Manchester City: 6 Reasons They Deserve to Be EPL Champions

Manchester City are the Premier League champions for 2011-12.

Just in case you hadn't heard.

After one of the most crazy, topsy-turvy, back-and-forth finishes that any top-flight league in any country—maybe in any sport—has ever seen, City snatched two goals in injury time to turn defeat into victory, second into first.

38 games for Manchester United and their rivals City, 38 matches to separate them, for one team to win more than the other.

And still it couldn't be done.

It took goal difference to settle the matter in the end, and perhaps that gives us as real and indication as any as to why it is the blue half of Manchester celebrating at the end of this season, and not the red.

Here are six reasons why City are worthy champions.

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City Scored 90 Goals in 38 League Games, More Than Any Other Club

Way back in August, Sergio Aguero opened his Manchester City goalscoring account with a goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute on City's first game of the season, against Swansea City.

Fast forward to the last day of the season, and Aguero was the man again as he netted the title-winning goal, three minutes into injury time.

In between all that he scored a total of 23 goals in his debut season, while his City teammates helped contribute to a team total of 90 league goals.

No other side possesses such a rich armoury of attacking talent as City, who boast Mario Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko as their available strikers as well as Aguero, while the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Gareth Barry bring a mixture of steel and creativity to the centre of the pitch.

For a team to utilise their weapons to such an extent that they net almost a hundred goals is pretty impressive, and ultimately that is what has helped them win the league.

City Conceded 27 Goals in 38 League Games, Fewer Than Any Other Club

At the other end of the pitch, Manchester City have been equally as impressive.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart has conceded only 27 goals during the course of the Premier League season, comfortably the best defensive record in the division.

In front of him, Vincent Kompany, the Player of the Season, has been a calming and imposing rock in defence, while Kolo Toure, Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott have all had monstrous spells of form at different times this season.

Lescott suffered an ill-timed complete meltdown of his game in the final match of the season, but ultimately his attacking teammates got him out of jail.

A Premier League Double over Their Nearest Rivals, Manchester United

Any team completing the double during the Premier League season over their local rivals has cause for celebration.

But when you do the double over your rivals and end the season ahead of them just on goal difference, then those two results take on a huge added significance.

In October, City beat United at Old Trafford by a world-rocking scoreline of 6-1, while closer to the end of the season they fought out victory by a single goal at the Etihad Stadium.

United will claim that the defeat to Wigan and late draw against Everton is what cost them the title—but had they taken even a single point off City, instead of losing twice, they would have won the Premier League title.

Great Form to Finish the Season with Six Wins on the Bounce

Before the start of play on the 11th of April, Manchester City were eight points behind Manchester United, with only six matches left to play.

It seemed for all the world that the title would go to Old Trafford again, but while United slipped up—winning just three of those games, losing twice and drawing once—City stormed to victory on all six occasions.

West Brom were batted aside, 4-0 the scoreline, while Norwich City were crushed 6-1.

Wolves were relegated with a 2-0 win for City. The week after, the game which really opened the title-race up, City vs. United, ended 1-0 City.

A hard-fought three points against Newcastle were gained courtesy of a Yaya Toure-inspired 2-0 win, before the final barely-believable antics of the last day of the season, where City triumphed 3-2 in injury time against QPR.

That is some run of form at the most pressure-filled end of the season, and makes City worthy winners of this season's title.

Roberto Mancini, in so Many Ways

Outside of the Etihad Stadium Roberto Mancini divides opinions somewhat, but it cannot be ignored that he has cast aside his naturally-reserved tactical preference for large spells of this season, and has gotten his rewards by leading his side to the title.

Mancini's City side was built on a solid 4-3-3 last season where the midfield contained at least two but sometimes three defensively solid, powerful and dominating central players, but little in the way of additional creativity.

That was left solely to the attacking players.

This term has seen City look increasingly to their midfielders to not only provide the ammo for their hot-shot forwards, but also to chip in with goals and help break down the stubborn sides who pack their defences.

Mancini has made some good tactical alterations during matches—pushing Yaya Toure further forward, operating with Carlos Tevez in deeper areas, playing with three at the back—and all those small things combined have helped him win the title.

Oh, and he's also managed to get through another season managing both Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez.

Not bad going.

That Marvellous Home Record and Purely for the Emotion and Never-Say-Die Spirit

Manchester City have ended the 2011-12 Premier League season without losing a single game at home.

Nobody else managed it, or even managed to lose less than twice at their own ground.

They won a whopping 18 games out of 19 at the Etihad Stadium, drawing just once against Sunderland, and scored 55 goals, conceding just 12.

All of those statistics were the best in the division this season, and gave City a great platform to mount their title charge.

Quite aside from that, the pure unyielding spirit that they have shown at different times this season—scoring twice to draw against Sunderland, coming from behind to beat Chelsea, the 90th-minute penalty winner against Spurs—has been a real factor in seeing the blue half of Manchester over the finishing line in first place.

Never was that more in evidence than in injury time against QPR, here on the final day.

Going into injury time, they were losing 2-1, and Manchester United were about to win the league.

Fast forward three minutes, United's match had finished, and City had turned the league on it's head with two quick-fire goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero.

Congratulations Manchester City on their title win—for so many reasons, they thoroughly deserved it.