Man City batter Brighton to retain Premier League title
Brighton, May 12: Manchester City held off a titanic challenge from Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League title by coming from behind to beat Brighton 4-1 on Sunday.
A 14th straight league win ensured Pep Guardiola's men pipped Liverpool by a solitary point as the Reds' long wait to win the league continued despite a 2-0 victory over Wolves at Anfield that saw them post the third highest points tally in Premier League history.
City remain on course to complete the first ever domestic treble in English football in the FA Cup final next weekend as goals from Sergio Aguero, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan saw the visitors recover from Glenn Murray's shock opener.
For 83 seconds Liverpool fans were able to dream, but City showed why they are champions and have racked up a remarkable 98 points, just two shy of their record century of points last season.
Liverpool applied as much pressure as they could with their own nine-game winning run to end the season and went in front early against Wolves to raise the tension inside the Amex Stadium.
City had not conceded in their previous four games, but Brighton were playing on their nerves as they sought revenge for defeat in their FA Cup semi-final last month.
Ali Jahanbakhsh flashed a shot just wide of Ederson's right-hand post before the moment that was celebrated as wildly 270 miles north at Anfield as it was on the south coast.
Pascal Gross's dangerous in-swinging corner was powered home by veteran striker Murray at the near post on 27 minutes.
This was the first time City had failed to score first in a league game since early December and the first time they had trailed at all in the 14-game winning run that has carried them to the title.
However, Brighton's lead and Liverpool's hope lasted just over a minute.
Aguero leads City recovery
Aguero scored the sensational last-gasp goal that ended City's own 44-year wait for the title in 2011/12 and his goals have been a constant of their now four Premier League triumphs in eight seasons.
David Silva's wonderful flick freed the Argentine in behind the Brighton defence and Aguero made no mistake with a powerful low finish.
The brief shock of going behind sparked City into life as Mathew Ryan was then forced into saves at his near post from Bernardo Silva and Mahrez.
However, Brighton were undone from a simple set-piece when Mahrez's corner found Laporte completely unmarked to head City in front seven minutes before half-time.
The champions still had nervy moments to see through as Ederson only just scrambled Lewis Dunk's dipping free-kick over the bar with the last action of the first half.
And the Brazilian goalkeeper was lucky not to concede a free-kick yards from the City goal line when he collected a back pass from Laporte.
Yet, 27 minutes from time they had the breathing space they desired in a moment of magic and redemption for Mahrez.
The Algerian has failed to make a big impact in his first season since joining for a club record Euro 60 million from Leicester.
Until now his most noteworthy moment was a late missed penalty in a 0-0 draw at Anfield in October that could easily have cost City the title.
Instead, he scored the goal to ensure Liverpool were denied at the end of a remarkable title tussle by cutting inside Dunk before firing into the top corner on his weaker right foot.
Nine minutes later Gundogan added the icing on the champions' cake with a glorious free-kick from 25 yards.
Sergio Aguero goal bs Brighton??@premierleague @ManCity @OfficialBHAFC pic.twitter.com/mxKkOFToYX
— One Spot FoOtBaLL (@OneSpotFoOtBaL1) May 12, 2019
@Laporte THE BEST ? pic.twitter.com/0pPGqigHed
— CHAMPION 2018-2019 ????????? (@FredBlueMoon10) May 12, 2019
Riyad Mahrez goal vs Brighton ?????@premierleague @ManCity @OfficialBHAFC pic.twitter.com/ENF7ubM9Y7
— One Spot FoOtBaLL (@OneSpotFoOtBaL1) May 12, 2019
llkay Gundogan free kick goal vs Brighton???@premierleague @ManCity @OfficialBHAFC pic.twitter.com/Mkg14LqYTm
— One Spot FoOtBaLL (@OneSpotFoOtBaL1) May 12, 2019
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
