"The Manchester United head coach had just been asked about 13 May 2012. It is a day etched into English football folklore. The day Sergio Aguero scored a dramatic injury-time winner against QPR to give Manchester City the Premier League title. One hundred and forty miles away, Carrick was on the pitch at the Stadium of Light as the news filtered through. They had started their match at Sunderland knowing they needed to win. If they did and Manchester City did not, they would be champions."
"They had started their match at Sunderland knowing they needed to win. If they did and Manchester City did not, they would be champions. No-one expected it to happen. But, amazingly, when the final whistle went at Sunderland, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were top. Wayne Rooney scored the only goal at Sunderland and Edin Dzeko had only just headed in City's equaliser against a team that had begun the day fearing relegation."
"United's players and coaching staff could only wait and hope. For them, Aguero's goal was the cruellest of blows. United faces turned to thunder. As the players went to applaud the visiting supporters, the cheers of the Sunderland fans echoed round the ground. Despite their own side's defeat, they revelled in United's demise as lustily as if Sunderland had won the league themselves."
""We stayed out on the pitch because we had our result but we knew it wasn't over at City," said someone who was part of the United contingent that day. "It was their last home game of the season and there were a lot of people still in the stadium. "I just remember the noise. There was sarcasm in the way they were singing. It wasn't over but we thought we had done the job. Then the Sunderland fans got smart about it and started having a pop, which exploded into laughter because we had lost the league."
On 13 May 2012, Manchester United needed to win at Sunderland and needed Manchester City to drop points to secure the Premier League title. United won at the Stadium of Light, with Wayne Rooney scoring and Edin Dzeko equalising for City. United’s players and staff waited for confirmation, aware the outcome at City was still undecided. When Aguero scored a dramatic injury-time winner for City, United’s celebrations turned to disappointment. Sunderland fans reacted with cheers and sarcasm as United’s defeat at the league level became clear, while Sir Alex Ferguson was visibly frustrated by the added time and the manner of the turnaround.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]