CITY EPL CHAMPIONS
Leicester City do the Fernandinho-led side a favour, beat United
Caglar Soyuncu's second-half header gave Leicester City a 2-1 win at Manchester United that confirmed Manchester City as English Premier League champions.
Leicester took a 10thminute lead when Luke Thomas met a Youri Tielemans cross to volley in a stunning first Premier League goal.
Man Utd levelled only five minutes later as PL debutant Amad Diallo set up Mason Greenwood to net his sixth goal in as many matches.
But although Man Utd brought on Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani in the second half, Leicester retook the lead on 66 minutes with Soyuncu powerfully heading in Marc Albrighton's cross.
Substitute Bruno Fernandes had the best chance to keep the title race alive but he shot wide late on as United slipped 10 points behind their local rivals with only three matches to play.
Leicester move above Chelsea into third and are now eight points above fifthplaced West Ham United, who have a match in hand.
Locked out of their stadium for a year due to the pandemic, Manchester City fans couldn't resist gathering outside, waiting for the moment they'd be crowned champions for the third time in four seasons.
It was a result not inside the Etihad Stadium but a few miles across Manchester at their fiercest rival and nearest Premier League challenger that confirmed the title was reclaimed on Tuesday.
Manchester United losing 2-1 to Leicester left City with an unassailable 10-point lead with three games remaining.
Whereas United started the century dominating English football, now City is the force with five titles in 10 seasons and the biggest spenders on transfers and salaries.
While United fans gather outside Old Trafford in protest, at City they come to celebrate the 13 years of investment from Abu Dhabi that has transformed the fortunes of a club that was playing in the third tier until 1999 and won two English titles in the previous century - in 1937 and 1968.
Within minutes of the final whistle blowing at Old Trafford, after Caglar Soyuncu's 66th-minute header sealed the Leicester win that ended United's hopes of catching City - a "Champions" banner was unfurled over the entrance to the Etihad.
Soon, fans were setting off blue flares and parading small replica Premier League trophies. They will finally be allowed back into the stadium - up to 10,000 of them - to see City collect the real trophy after the final game of the Premier League season against Everton on May 23.
But it's not the first trophy they have seen City lift this season, with a fourth successive League Cup win at Wembley last month.