The greatest lie in sport is that winners embody strength and character, that losers embody frailty and brittleness. That victory is the inevitable function of mental fortitude and warrior spirit, and defeat its opposite.
Manchester City’s eighth English league title was clinched at their moment of greatest weakness, in one of their worst performances of the season, from a place where all hope had deserted them. And it felt perfect.
As delirious fans hurdled the barriers and poured on to the great green expanse, as the goal into which City had scored three goals in five minutes caved and snapped under the weight of the throngs atop it, you could alread …
- May 23, 2022
