Manchester, England May 14:

Manchester City won the English title for the first time in 44 years, surging past Queens Park Rangers 3-2 on Sunday with Sergio Aguero scoring his team’s second goal during stoppage time.

Aguero’s goal in the fourth minute of injury time snatched the trophy from defending champion Manchester United on goal difference. United had been top when its game at Sunderland ended in a 1-0 win.

This was the first time the English title was decided on tiebreaker since 1989, when Arsenal and Liverpool were even on points and goal difference, and Gunners won on total goals.

Pablo Zabaleta had put City on course for the title with a 39th-minute goal, but Djibril Cisse evened for QPR three minutes into the second half.

City had a man advantage after QPR captain Joey Barton was sent off in the 55th, but Jamie Mackie managed to put the visitors in front on a header.

City’s expensively assembled squad had been facing its first loss at home since December 2010, but substitute Edin Dzeko sparked the recovery by heading in a corner kick in the second minute of stoppage time.

There was still time for one final moment of drama in an unpredictable season when Aguero drove home the winner. As the final whistle blew, thousands of City fans poured onto the field and blue smoke wafted around the stadium.

Winning the title is the result of more than a $1 billion of investment by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, who rescued a financially stricken club from ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2008.