Manchester City produces stunning comeback to secure English Premier League title on dramatic final day

Fernandinho lifts the Premier League trophy after his team won the title.

If you're going to win a league title, you might as well add a bit of drama.

Manchester City did exactly that when producing a simply stunning comeback to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and win the English Premier League on Sunday.

The host knew a win on the final day of the season would guarantee the title and, despite going 2-0 down, it scored three goals in five second-half minutes to send the Etihad Stadium into delirium.

Fans, many of which had their heads in their hands for much of the game, ran onto the pitch at full-time to celebrate winning a title race like no other.

While players ran to the tunnel, City supporters danced on the pitch and even broke one of the goals as a spine-tingling rendition of the club's famous anthem, Blue Moon, filled the air.

Eventually stewards ushered people off the pitch allowing City players to reemerge and parade the trophy in front of an adoring, if not exhausted, crowd.

City's Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko was particularly emotional on the lap of honor. The 25-year-old was in tears as he wrapped the trophy in his country's flag, paying tribute to those suffering through the war. 

Gundogan celebrates after scoring his team's third goal.

 

As the season was coming to its conclusion, City manager Pep Guardiola said that "the most difficult serve in tennis is the one you have to serve to be champion."

It was an analogy that couldn't have proved more fitting on a rollercoaster afternoon in Manchester.

Goals from Matty Cash and former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho looked to have stolen the title from City's grasp but Guardiola has assembled a very special side.

While many teams may have wilted under the pressure, City kept pushing and got its reward -- with two goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri securing a fourth league title in five years.

It's an achievement made all the more impressive by the quality of Liverpool, which battled tooth and nail with City throughout the entire season. Its win against Wolves on Sunday proved academic in the end.

City's victory comes ten years after Sergio Aguero opened the floodgates to a decade of success at Manchester City, scoring a last-gasp goal on the final day of the season to win his side the league title.

And, minus a goal in the final seconds, this title victory was almost as dramatic, with supporters witnessing the entire spectrum of emotion.

"We are legends," Guardiola told Sky Sports after the breathtaking match. "When you win the Premier League in this country four times in five seasons it is because these guys are so, so special. We will be remembered."

Kevin De Bruyne is mobbed by Manchester City fans after the club wins the Premier League.

 

A range of emotions

Fans seemed confident of their team replicating such success before kick-off with chants about Liverpool losing and City winning the title filling the air outside the stadium

There was a party atmosphere to boot, with DJs encouraging supporters to sing Oasis songs as they made their way to their seats.

But as the game kicked off, the excitement turned to nerves as the home fans became agitated every time Aston Villa enjoyed a passage of possession.

The anxiety eased temporarily as news of Liverpool going behind against Wolves reverberated around the ground but grew again as City, notably Gabriel Jesus, squandered some early chances and Liverpool equalized.

The frustration turned to anger as Villa went two goals up prompting many in blue to look to the skies for some kind of intervention.

The title that so many had expected City to win was slipping away.

But it's not like this City side to go down without a fight and it took matters in its own hands.

Belief grew after Gundogan scored the first in the 76th minute and, in a blink of an eye, Rodri had leveled the scores. With fans still celebrating, Gundogan struck again in the 81st to cap off one of the most chaotic passages of play in Premier League history.

Guardiola and his team celebrate after winning the Premier League.

 

Gerrard's mission failed

There was an added element of drama to Sunday's match, with City's opponents having certain allegiances to its title rivals.

Villa manager Steven Gerrard is a Liverpool legend but failed to win the league title during his tenure at the club.

He came close, of course, but his infamous slip seven years ago contributed to his side throwing away the title that season.

Fast forward to now and the script was almost too perfect from a Liverpool point of view.

Knowing he needed to take something from the match to help his boyhood club overtake City, Gerrard stalked the sidelines of the Etihad like a double agent sent from Anfield.

He barked instructions to ex-Liverpool player Coutinho who looked to probe City's defense and deliver a present to his former club.

Gerrard gives his team instructions during the game against Manchester City.

 

Gerrard was kicking every ball from the touchline as his players dug in resolutely against the increasing pressure from City.

Eventually, Villa's defense buckled and the floodgates opened.

In truth, no one can begrudge City the title.

While Liverpool produced a more rock and roll style of football, City blew teams away time and time again and showed a consistency which rightly crowned them champions of the league again.

Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspur beat Norwich City 5-0 at Carrow Road to secure fourth place and a place in next season's Champions League tournament.
Burnley were relegated after losing 2-1 defeat at home to Newcastle United.

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North Korea sends cargo planes to China as country fights pandemic

North Korea declares national emergency over reported Covid-19 cases 02:12

Three North Korean cargo planes flew to China and back on Monday, as the country battles an fast-spreading outbreak of Covid-19, according to a South Korean government official with knowledge of the matter.

The planes traveled to Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, in China's northeast Liaoning province, the official said.

It's unknown what the planes were carrying, but the rare trip came after China pledged to help North Korea with its Covid outbreak, which experts have warned could cause a major humanitarian crisis in the isolated and impoverished nation.

 

Members of the North Korean military's medical section distribute medicine at a pharmacy in Pyongyang on May 18.

 

North Korea officially confirmed its first ever Covid cases last week. It had not previously acknowledged any cases, and has kept its borders tightly shut since January 2020.

Since May 12, North Korea has reported nearly two million "fever" cases, with state media calling it a "major national emergency" and authorities scrambling to respond.

All cities have been placed under lockdown, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized the military to help secure the supply of medicine in the capital Pyongyang.

After the first cases were announced, China said it was ready to provide full support as North Korea's "comrades, neighbors and friends." The two countries have "a fine tradition of mutual assistance," said a spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry.

Throughout the pandemic, China has sent millions of vaccine doses around the world, as well as striking agreements last year with the international vaccine sharing program COVAX to provide more than half a billion shots.

North Korea has not yet established a Covid-19 vaccination program, leaving its population vulnerable, according to the World Health Organization. The country's dilapidated health care system also lacks the medicine and supplies necessary for combating a Covid-19 outbreak.

The situation has sparked alarm among international bodies, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warning on Tuesday that the outbreak -- and the restrictions in place -- could have "a devastating impact on the human rights situation in the country."

Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern, urging the UN and governments around the world to "make every possible effort to persuade North Korea to allow outside humanitarian assistance."

The South Korean government says it has offered assistance to North Korea, including medicine, vaccines and other medical supplies, but has not yet received a response.

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'Stop asking why': Shanghai intensifies Covid lockdown despite falling cases

 

Shanghai is further tightening its stringent lockdown measures after China's top leader Xi Jinping pledged to "unswervingly" double down on the country's controversial zero-Covid policy, leaving millions confined to their homes with no end in sight.

Over the weekend, videos showing Shanghai residents arguing or scuffling with hazmat suit-clad workers and police officers while being forcefully taken away for government quarantine circulated widely on Chinese social media. Many have since been removed by censors after sparking public anger.

The outcry comes as authorities appear to have walked back efforts to ease restrictions in parts of the city, despite a drop in new infections, as local officials come under pressure to curb community transmission of the virus.

Under the new hardline policies, even residents with negative Covid tests can find themselves placed into centralized government quarantine. According to social media posts and local government notices circulating online, in several parts of the city, entire apartment blocks have been deemed a health risk, with all occupants forced from their homes and placed into quarantine on the back of one positive case.

One viral video shows residents arguing with police officers who showed up at their doors in hazmat suits to take them to quarantine after someone else on their floor tested positive.

"From now on, people who live on the same floor (as Covid cases) must be transported (into quarantine)," a police officer says in the video.

"It's not that you can do whatever you want -- unless you're in America. This is China," another police officer says sternly, waving a bottle of disinfectant in his hand. "Stop asking me why. There is no why. We have to obey our country's regulations and epidemic control policies."

CNN cannot independently confirm any such policy has been issued and has reached out to the Shanghai municipal government for clarification. CNN has not been able to identify the people who took the video and does not know if they were later taken to quarantine.

According to notices online, some neighborhoods have imposed so called "silent periods" lasting for two or three days, during which residents are not permitted to leave their homes. These residents have also been temporarily banned from ordering groceries and daily essentials online, leading to renewed fears of food shortages.

Public outrage were further inflamed after accounts emerged on social media that some residents had been forced to hand over their house keys so that health workers could disinfect their homes while they were away in quarantine.

Several videos circulating online showed workers in hazmat suits spraying clouds of disinfectant over furniture and appliances inside apartments, from couches, televisions, bookshelves, beds to wardrobes.

On China's internet, some questioned the scientific basis of the measure -- experts have transmission of the virus via contaminated surfaces is exceptionally low -- while others lamented the disregard for private property rights.

"The apartments are our private property, which we bought with millions or tens of millions of yuan. Why should we allow you in? This is no different than robbery!" a Shanghai resident said on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

The escalation follows the personal intervention of Xi, who on Thursday issued what many interpreted as a threat to opponents of the zero-Covid policy, making clear he would not tolerate "acts that distort, doubt or deny our country's epidemic prevention policies."

Xi also demanded officials demonstrate a "profound, complete and comprehensive understanding" of the policy and warned them against "inadequate awareness, inadequate preparation and insufficient work" in implementing it.

Hours after Xi's speech, the Shanghai municipal Communist Party committee met on Thursday evening to study his instructions. And at a press conference Sunday, the Shanghai municipal health commission said the city was at a "critical moment" for controlling the outbreak.

"It's like sailing against the current in a boat; we must forge ahead or be pushed downstream. We must not relax or slack off," said Zhao Dandan, a deputy director of the commission.

Zhao also vowed to "resolutely implement the requirement to 'take in everyone who should be taken in' and 'quarantine everyone who should be quarantined' to stop community spread of the epidemic as soon as possible."

The tightened quarantine requirements have led to despair among many residents in the financial hub, millions of whom have been subject to more than six weeks of harsh lockdown.

Tong Zhiwei, a law professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, denounced such measures as unconstitutional in a widely shared essay on social media.

"Any action that forcefully sends residents into centralized quarantine is illegal and should stop immediately," Tong wrote.

"State of emergency is a legal status, and it can only exist after a rightful organization declares it according to the constitution; it absolutely cannot be randomly decided or recklessly declared by just any institution or official," Tong wrote.

Around the same time, Liu Dali, a Shanghai-based financial lawyer at a leading Chinese law firm, wrote a public letter demanding Shanghai's municipal People's Congress -- the city's rubber-stamp legislature -- come up with measures to protect citizen's rights against epidemic measures such as forced quarantine.

Screenshots of both letters have been scrubbed from the Chinese internet after drawing wide attention. On Weibo, Tong's verified account has been banned from posting since Monday. A hashtag of his name has also been censored.

In thinly veiled sarcasm, some internet users shared a 2015 article from the People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, quoting Xi months after he took the helm of the Party in 2012: "No organization or individual has the privilege to be above the constitution and the law. Any act that violates the constitution and the law must be investigated and accounted for."

As the post started making the rounds, users were soon greeted with a glaring message saying "the content has been removed by the author."

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