‘I could have died’ - Cancelo saved 10-year-old Man City fan from being 'trampled' during Premier League title celebrations

A young Manchester City supporter that formed part of a title-winning pitch invasion at the end of Manchester City’s memorable final day victory over Aston Villa has suggested that he “could have died” were it not for the quick thinking and support of Joao Cancelo.

The Blues secured another domestic crown in the most dramatic of fashions as the 2021-22 campaign came to a close, with an outpouring of emotion from those in the stands seeing them flood onto the field.

Ollie Gordon - a 10-year-old with autism, dyspraxia and other developmental and co-ordination conditions – formed part of those celebrations, but he became separated from his father in the process and could have been “trampled” had Cancelo not formed a protective shield.

Gordon’s mother, Lauren, has told the Manchester Evening News of some frightening scenes for her family: “He took off running, he’s got autism and not aware of dangers or anything so got excited and started running.

“He goes to the stadium with his dad quite a lot, especially recently. I was watching on the telly and saw Lee running across the pitch but not Ollie. I was panicking and trying to get hold of his dad. He saw the Aston Villa keeper getting hit a foot away, you can see him on the videos. It scared him a bit and he saw Cancelo and headed towards him.

“Cancelo pulled him in, both arms around him like a bear hug, kissed the top of his head and was pushing people back. It was quite quick but people were pushing and shoving. My son was terrified. He can’t be on his own, has to be supervised, it was unfortunate he got on the pitch before his dad and took off.

“He said if it wasn’t for Cancelo, who didn’t just hug him, he kept his arms around him which gave his dad time to get there. If he