The date of May 13, 2012 will forever be etched into Manchester City folklore, as that was the day when a Premier League title duck was broken in the most dramatic of fashions by one Sergio Aguero. The Blues headed into the final day of the 2011-12 campaign knowing that they had to match the result of arch-rivals Manchester United at Sunderland in order to get their hands on the English top-flight crown.
Roberto Mancini’s side appeared set to fluff their lines when falling two goals down at home to QPR, while the Red Devils picked up a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light, but a remarkable finish to the season saw Pablo Zabaleta and Edin Dzeko offer City hope before, with 93 minutes and 20 seconds on the clock, Aguero stepped forward to become a legend.
Watch: The story of Sergio Aguero’s title-winning goal vs QPR
What did Martin Tyler say in iconic Sergio Aguero goal commentary?
Various media outlets covered City’s final day showdown with QPR, but it is the words of Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler that will be forever associated with the most stunning of goals.
As time slipped away at the Etihad Stadium, he said: “It's finished at Sunderland, Manchester United have done all they can.
“Manchester City are still alive here. Balotelli. Agueroooo!
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“I swear you'll never see anything like this ever again. So watch it, drink it in.
“They've just heard the news at The Stadium of Light. Two goals in added time for Manchester City to snatch the title away from Manchester United.”
What did Sergio Aguero say about his goal vs QPR
Aguero had been kept relatively quiet by QPR before his decisive contribution late on, with City’s all-time leading goalscorer saying in 2020 of his most memorable strike: “I didn't do anything that game. I came on and scratched my balls for the whole game! I only received a kick in the back and did nothing else... until the goal.
“I swear, guys, that I didn't want to kick the ball like I did... I didn't want to put it there. If I had it kicked like I really wanted, it would have hit the defenders in the way and it wouldn't have been a goal. But luckily I scored.”
He would go on to tell City’s official website after seeing a statue unveiled in his honour: “Following the goal, I was so happy, but I was sort of in shock. I don't remember anything immediately after, but when it sank in, I realised I'd scored the best goal of my life.
“Normally, when I was young, when I scored a goal, I always took my shirt off and waved it around my head. So, when I scored, it was just natural and I ran towards the corner before my team-mates jumped on me and they were all saying, 'I love you Sergio, I love you!'.
“I had to tell them, 'leave me alone', because I was in shock at that moment, but the celebration was still good!”
What did Man City’s famous fans say about Sergio Aguero’s goal?
GettyThe City fans in attendance on a historic day for the club will never forget what they witnessed, but the same can be said for those that were left watching on from afar.
Former Oasis star Noel Gallagher said of his experience: “We arrived in Santiago and a friend of ours opened his bar early so we could watch it. It started off tense, then it went from tense into elation and then back to tension. It seemed like QPR were in the lead for a lifetime and it was very dark.
“Right before we scored, I thought ‘We need it now, if we’re going to do it, we need to do it now’. And then when Dzeko scored, I don’t know what happened after that, there was a lot of swearing.
“My mate tried to pull the TV off the wall. I swore a lot and then I cried like a baby because I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was mind blowing.”
He later added to talkSPORT: “It’s such a great finish, too, because he could have gone down in the area when one of their players went in for a sliding tackle, and he could have gone down, but he’s got nerves of steel, that lad, and it’s just the greatest moment in the club’s history.
“And to finally stick it up United as well, with Ferguson as well, all the cards just fell, it was beautiful!
“But, can you imagine now, when Aguero scored that goal, and they have to check it on VAR? Imagine, with that stadium going wild, if the referee put his finger to his ear? It would have killed it!”
One famous Blues supporter who was in attendance, alongside Noel’s brother Liam Gallagher, was Ricky Hatton, with the world champion boxer telling Express Sport: “Me and Liam got invited to go to the Manchester town hall for the celebratory party with the players, staff and their wives.
“We weren’t with our girlfriends so we decided to take each other! We had some beers and a chat with Mancini, Balotelli and Kompany, who has been a friend of mine for a good few years.
“To win the league like we won it, to go out with Liam Gallagher, who has always been one of my heroes - it couldn’t have gone any better.
“It was a very heavy night. I woke up and just when I thought I could have a lie in, Liam rang up saying ‘fancy going on the team bus with the trophy?’ and I thought ‘oh, here we go again.’ Obviously, I went!”
