The Premier League was decided in 11 minutes

At the same time, on the south coast of England, Manchester City began to fight against Brighton & Hove Albion, 17th player in the Premier League and the Citizens had beaten home 2-0 in September, then 1-0. in the FA Cup semifinal last month. All we needed was to gain by all necessary means; Whether it's a close 1-0 win reminiscent of Vincent Kompany's victory over Leicester City last week or a game like that City regularly offers to the underprivileged of the league.

In the 27th minute, just ten minutes after Mane's goal at Anfield, Glenn Murray scored and shortly thereafter Liverpool had hopes:

Although the goal took 27 minutes, it would be fair to say that Brighton did not have a chance to reach it. They had decided, with their place in the safe of the Premier League next year and a place as a historic note of the biggest race under the story in the balance, of D & # 39; Bringing the game to City, getting some good attempts on their own ground the city's visitors grumbled in the stands.

So when Murray scored, the calculation went from "Manchester City only needs a goal and eliminate the fourth worst attack of the league" to "The city desperately needs of two goals or they will always be known as the 95 (or 96) bottlers. "Fortunately for City, they employ one of the best scorers in Premier League history, and so Sergio Aguero responded with a scoreless equalizer 81 seconds later:

Oddly enough, Agüero's goal was not particularly relevant in itself. Yes, City needed to recover to win, but that would not have been enough on its own. Nor does it come from a dominant part of the possession of the city, tastes that always seem to end up breaking the defense into goals. It was love at first sight, helped by a great pass from the center back Aymeric Laporte and a close-angle finish quite close to the famous winner of the 2012 Agüero title. There was still hope in Anfield, hope that Brighton could survive a little over an hour without conceding again. This hope would not last even 15 minutes.

Just as Brighton has given Liverpool a lifeline from a corner, so has City put an end to all the illusions of Merseyside. Eleven minutes after Murray's goal, Laporte found himself again as the key figure, entering the penalty area without being noticed by a nod indicated by a head that served as the decision maker for the title.

Of course, City scored two more goals (a magnificent Riyad Mahrez and a fireworks celebration of Ilkay Gündoğan), but Brighton would never score a second goal against a team from the city ​​that did not need more goals. With Laporte's head, the season that ended on the last day finally ends. It is normal that so much action has been packed in such a short space of time, as this title, more than any other souvenir, was decided by the smallest of margins.

Not just the point gap between City at 98 points and the Pool Boys at 97 points; not only did City and Liverpool get their first game thanks to a missed penalty, but the Manchester team won the 2-1 win in a match that decided the title more than any other, despite what fans Everton think; and not just the fact that neither team seemed ready to lose points before the finish line. The Premier League was decided by unexpected moments of precision, both human and technological: the fight of Kompany against Leicester, marked by a man who had not even shot at goals outside the game. outside of the surface in less than five years; the goal of City on the goal line against a difficult Burnley camp; and close millimeter in the Liverpool-City match on Jan. 4.

The 11-minute paradise Sunday might not have needed a superhuman shot or goal-line tech bots, but they fit the plot of a season. decided on many occasions; First, City was unstoppable. then, Liverpool would win the championship without defeat, but rake too many matches in a key sequence of 11 points lost in nine games. Finally, the scenario was reversed once more: Liverpool, master of the unthinkable return, would channel this spirit to a humble runner astray to 270 miles, and was going to be rewarded by the most wanted title of the country. their legendary story.

For 11 minutes, Liverpool was as close to deity as football teams can get it, but in the mortal realm, Brighton did not need Liverpool's heroic character. They were just one last barrage for Manchester City, an existential terror to fight before winning two consecutive titles. Thanks to Agüero and Laporte and the slow passage of time during these eleven minutes, Manchester City reigns once again and Liverpool will spend the summer lamenting the millimeters and minutes that have once again stopped.