15th April, 2018
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Manchester City have been crowned English Premier League, EPL, champions after Manchester United lost 1-0 to relegation threatened West Brom at Old Trafford on Sunday.
After resilient defence, West Brom delivered the blow on United in the 72nd minute of the game to silence the entire Old Trafford.
Jay Rodriguez was the hero as he heads West Brom ahead from the resulting corner, after Nemanja Matic failed to clear in the box.
The result was an unexpected one as everyone expected United to win an easy match, but the team fumbled.
After it failed to clinch the title at home last weekend, when it lost 3-2 to United, City bounced back on Saturday, spanking Tottenham 3-1 in a dominant display at the Wembley Stadium.
It was a morale-boosting win for City after the disappointment of Tuesday’s defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Despite completely dominating the first-half, there were some nervy moments as Tottenham got back into the match, until Raheem Sterling scored City’s decisive third.
Gabriel Jesus had put City ahead in the 22nd minute, racing onto Vincent Kompany’s long ball and sliding a low shot past Hugo Lloris.
Just three minutes later, the France goalkeeper conceded a penalty, with a studs up sliding challenge on Sterling, although replays suggested it occurred outside of the box. Ilkay Gundogan converted from the spot to double City’s lead.
Against the run of play Christian Eriksen halved the deficit. Latching onto Harry Kane’s through ball, his shot ricochet off Aymeric Laporte and then back off the Dane and in past Ederson.
After the break City withstood a period of sustained pressure from Spurs, before Sterling hammered in the rebound from Jesus’ shot to secure all three points in the 72nd minute.
It inflicted Spurs’ first league defeat since losing 4-1 at City on 16 December, ending an unbeaten run of 14 matches.
However, the EPL’s win is Manager Pep Guadiola’s second trophy in England after it won the Carabao Cup in March.