The players left the field as if shellshocked. The fans looked at each other in disbelief, standing with hands on heads in bewildered silence.
Manchester United or Manchester City. Which of those two names _ one globally famous, the other quickly becoming so _ will be engraved on the base of the English Premier League trophy remains anyone's guess, even after nine months and 36 rounds of matches in a crazy season embroidered with more twists and turns than a night at the Bolshoi.
Manchester City's victory over Manchester United sparked wild celebrations among the blue half of the city on Monday, yet two difficult matches lie between the team and its first English league title since 1968.
The English take losing hard, and we're not just talking about former colonies.
Led by Pep Guardiola and inspired by Lionel Messi, this Barcelona team could have gone down in football history as the best club team ever, unequivocally and definitively surpassing Real Madrid's stars from the 1950s, Johan Cruyff's Ajax, AC Milan coached by Arrigo Sacchi, Bayern Munich's triple European champions in the 1970s and perhaps a few others.
Manchester United says Wayne Rooney will miss the Europa League match against Ajax on Thursday because of a throat infection.
Harry Redknapp said Friday his focus remains on Tottenham's pursuit of Champions League qualification _ until an approach is made for the vacant England coaching job.
Already considered one of soccer's greats at age 24, Lionel Messi on Monday became the first to win FIFA player of the year three times in a row.
Alex Ferguson celebrated his 70th birthday Saturday by pledging to stay as Manchester United's manager for at least another three years.
