Man City have exorcised the ghost of 2012 even if their fans are still haunted

The scars from 2012 run deep at Manchester City. It all came good in the end, courtesy of Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero, but the psychological anguish of the preceding 93 mins and 20 seconds left a mark that even the procession of trophy triumphs in the 10 years since has failed to erase.

That is why City fans were watching from behind their sofas when Nathan Redmond scored against Liverpool on Tuesday night, raising the prospect that Sunday might be a relaxed, happy day from start to finish, the title already decided before a ball was kicked. They should know that the Blues - even the 2022, super-efficient, record-breaking Blues - don't always take the easy route.

Liverpool struck back with two goals of their own to ensure that they moved to within a point of City once more, and to take the season down to its final day, forcing City to beat Aston Villa to be 100 per cent sure of being champions. On the face of it, that should be no problem to a team that has been exceptional all season and has scored 17 goals, and conceded four - three of them to Real Madrid - in their last four home games.

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But the nagging memory of May 13, 2012, when Queens Park Rangers arrived at the Etihad Stadium needing a point to ensure they were safe from relegation, will not go away. There are even narratives to be gleaned from City vs Aston Villa every bit as rich as those which surrounded that fateful day 10 years ago.

The QPR manager that day was Mark Hughes, burning with revenge after being discarded by City’s new ownership. In his team that day were three former Blues in Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Nedum Onuoha and only the latter had no real reason to want to put one over