Manchester City have beaten Liverpool to the Premier League title on a remarkable final day of the campaign.
Pep Guardiola’s side came from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, with Ilkay Gundogan grabbing a brace either side of a Rodri strike.
Steven Gerrard’s Villa had raced into a lead thanks to a header from Matty Cash and a strike from former Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho, but City’s stunning comeback secured glory.
City fans streamed onto the pitch at full-time to celebrate the win, which came in a similarly dramatic fashion to their last gasp title win in 2012.
Liverpool came from behind to beat Wolves 3-1 at Anfield courtesy of goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, but their victory proved to be in vain.
Elsewhere on an absorbing final day of the campaign, Leeds United stayed up thanks to a 2-1 victory at Brentford which was crowned by a last minute Jack Harrison strike, with Burnley relegated after a 2-1 loss at home to Newcastle.
In the battle for a place in the top four, Tottenham thrashed Norwich City 5-0 to secure Champions League football for next season, making Arsenal’s 5-1 win at home to Everton redundant.
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min scored twice for Spurs at Carrow Road, but Salah’s goal at Anfield ensured the pair shared the Premier League Golden Boot with 23 goals each.
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After securing the title, City hero Gundogan said: “It was an unbelievable game. It was fantastic. Honestly, after going 2-0 down, the chances were very small. We had to do simple things again in the best possible way.
“It was more of a negative one than a positive one. It was about getting that goal and we knew it would be one our side to be able to score three goals. We’re fans at the end of the day. These are days that you look back too.
On Liverpool, he added: “It’s tough to say, if Liverpool would not be there and play the way they do, I don’t think the league could be that attractive.
“They played an incredible season and we pushed each other to the limit. Even though it’s a sad day for them, we need to appreciate what they’ve done. We’re looking forward to competing with them against next season.”
Speaking about City’s success on Sky Sports, pundit Gary Neville said: “Incredible football season. Congratulations Man City, congratulations Liverpool. Head-to-head all the way through, relentless, brilliant.
“You won’t get many better Premier League seasons than that.
“A hell of a title race. Man City… For 75 minutes you couldn’t believe what you were witnessing in the stadium, it felt like it was over but suddenly they pulled three goals out of the hat.”
Former City defender Micah Richards added: “You think about 10 years ago, nothing can be replicated, yes, the timings aren’t the same.
“But I did say at half time this team will fight until the end. It was down in the dumps. Then the crowd after the first goal – it started to turn.”
Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said: “Looking at Pep Guardiola, he’s quite emotional. In some ways, they wouldn’t have wanted to go through what they have today, but sometimes that makes it sweeter. They had that Aguero moment and this probably won’t be too far behind.”
On Liverpool he added: “It was always going to be tough with the position that City found themselves in, but credit to Liverpool. It would just be a cakewalk for City every year if it wasn’t for Liverpool.
Burnley defender James Tarkowski apologised to fans for their relegation. -The Mirror
