Last gasp City win title as Pastor reigns supreme in Spain

FOOTBALL – After one of the greatest-ever last days of Premiership action, Manchester City were crowned champions, courtesy of two dramatic late goals against 10-man QPR in front of a record 48.000 crowd at the Etihad Stadium.

Knowing that victory would bring them their first League title in 44 years ago, when Joe Mercer was manager, City led 1-0, were pegged back to 1-1, then fell behind after the outrageous Joey Barton had been sent-off (again) before staging a remarkable recovery to win the game 3-2 in added-time.

It was quite amazing – but so is this wonderful game of football. Manchester United, 1-0 winners at Sunderland, finished runner’s-up, Arsenal came third, Tottenham fourth and Newcastle fifth, while at the bottom, Bolton (who drew at Stoke) are relegated with Blackburn and Wolves.

The first of the FL play-off finals this season – Blackpool v West Ham from the Championship – takes place at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.

Then, in the evening, you can see, live on TV, the Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea from Bayern’s home ground, the Allianz Arena.

Bayern have been ‘European’ champions on four previous occasions, the last in 2001, while the Blues of London will be chasing their first success – and they can do it!

Good luck to Roberto Di Matteo’s men from all us Brits in Spain!

For the record, Norwich City are the only English team to have beaten Bayern on their own ground (then the Olympic Stadium), doing so in the UEFA Cup in 1993.

Soccer Shorts

• Aston Villa have sacked manager Alex McLeish.

• Wolves have chosen Norwegian Stale Solbakken (44) as their new manager. Sacked by FC Cologne earlier this year, he won five League titles as boss of FC Copenhagen before entering the Bundesliga.

His 12-year playing career, which included a spell at Wimbledon in 1997-98, ended after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2001, during a training session with Copenhagen when current England chief Roy Hodgson was his manager.

• WBA finished this season as the highest-placed West Midlands team for the first time since 1979. • The other two play-off finals will take place next weekend, 26/27 May.

• Later this month, a programme from the 1909 FA Cup final featuring Bristol City and Manchester United will go on sale at Graham Budd Auctions at Sotheby’s.

It is expected to sell for a word record price of £22,000. The current record for a programme is £21,850, from the PNE-Wolves FA Cup final of 1889.

• England’s next international is a friendly in Norway on 26 May, followed by a Wembley date with Belgium on 2 June before Roy Hodgson takes his team into Euro 2012 with a game against France in Donetsk on 11 June.

• Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has told Ryan Giggs he can play for GB in the Olympics.

• Juventus, unbeaten this season, clinched their 29th Serie ‘A’ title last Sunday with victory over Atalanta.

• And last Sunday Gary Hooper scored all of Celtic’s goals in 5-0 win over Hearts.

SPORTS ROUND-UP

• Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, driving for Williams, won last Sunday’s Barcelona F1 Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso was second and Kimi Raikkonen third. Lewis Hamilton, starting from the back of the grid, finished eighth.

This is the first time a Venezuelan driver has ever won a major F1 race. Well done.

• The first cricket Test between England and the West Indies starts today at Lords.

• GB gymnast Hannah Whelan won two bronze medals at the European Championships in Brussels.

• And the Summer Olympics start in London ten weeks tomorrow, on 27 July.

DID YOU KNOW?

The three clubs relegated from the Premiership – Blackburn, Bolton and Wolves – were all founder members of the Football League in 1888. And Blackburn are the first team to get demoted having previously won the PL title.