West Brom shocks United, clinching Premier League title for Manchester City

When Manchester City fell apart in the second half of the Manchester Derby last weekend, its Premier league title party was seemingly postponed for at least two weeks. As it turns out, the party only had to wait eight days.

Manchester United followed up City’s 3-1 victory over Tottenham on Saturday with a shocking 1-0 loss at home to 20th-place West Brom on Sunday. The two results, in conjunction with each other, clinched City its third Premier League title.

[More FC Yahoo: 10 reasons Manchester City won the Premier League going away]

Jay Rodriguez’s goal for West Brom was the decider.

There might not even be a full-fledged title party at all. Pep Guardiola said after the Tottenham victory that he wouldn’t even be watching Sunday’s match at Old Trafford. He’d be playing golf instead. Players said they’d be with family. That, in part, explains just how unlikely a West Brom victory was.

[Watch: Vincent Kompany, Man City players celebrate title clincher]

But by season’s end, City’s title will be no less satisfactory. It will be no less impressive. A rather anti-climactic decider won’t depress the eventual celebrations.

The Citizens clinched the crown with five matches to spare, and 16 points between them and second-place United. It isn’t quite the record for earliest title-winning date. That one will stay with 2000-01 Manchester United by one day.

But City still has chances to break other Premier League records. It is eight points away from 2004-05 Chelsea’s best-ever mark of 95. It can set top marks for most goals (103, 2009-10 Chelsea) and most wins (30, 2016-17 Chelsea).

It has been a brilliant season for City, one that in many ways deserved to end with a title party after a victory over United last weekend. It didn’t. But City will lift its trophy anyway. West Brom made sure of that on Sunday.

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.

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