Sergio Aguero scored one of the Premier League’s most iconic goals when he won Man City their first ever Premier League title in 2012.
The legendary striker, who has scored 181 top-flight goals in a 10-year spell, left the Etihad on a free transfer in the summer for Barcelona but his time in Spain has come to an early end.
The striker, though, will always be remembered for scoring the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time in a 3-2 victory over QPR to guide City to a first top-flight crown in 44 years… and deny their Manchester rivals another Premier League title.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s United needed to better City’s result to knock them off top spot on the final day of the 2011/12 campaign.
Both clubs had very winnable games with United travelling to Sunderland and City hosting relegation-threatened QPR.
The Red Devils had done their job with Wayne Rooney scoring the game’s only goal at the Stadium of Light as City unbelievably trailed 2-1 to 10-man QPR in the 90th minute.
Roberto Mancini’s side had taken a first-half lead through fans’ favourite Pablo Zabaleta, but were pegged back by goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie after the restart.
Mackie had even put QPR in front while they played with 10 men due to Joey Barton’s sending off for kicking out at Aguero.
And with time running out, it just looked like it would not be Man City’s day.
However, Edin Dzeko headed in a corner in the second minute of stoppage time to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.
And then it happened.
Mario Balotelli, with his only assist in a Man City shirt, played the ball to Aguero, who showed superb composure to slot the ball past Paddy Kenny.
The Argentine sent the Etihad faithful into a frenzy, while the cameras panned back to the Stadium of Light to show an utterly distraught United squad.
Ferguson even needed a moment to composure himself before speaking to his players in the dressing room, according to former Man United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele.
He told the Athletic: “I took Paddy Kenny to task. How can you let that in at your near post from Aguero? ‘I didn’t expect him to hit it with that much pace’.
“I still went mad anyway because when you look at it from the kick-off after the equaliser, all QPR had to do was keep the ball. What did they do? Smash it down.
“They played it forward and then Martin Tyler took over. The voice. Ugh. That was the longest five minutes in the dressing room, when we all got back in. Everyone sat down.
“I think the gaffer went out the room and eventually came back in. He needed a personal moment.
“Then he just said, ‘This won’t happen again.’ If he was thinking about leaving I think it was changed very quickly.
“Then we won the league by 11 points. And people say we handed over an ageing team.”
QPR goalkeeper Kenny remembers seeing City fans CRYING as their title hopes faded with each passing minute before Aguero’s heroics.
He told talkSPORT: “I remember being 2-1 up, we were down to 10 men. Joey Barton had been sent off.
“You could see fans crying. I was taking so much time going for goal kicks. You could see the emotion from the fans.
“They managed to get it back to 2-2 and we sort of had an inkling from the reaction from our fans that we safe [from relegation]. And then that moment.
“When he first got that ball, he could have just lashed at it and he took a touch and the composure he showed… it was an amazing, special Premier League moment. All the noise was frightening.”
talkSPORT host Jason Cundy, meanwhile, has dubbed Aguero’s goal the most iconic moment in Premier League history.
He said: “Even now when I listen to it, watching all the games on the screen and you knew Man United had done what they needed to do at Sunderland, I still get goosebumps.
“It is, for me, the most iconic Premier League moment.”