is without a shadow of a doubt, the best league on this planet. The drama, the nail-biting, the match-winners, the cries of despair, and the cheers of implausible happiness ai??i?? it all summed up the day as well as the incredible season of football.
The points table was frozen to seal the deal with outcome from the last day of the league ai??i?? the rest of the season just didnai??i??t matter! It had all come down to the final day of the season ai??i?? teams needed to win, players needed to rise to the occasion ai??i?? the grand finale was staged at 15:00 hrs GMT.
Manchester United and Manchester City were tied on points, but a superior result over the more decorated opponents meant Manchester City were in the driverai??i??s seat. If both won their games, the Blue side of Manchester will be celebrating a memorable pole finish after 44 long years. Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United were all very close on points too, vying for that last European spot keeping in mind the statistical unpredictability of a fourth spot if Chelsea were to come out trumps on the biggest European night a week later.
As far as relegation tug-of-war was concerned, Wolves and Blackburn had already booked their seats for leagueai??i??s second tier before the last day kicked off. It was the third team that was to be decided based on results of the night ai??i?? Queens Park Rangers, the giant-killers were being looked upon by every Manchester United fan as they locked horns against the rich boys at The Etihad. On the other hand, Bolton Wanderes travelled to The Britannia, needing a win to stay safe in the top tier of English football.
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A Shift Of Power In Manchester? – YES
After 66 minutes of football, Manchester United were leading with a solitary goal at The Stadium of Light while, unexpectedly, QPR were on top at The Etihad, Two goals to one. Roberto Mancini was losing a strand of hair every tense minute that crawled towards the final whistle. The Etihad faithful had already accepted their fate as the clock ticked ai???Another title to Manchester Unitedai??i?? and the scoreline stayed cruelly same.
A Joey Barton-less Queens Park Rangers side were holding off the attacking advances from the most expensively assembled set of individuals among Europeai??i??s elite. Miles away at The Britannia, Stoke City had equalized in the 77th minute, with Bolton staring towards the abyss ai??i?? QPR taking things a little less lightly as the clock struck 90 minutes. A corner was earned, with almost the entire City team up there for a header, it was Edin Dzeko who rose above the rest to score the equalizer and send the crowd into absolute frenzy. It was nearing the final minutes of injury time, when the United faithful had already started placing their celebration orders for the night, something incredible happened. Diego Maradonaai??i??s son-in-law had to rise to the occasion, Kun snatched a pass inside the penalty box, went past a defender and smashed the ball into the net, in what was to be one of the greatest moments of football history ai??i?? a Champion was decided based on goal difference.
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Taming Fergie after all!
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The celebration was extraordinary, the yellow-card booking for Aguero was one for the commentators to have a laugh, it was a moment of a lifetime for the City fans, some of them had never watched their team win the league, it was something to savor. Ironically, QPR had their own reasons to celebrate, Bolton had failed to score again, and were to plunge into the second tier of English football. The Etihad was reverberating with joy, both sets of fans taking to the pitch ai??i?? a historianai??i??s delight one must say. England had a new hero, England had a new Champion, there was a shift of power, finally!
A famous placard at The Etihad read ai??i?? ai???Dare we dream togetherai???
Itai??i??s a reality now. Manchester City – take a bow, Manchester United – take a step back!
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Dare We Dream!
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A Shift Of Power At Merseyside? – YES
Everton took on Newcastle United, all set to spoil a few European dreams, while Liverpool travelled to take on Swansea City. Everton had to falter and Liverpool had to win their game to finish above their Merseyside rivals. Destiny had a different plan, Kenny Dalglishai??i?? men were most certainly not up for the occasion; while Everton were on fire right from the word go.
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A Lot to ponder about!
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With another star performance from Winter signing Nikica Jelavic, Everton slapped a 3-1 scoreline on Newcastle Unitedai??i??s European dreams while Liverpool failed to come home with even a solitary point ai??i?? conceding a late goal to Swansea. Everton, thereby finished above their more celebrated neighbors, in the league table ai??i?? another reason to believe what an incredible manager David Moyes is. Even with a paltry budget and mediocre players, he is capable of finishing 7th in the league ai??i?? one would wonder what he might have done if the Arabs had trusted him with a new job. Steven Gerrard and co finished a dreadful season, 37 points behind the League Champions ai??i?? a lot to be taken care of at Anfield to shift the power back.
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A Shift Of Power In North London? ai??i?? NO
Eight points and two goals ahead in the 38th minute of a North London derby in February ai??i?? Tottenham Hotspur believed that they had finally come out of the shadows of their more illustrious rivals. Arsenal changed the game on its head, smashing five goals past their perennial rivals and recorded more memorable victories as Spurs faltered when it mattered. On the last day of the season, Arsenal, one point ahead of Spurs, travelled to The Hawthorns, knowing very well that a win was absolutely mandatory. The Lilywhites hosted Fulham at home, still hoping for Totterighamai??i??s Day to go null and void this season, finally!
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From 17th to 3rd - A Job Done!
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Within two minutes of starting time, former Gunner, Adebayor took Spurs ahead, the onus was on Arsenal to break the deadlock. Yossi Benayoun, quite possibly playing his last game in Arsenal colors, slipped in one quite opportunistically for his team, just two minutes after Adebayorai??i??s celebration. Arsenal looked all lost in the next few minutes as they let West Brom come back like Norwich did a week back. The home team smashed two goals in a space of four minutes to take the lead, the Gunners were losing the plot yet again, as Arsene was losing his calm.
Brazilian recruit Andre Santos brought things back to parity ai??i?? a scorcher from outside the box, the keeper could have surely done better than what he did. The keeper Fulop was brought into action yet again in the 54th minute during a corner-kick ai??i?? his faulty clearance fell into the path of Koscielny, the Frenchman not missing the chance, put Arsenal ahead. Meanwhile, at White Hart Lane, Spurs had scored again, Arsenal had to defend for more than thirty minutes without conceding. They did just that, albeit a few nail-biting moments wherein Arsene Wenger nearly hid himself behind Pat Rice, his assistant, who was witnessing his team for the last time, after 44 years of remarkable service to the club. Arsenal took the direct route to Europe yet again, while Spurs ai???forever in our shadowsai??i?? stayed at fourth place. They need to wait for Bayern Munich to do them a favor if they want to see Europeai??i??s Top Tier football next season. ai???arry not only lost the England job, but lost the fight for supremacy for North London ai???ownershipai??i??.
