Man City clinches 6th Premier League title in 11 seasons
Manchester(AP): Manchester City clinched a sixth Premier League title in 11 seasons on Sunday by scoring three times in five minutes to come from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the finale to avoid being toppled by challenger Liverpool.
City was trailing 2-0 to Villa until Ilkay G ndogan began the comeback in the 76th. Rodri equalized two minutes later and G ndogan put City in front in the 81st.
At one point even when City was losing, it was still set to defend the title as Liverpool was only drawing 1-1 to Wolverhampton. But Mohamed Salah then put the second-place side in front in the 84th minute, which would have taken Liverpool into first place had City not mounted its fightback at the Etihad Stadium. Andy Robertson then sealed Liverpool's 3-1 win.
Had City conceded a late equalizer, Liverpool would have snatched the trophy away but Pep Guardiola's side held on for the win in a thrilling climax.
Pep Guardiola's defense of the trophy was secured on the final day in a more jittery way than expected when City briefly had a 14-point lead in January.
City's fourth championship success in five seasons produced a first for Guardiola. It's the first time City has sealed the title in front of its own fans who spilled onto the field in their thousands at the final whistle against Villa.
Although it went down to the wire, this one came without any of the anguish of 10 years ago when City's first Premier League title was only clinched in the final minutes of the season.
That success, which produced City's first championship crown in 44 years with Roberto Mancini as manager ushered in the era of dominance enjoyed by a club transformed by the influx of investment from Abu Dhabi.
City is now enjoying the steady stream of titles it once had to watch crosstown rival United sweep up under Alex Ferguson. The rise of City has coincided with the retirement of the Scot who won the Premier League 13 times from 1993 to 2013 and the decline of Manchester United.
The teams entered the final round on Sunday with City 32 points ahead of United and with Liverpool the greater threat to Guardiola's side. In the last five seasons, the only time City didn't win the trophy was when Liverpool's 30-year title drought ended in 2020.
But it will be another season ending with City unable to win the biggest prize in European football the Champions League while Liverpool will be contesting the final against Real Madrid on May 28.
While Liverpool's net spending on transfers has been around USD 250 million in the last five years, City's has been more than USD 530 million.
City's financial might wasn't enough to convince Tottenham to sell Harry Kane ahead of this season, leaving Guardiola to achieve this title without a recognizable striker. Yet, City was able to break the British transfer record to sign Jack Grealish for 100 million pounds (USD 139 million) even though the midfielder only started sparingly.
City has already reinforced its attack for next season, with a deal clinched with Borussia Dortmund to sign Erling Haaland for 60 million euros (USD 63 million), adding one of Europe's most exciting young forwards into the squad.
Still, concerns remain for human rights activists and less wealthy rivals about the club's Abu Dhabi ownership and its actions.
Human rights violations by the United Arab Emirates are glossed over by City fans who largely overlook how their club has been used by a state as a tool of soft power that exploits the glamor of the world's biggest sport to cleanse its image.
City owner Sheikh Mansour has only been seen at one game during his 14 years as owner. Mansour, who is deputy prime minister of the UAE, was condemned by the British government for recently hosting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
City was fined EURO 10 million (USD 12 million) in 2020 for obstructing a UEFA investigation into its finances following leaks of internal correspondence at the club.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a two-year Champions League ban because claims that the club disguised the source of income as overvalued sponsorships from companies linked to its Abu Dhabi ownership were either rejected or found to have happened too long ago to be investigated. AP
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No stubble burning now, why air pollution crisis in Delhi: Mann takes dig at BJP
Chandigarh (PTI): Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed the BJP saying its leaders used to "defame" Punjab farmers over stubble burning and blame them for Delhi's poor air quality and questioned why is there pollution crisis in national capital despite no farm fires now.
Mann said that as soon as paddy harvest takes place, BJP leaders blame Punjab and its farmers for Delhi's poor air quality.
He said they used to claim that stubble burning by Punjab farmers causes Delhi's pollution.
Mann said at present, the Air Quality Index in major Punjab cities is between 70 and 130.
"At present, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500 and no smoke is coming from Punjab. But the situation in Delhi is worse. At least now they should agree that there is no role of Punjab for Delhi's poor air quality," Mann said in a video message.
Mann's remarks came on a day Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa apologised for the air pollution crisis in the national capital and acknowledged its impact on children's health.
Sirsa, however, asserted that it was the result of the policies pursued by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
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Last month, the BJP had trashed the Punjab CM's previous claim that stubble burning in the state has no role in the high levels of air pollution in Delhi as "ridiculous".
Dismissing Mann's claim, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had last month said it is certain that stubble burning is a "major" factor (for the air pollution in Delhi).
Meanwhile, Mann in his video message said, due to severe floods which Punjab witnessed this year, paddy harvesting got delayed, "despite this, many Delhi ministers had already started blaming Punjab".
"I want to praise Punjab farmers, NGOs and efforts of the Punjab government have also paid off in controlling stubble burning this time. The cases of stubble burning in Punjab have reduced by 70-80 per cent and this has been acknowledged by the Central Government and the Union Agriculture Minister," Mann said.
The CM further said that after paddy harvest even the wheat crop has been sown and now, there is no incident of stubble burning.
He said BJP leaders used to claim that Punjab's smoke from stubble travels to Delhi.
"Now, there is no stubble burning, but Delhi is facing very poor air quality. This proves that earlier too Punjab's smoke had no role for Delhi's poor air quality. Only accusations were made by the BJP to defame Punjab. At least now the Centre should praise the farmers of Punjab," he said.
"Meanwhile, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500, flights are being cancelled, and breathing has become difficult," said Mann.
He asked both the BJP government in Delhi and the BJP led Centre to address Delhi's air pollution, saying citizens cannot even venture out for a walk due to air pollution.
He also asked the BJP that Punjab should not be dragged into this political battle, instead, Punjab's farmers should be appreciated, and the Delhi and Central governments should focus on addressing Delhi's air pollution.
Mann further said that farmers of Punjab are 'anndatas' (food providers) and they meet the country's food needs, they should not be defamed.
