Premier League round-up

Manchester City snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to be crowned champions for the first time in 44 years on a day of incredible drama.

City champions; Bolton relegated; Arsenal and Spurs triumph

Manchester City snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to be crowned champions for the first time in 44 years on a day of incredible drama in the Premier League. They were never going to do it the easy way, were they? Sergio Aguero scored in the fourth minute of added time to clinch a nerve-shredding 3-2 victory over 10-man QPR to spark scenes of utter jubilation at the Etihad Stadium. Roberto Mancini's men looked set to suffer final day heartache as they trailed with 90 minutes on the clock before Edin Dzeko pulled them level and then Aguero wrote his name into City's history books. Jamie Mackie had headed Mark Hughes' visitors into an improbable lead in the 66th minute following Joey Barton's red card for clashing with Carlos Tevez, with Djibril Cisse cancelling out Pablo Zabaleta's first-half opener shortly after the interval. With Manchester United winning 1-0 at Sunderland courtesy of Wayne Rooney's first-half goal, it looked as though the red half of Manchester would be celebrating before the last-gasp drama and glory for the supporters of the team in blue. QPR avoided the drop despite their last-gasp defeat, with Bolton's 2-2 draw away to Stoke not enough to preserve their Premier League status. Arsenal finished third after overcoming West Brom 3-2, Tottenham remain fourth having defeated Fulham 2-0 and Newcastle will have to be content with the Europa League following their 3-1 reverse at Everton. In-form Wigan signed off with a win at home to long-since doomed Wolves, Swansea beat Liverpool at the Liberty Stadium, while Norwich were too good at Carrow Road for Aston Villa.

Nervy

The first period at the Etihad was played almost entirely inside QPR's half but Manchester City were guilty of profligacy as restlessness in the stands transmitted itself onto the field. It was no surprise then that it was an error that opened the door for the game's opener on 39 minutes, as Zabaleta's raid into the box down the right culminated in an angled drive that somehow beat Paddy Kenny, despite the QPR man getting a wrist on the ball. With QPR's staunch rear-guard breached at just the wrong time it seemed inevitable a glut of goals would follow but, as has been the case all season, what followed after the interval was nothing less than remarkable. There seemed little danger when Shaun Wright-Phillips lobbed a hopeful ball forward just after the restart but when Joleon Lescott got his back header horribly wrong, Cisse delivered the goal he'd promised in the build-up to the game as he rifled past Joe Hart with a fine first-time finish. With Mancini absolutely apoplectic on the touchline it then became the Paddy Kenny show, as the Hoops keeper pulled off a plethora of fine saves to leave the majority feeling even bluer than the shirts they sported. It would seem no game is complete without Barton somehow writing himself into the column inches and so it proved again as the one-time City player did his former team-mates the mother of all favours, in getting sent-off in ludicrous circumstances on 55 minutes. When a linesman spotted Barton putting an arm into the face of Tevez he was shown his marching orders but not before grounding Aguero with a snide knee to the forward's back and putting his head into the face of Vincent Kompany.

Disgraceful scenes

Barton off in disgrace but his QPR team-mates refused to buckle and instead did the unthinkable on 66 minutes as substitute Armand Traore broke down the left flank brilliantly, before finding the head of Mackie to nod into the ground to beat a crestfallen Hart. City threw the proverbial kitchen sink at QPR but Kenny refused to be beaten as City-itis appeared to engulf the blue side of Manchester. City fans will claim otherwise but there was a feeling the game was surely up when the scoreboard showed 90 minutes had played out. Credit then must go to the indomitable belief shown by Mancini's men when in the first of five minutes stoppage-time substitute Dzeko headed in from a corner to give fresh hope. The script was set for the brilliant Aguero to stitch his name into the club's rich tapestry as a mesmeric run inside QPR's box, via a prod into his path by Mario Balotelli, saw him make a yard before flashing a searing finish past Kenny from around eight yards that City fans will never tire of watching over and over. History written in Manchester by the right boot of an Argentine.

44 years

There was no such high drama at the Stadium of Light as Manchester United must have thought they'd claimed a second successive title courtesy of Rooney's goal which secured a 1-0 win at Sunderland. United prevailed at the Stadium of Light thanks to Rooney's 35th goal of the season, but they ended the 2011/12 campaign empty-handed after City's late, late show at the Etihad. Ferguson's charges needed just 20 minutes to forge a lead as Phil Jones' pinpoint delivery from the right flank saw Rooney stoop to nod home. The England striker could have had a hat-trick by half-time, but he somehow scuffed wide when presented with a clear sight of goal and saw a delicately clipped free-kick hit the crossbar. Alas, it was ultimately to matter little, as the day was all about City and what they were getting up to back in Manchester. Bolton's 2-2 draw against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium consigned Owen Coyle's side to the Championship. A win would have been enough for the Trotters but Jonathan Walters' 77th minute goal pushed them into the second tier alongside Wolves and Blackburn. Mark Davies and Kevin Davies had given their side hope after Walters' early opener for the home side, but Walters' second from the penalty spot was enough to send the visitors down. There was more than a little controversy about the manner of both of Stoke's goals. Walters appeared to bundle not just the ball over the line but also Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan in bagging the first, while Peter Crouch seemed to 'win' as much as 'earn' the penalty that ultimately sent Bolton down.

Down and out

The first period at The Hawthorns housed a catalogue of errors as West Brom and Arsenal shared four goals in Roy Hodgson's final game in charge of the Baggies. A Premier League bow for West Brom proved to be one to forget for Marton Fulop as a calamitous piece of goalkeeping saw the Hungarian race from his goal, only to get caught in two minds over how to clear, as his hesitation allowed Yossi Benayoun to nip in and roll the ball into an empty goal for Arsenal's opener. If the game's first goal was all about a player error then West Brom's leveller owed more to official folly. Shane Long looked a yard offside when taking James Morrison's through ball in his stride but after taking an inquisitive look to the touchline, his finish was unerring past Wojciech Szczesny. By the quarter of an hour mark West Brom had forged ahead when Graham Dorrans trapped Morrison's lofted pass on his chest to make a yard of space before smartly rifling in an angled drive from the edge of the area. West Brom then proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot for a second time in half an hour when after gifting Arsenal possession in their own half, the ball found its way to Andre Santos, whose left-footed drive was well struck but should nonetheless not have beaten Fulop at his near post. Fulop's nightmare was to continue in the second period as he got a punch horribly wrong on 54 minutes, as the ball somehow ended up behind him from an Arsenal set-piece, to allow Laurent Koscielny to bag the goal that hands Arsene Wenger's side third place and an automatic Champions League place. Tottenham must wait and hope Chelsea lose next week's Champions League final in order to book their place in Europe's top competition, as their 2-0 win at home to Fulham proved in vain. Emmanuel Adebayor settled any nerves at White Hart Lane in just the second minute when he exchanged passes with Rafael van der Vaart before finding a composed finish. Tottenham's forgotten man Jermain Defoe scored for Harry Redknapp's men after the break to ease any lingering apprehension but Arsenal's result at West Brom means their European fate now lies in the hands of capital neighbours Chelsea. Newcastle had to settle for fifth place and Europa League football as an in-form Everton had too much for them at Goodison Park in claiming a deserved 3-1 victory. A deflected effort from Steven Pienaar got them on their way in the 16th minute, before Nikica Jelavic demonstrated his predatory prowess yet again before half-time in doubling Everton's lead after initially being denied by a fine Tim Krul stop. After the interval Everton were full value for a third as their player of the season Johnny Heitinga got in on the act, to render Tony Hibbert's late own goal little more than the scantest of consolations for Alan Pardew's men. The afternoon was soured somewhat at the final whistle when Tim Cahill was shown a red card following an unseemly spat with Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye. Roberto Di Matteo's Chelsea warmed up for the aforementioned date in Munich next weekend by claiming a 2-1 win over Blackburn at Stamford Bridge.

Munich-bound

Amid rumours there will be no place on the plane for him to Poland and Ukraine, skipper John Terry reminded new England incumbent Hodgson of his capabilities as a fine crashing header from Romelu Lukaku's right-wing delivery gave Chelsea the lead. It was an advantage they extended before half-time when from Michael Essien's bright run inside, Raul Meireles found a cute toe-bunged finish to beat Paul Robinson from the edge of the box. Blackburn rallied at the break and made for an intriguing second period when Yakubu Aiyegbeni was the man on the spot to nod in from close range a nicely worked set-piece. Danny Graham signed off a magnificent debut Premier League campaign for Swansea City with the winner at home to Liverpool; the England hopeful firing past Alexander Doni with four minutes left after being fed in by Angel Rangel's pass. The hosts dominated the opening half and were denied by two excellent saves from Doni, who brilliantly kept out Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick and denied Nathan Dyer. The visitors proved more of a threat after the break with Michel Vorm making a stunning save from Andy Carroll's overhead kick and denying the £35million striker's low shot before Graham struck. It was another demoralising afternoon for Kenny Dalglish's side, and will have done little to lift the pressure on the Scot after a thoroughly disappointing league campaign.

New boys impress

Basement dwellers Wolves waved goodbye to the top flight with a whimper as Wigan showed their visitors exactly what is required to survive in the top flight with a 3-2 victory at the DW Stadium. The Molineux side finished the campaign having conceded 82 goals and it was their leaky defence which saw them concede an early lead at the DW Stadium. Even a late consolation to improve the scoreline could not gloss over their problems and new manager Stale Solbakken will have much to address over the summer. Wigan capitalised on some weak defending as Emmerson Boyce, who has excelled on the right of midfield since manager Roberto Martinez adopted a 3-4-3 formation, scored twice and could easily have had a hat-trick. Matt Jarvis had put Wolves ahead but Franco Di Santo and Boyce turned things around very quickly and when the latter spectacularly volleyed home in the second half the result was put beyond Wolves despite substitute Steven Fletcher's late consolation. Grant Holt and Simeon Jackson scored as Norwich beat Aston Villa to end their fine Premier League campaign on a high. Many had expected Paul Lambert's Canaries to be battling at the wrong end of the table on their first return to the elite for six seasons. There was nothing pretty about first half close range finishes from their twin strike force but Norwich were full value for a win that secures 12th place. For Aston Villa, 16th position is considerably less impressive.