Man City 3 QPR 2

POWER SERG ... Aguero's injury-time winner seals the Premier League title for City

THE Blue Moon has risen and is dancing across the sky with joy.

 But it must have feared having to hide behind the clouds never to show its face again.

That was until Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero struck during five minutes of added time to clinch a sensational title-winning victory.

With the 90 minutes up, City had apparently blown it against 10-man QPR and failed to wrestle the trophy from Manchester United’s grasp.

The visitors, fighting against possible relegation, were upsetting the odds and leading, despite Joey Barton’s sending off.

The ever-controversial Barton had gone on 55 minutes for elbowing Carlos Tevez and added further to his disgrace by kneeing Sergio Aguero and attempting to head-butt Vincent Kompany before being wrestled off the pitch by QPR’s coaches. Yet it had simply increased the R’s resolve and City were staring down the barrel.

United were winning 1-0 at Sunderland and, when the board went up for five added minutes, City did not have to score just once but twice to lift the trophy for the first time in 44 years.

 We were ready with all those comparisons to Devon Loch’s famous collapse in the 1956 Grand National.

We wondered if City, who had not lost at home all season, would be scarred for years to come by the impending disaster. And as sub Mario Balotelli’s header was brilliantly saved by QPR keeper Paddy Kenny it looked to be all over.

But such has been the craziness of this season that it was fitting it should end in such dramatic fashion.

ZABBA DABBA DO ... Pablo Zabaleta opens the scoring for City

City fans were leaving the ground in tears when a corner from David Silva was floated into the six-yard box and Dzeko climbed to head in unmarked from close range.

Suddenly there was hope of a turnaround. We were two minutes into added time and the scores were level — but City still needed to score again.

Maybe it was the news filtering through that QPR’s relegation rivals Bolton had only drawn at Stoke and therefore Rangers were safe which meant they momentarily took their eye off the ball.

Certainly QPR’s coach Kevin Hitchcock was celebrating on the touchline as City went forward again.

EQUALISER ... Djibril Cisse levels the score for QPR

Aguero had the ball, it reached Balotelli, was returned to Aguero and he set himself before rifling in a shot to spark amazing scenes.

The Argentine star took off whirling his shirt round his head, in the way United’s Ryan Giggs did all those years ago while the crowd went mad.

There was not a hint in the first half of the finale to come. Yes, City were frustrated as they struggled to break the visitors down and Chelsea’s rearguard action against Barcelona in the Champions League came to mind.

But QPR were sitting so deep you could not see how they could hold out for ever and Kenny had started time-wasting with only half-an-hour gone.

The breakthrough came on 39 minutes. Silva fed Yaya Toure who played in Pablo Zabaleta and the raiding Argie full-back prodded a shot goalwards which Kenny got both hands too but spilled on to the post and couldn’t prevent crossing the line.

MACK DADDY ... Jamie Mackie heads Rangers in front

With the resistance broken the lid was off the pressure cooker.

QPR had to come out because of their battle at the bottom with Bolton, who had gone 2-1 ahead at Stoke.

And they hit back in devastating fashion on 48 minutes. City, without the imposing presence of Toure who had limped off just before half-time, were caught out when Joleon Lescott misjudged a high ball.

It dropped into the path of Djibril Cisse and the Frenchman made no mistake as he crashed a drive beyond Joe Hart.

Barton’s sending-off followed which came about after he reacted to being pulled by Tevez with a sharp right elbow in the Argie’s face.

USE YOUR ED ... Dzeko nods in to make the score 2-2 in injury time

Down went the little striker and the flag was waved frantically by the linesman on the far side who somehow saw it all.

Barton was outraged as ref Mike Dean brandished the red card and the midfield hothead proceeded to lash out wildly with a knee in the back of Aguero’s thigh and an attempted nut on Kompany.

Pick a number for how many games Barton will now be suspended — nine is the betting.

And do not expect him to be making any more appearances on Newsnight in the near future, either.

Without Barton the 10 men should have crumbled and it took a great close-range save from Kenny to keep them level.

POWER SERG ... an ecstatic Aguero celebrates his title deciding goal

But they defied all logic by taking a 66th-minute lead as Armand Traore, on for Cisse, got away down the left and crossed for Jamie Mackie whose diving header bounced down and up into the roof of the net.

The Eithad was stunned — what was going on? Was this the biggest bottle job ever?

Kenny was really cheesing City off as he saved with his right foot from Dzeko’s close-range effort.

And, when Dzeko slashed across goal and the ball went out for a throw-in, the groans round the Etihad were a sign of the supporters’ despair.

The look on the face of club ambassador Mike Summerbee, a title winner for City back in 1968, said it all.

 

JOY ... Roberto Mancini and Carlos Tevez celebrate City's title triumph

Tears were rolling down fans’ cheeks, the great dream was dying.

But, as skipper Kompany said after this extraordinary game, miracles do happen.

Dzeko headed in the equaliser and Aguero thumped in the decider which triggered an eruption in the Etihad.

DREAM TEAM

STAR MAN — SERGIO AGUERO (MAN CITY)

MAN CITY: Hart 6, Zabaleta 7, Kompany 6, Lescott 6, Clichy 6, Nasri 6, Y Toure 7 (De Jong 6), Barry 7 (Dzeko 6), Silva 7, Tevez 6 (Balotelli 6), Aguero 8. Subs not used: Pantilimon, Richards, Milner, Kolarov. Booked: Aguero.

QPR: Kenny 7, Onuoha 6, Ferdinand 7, Hill 7, Taiwo 7, Wright-Phillips 7, Barton 0, Derry 7, Mackie 7, Cisse 7 (Traore 7), Zamora 7 (Bothroyd 6). Subs not used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Taarabt, Campbell, Buzsaky. Sent Off: Barton. Booked: Bothroyd.