TIMELINE
A dramatic finish to rank alongside Istanbul ‘05, Barcelona ‘99, perhaps even Anfield ‘89. Here is how a tortuous afternoon unfolded
3:02 Emmanuel Adebayor puts Spurs ahead against Fulham, lifting them over former club Arsenal and into third in the battle for Champions League spots
3:04 Yossi Benayoun returns the Gunners to third by taking lead at West Brom
3:11 Shane Long brings Arsenal back down to earth with an equaliser for West Brom at the Hawthorns
3:13 Stoke lead through Jonathan Walters against Bolton, for whom defeat would mean relegation but save QPR
3:15 The Gunners slip two points behind Spurs as Graham Dorrans gives West Brom a surprise 2-1 lead
3:16 Newcastle’s hopes of snatching a top four place wilt as Stephen Pienaar gives Everton an early lead
3:20 First blood to Manchester United as Wayne Rooney nods them ahead at Sunderland and into first place
3:27 Nikica Jelavic doubles Everton’s lead and ushers Newcastle into Europa League
3:20 Lifeline for Arsenal as Andre Santos equalises but they still trail arch-rivals Tottenham in the table
3:39 Pablo Zabaleta’s shot squirms past Paddy Kenny to put Manchester City back on top of the table and tweak QPR nerves
3:44 Bolton hit two in five minutes through Mark Davies and Kevin Davies to lead 2-1 and push QPR into the bottom three with 45 minutes remaining
4:03 Shock as Djibril Cisse levels for QPR, making them safe and knocking City off top spot
4:09 Arsenal creep back into third and knock Spurs back to fourth as Laurent Koscielny pounces on a Marton Fulop goalkeeping howler to put them 3-2 up
4:10 Joey Barton goes rogue at the Etihad: elbowing Carlos Tevez to earn a red card, then kneeing Sergio Aguero before being marched off. QPR down to 10 men with 35 minutes left
4:16 Jermain Defoe puts Spurs 2-0 in front, meaning Arsenal must hang on or lose third place
4:21 Against all odds QPR go 2-1 up at City, Jamie Mackie’s header leaving them with a mountain to climb to wrestle title back from United
4:22 John Heitinga puts the final nail in Newcastle’s Champions League coffin, although Tony Hibbert’s own goal soon cancels it out; 3-1 Everton
4:30 Walters’ second for Stoke makes it 2-2, meaning Bolton will need another to pull off the great escape
4:47 Substitute Edin Dzeko gives City the faintest of hope as he heads an equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time; surely too little too late
4:49 Aguero thumps the winner past Kenny as City snatch victory – and their first title for 44 years – in the most dramatic fashion. Bolton’s draw means QPR still survive as news filters through to shell-shocked United players leaving the field at Sunderland