POG OF WAR
United star stuns City to crash the Etihad title party But it’s not all bad for Pep as he lands stunning £20m-a-year new deal
PAUL POGBA wrecked Manchester City’s titlewinning party as United stunned their rivals with an astonishing comeback.
Pep Guardiola, who is poised to sign a new £20million-a-year deal at the Etihad to make him the world’s highest paid boss, saw his side race into a two-goal lead through Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan. But United, who looked overrun in the first half,
MANCHESTER UNITED produced one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history to wreck Manchester City’s title party.
Pep Guardiola’s men looked set to lift the championship in record time when they raced into a two-goal half-time lead thanks to goals by Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan.
But with City’s fans starting to celebrate, Jose Mourinho’s men hit back in sensational fashion to stun the Blues. Paul Pogba scored twice in the space of 90 seconds to level the contest – just 24 hours after Guardiola had claimed he turned down the chance to sign the Frenchman in January.
And then Chris Smalling volleyed home a 69th-minute winner to leave the champions elect still waiting for their title.
With City faced with the prospect of trying to overturn Liverpool’s 3-0 Champions League advantage on Tuesday night, Guardiola chose to rest some of his top players.
Sergio Aguero was on the bench, sat alongside Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker.
Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling took turns playing at centre-forward.
United couldn’t lay a glove on City in the first 45 minutes, as they struggled to cope with a wave of attacks.
The home side should have had an early penalty when Ashley Young slipped as he tried to clear David Silva’s cross with his head and the ball appeared to strike his arm.
Referee Martin Atkinson saw it differently. It wouldn’t be the first time he would anger the home side.
David De Gea had to be sharp to block Bernardo Silva’s prod with his legs, but the breakthrough came in the 25th minute.
Leroy Sane swung over a corner from the left and Kompany shrugged off Smalling – who was doing a spot of shirt-pulling – to bullet a header past De Gea.
It got even better for the Blues on the half-hour. De Gea’s poor kick forward was cut out by Sane and when the ball was worked on to Sterling, he picked out Gundogan as the midfielder ghosted into the United box. His toe-poke found the bottom corner. And City should have sealed the game as Sterling, sent clear by David Silva, lifting his shot wastefully over. He then missed an even better chance after once again being fed through the middle by Silva. He fired straight at
De Gea and then Gundogan did the same with a free header.
City would be made to pay for those missed chances as Mourinho (left) took off the handbrake, and his men suddenly found the stomach for a derby scrap.
Pogba opened the second half by finally testing Ederson with United’s first shot on target.
But then another City move saw Gundogan strike the outside of De Gea’s post.
But United were back in it in the 53rd minute when Pogba pounced to nudge a clever finish past Ederson after Ander Herrera had chested Alexis Sanchez’s cross into his path.
And it was 2-2 90 seconds later when Pogba scored again, ghosting onto a floated Nemanja Matic cross to beat Ederson with a textbook downward header.
The comeback was complete in the 69th minute when Sanchez caressed in a free-kick from the left and Smalling stole in to volley past Ederson.
The United defender looked a fraction offside.
For City, desperate times called for desperate measures and Guardiola sent on De Bruyne, Jesus and then Aguero.
City felt they were denied a penalty when Aguero marched onto De Bruyne’s pass only to be taken out by Young, but once again referee Atkinson waved away the appeals.
Sterling stumbled and somehow managed to direct a shot against the post in a frantic finale. But United held on. And in a season when the title will still be heading back to the Etihad, at least they have something genuinely glorious to crow about.