Super Sub Gundogan wins leads Manchester City to Premier League glory

Niyi Iyanda 21:48 - 22.05.2022

Manchester City pulled off a second-half comeback against Aston Villa to win their second title in three years under Pep Guardiola.

Liverpool's dreams of a quadruple came to an end after Manchester City defeated Aston Villa in an exciting five-goal thriller on the final day of the English Premier League.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard looked to do his dear Liverpool a favour by halting their closest rivals, and the team he sent out on Sunday afternoon told the same story.

Manchester City tried to race into the lead with a barrage of shots from the edge of the box, but the Aston Villa defenders bravely threw their bodies in the way of the efforts.

The home fans were soon stunned when Aston Villa took a surprise lead from a counterattack. Lucas Digne whipped in a dangerous ball, and marauding fullback Matty Cash arrived in time to drive a close-range effort home.

Things nearly went from bad to worse for Guardiola's men when two minutes before halftime, Phillipe Coutinho ran into space on the edge of the box and fired in a whipped shot that worried Ederson, but he watched the effort fly past his left-hand post.

Aston Villa continued to defend gallantly, with defenders bravely throwing their bodies into speculative Manchester City efforts. The title seemed to have been out of Manchester City's reach when that man Coutinho doubled the Aston Villa lead.

Ollie Watkins showed good strength to guide a looped header above the Manchester city defenders into the path of Coutinho, who made no mistake from close range.

The making of Champions

Pep Guardiola had introduced both Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, and with the title slipping out of his reach, his tactical decision paid dividends.

Sterling surged past a defender before producing an exquisite cross into the box, and German playmaker Ilkay Gundogan scored an emphatic header into the left side of the post.

Two minutes later, the Cityzens were back in the title race when Spanish midfielder Rodri showed good technique to connect first time with an Oleksandr Zinchenko corner and fired in a powerful volley from the edge of the box.

The comeback was complete within five minutes as Kevin De Bruyne whipped in a good pass across the Aston Villa goal, and Ilkay Gundogan was in the perfect place to grab his brace.

Manchester City held onto their narrow lead and saw out the rest of the match to seal their fourth title in five seasons with a thrilling finale at the Etihad Stadium.

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