Official! Man City Crowned EPL Champs With Thrilling Comeback
23 May, 2022
Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa
Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions on the final day of the season with a stunning comeback win over Aston Villa on Sunday evening.
Phil Foden returned to the City line-up in place of Jack Grealish, while John Stones returned to partner Fernandinho, who was playing his final game for the club.
Villa, meanwhile, were without first choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez through injury, while former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho was recalled to the line-up. Man City dominated for most of the first half, but it was Villa who took the surprising lead in the 37th minute when Matty Cash nodded home Luca Digne's cross at the far post.
Guardiola's men had all the possession in the first half but failed to trouble goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who was making his debut for the visitors.
It got worse for City in the 68th minute when former Reds midfielder Coutinho doubled Villa's lead with a composed finish from the edge of the box.
However, City gave themselves some hope when Ilkay Gundogan pulled one back in the 76th minute after nodding home Raheem Sterling's cross.
It was 2-2 a couple minutes later as Rodri found the back of the net with neat first-time effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
City completed the turnaround with nine minutes left on the clock as Gundogan got his second by turning home Kevin de Bruyne's cross to seal the title.
Liverpool 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Liverpool had to settle for a second spot despite coming from behind to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sadio Mane was recalled by Jurgen Klopp in place of Takumi Minamino, while Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were only named on the bench.
It was Wolves who got the breakthrough on three minutes as Pedro Neto got on the end of Raul Jimenez's cross to tap home and silence the home crowd.
After the slow start, Klopp's men restored parity in the 24th minute when Thiago Alcantara' neat flick found Mane who drove into the box before firing past Jose Sa.
The Reds were dealt a blow just before the halftime break as Thiago was forced off with an injury and replaced James Milner.
The hosts had the ball in the back of the net after 53 minutes when Mane appeared to have bagged his second goal, but the flag went up for offside.
When news filtered in about City's turnaround, Liverpool went ahead in the 84th minute with Salah bundling the ball home after a header from Joel Matip.
The Reds bagged a third goal in the 89th minute when Andrew Robertson played a one-two with Roberto Firmino before firing past John Ruddy, who replaced Sa at halftime.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za