"Losing at the Etihad with three games to go was the first mistake, Nani recalls to FourFourTwo when asked what went wrong that season. Instead of finishing the job, we gave them hope. We allowed them to believe they could still do it. On the final day, we beat Sunderland 1-0 but it wasn't enough. Our match finished before City's and we were all standing on the pitch at the Stadium of Light, when the news arrived of Sergio Aguero's winner against QPR. That killed us."
"Even though it had been a very good season overall, losing the Premier League in that way was a huge blow and difficult to recover from. The dressing room was devastated not only because we'd missed out on the title, but also because of the manner of it. We would rather have lost by several points. When you know you could have scored one more goal somewhere along the way and won the title, that becomes a bitter feeling that follows you for life."
Nani, despite winning four Premier Leagues, the Champions League, and the European Championship during his career, continues to struggle with Manchester United's loss of the 2011/12 Premier League title to Manchester City. The decisive moment came on May 13, 2012, when Sergio Aguero scored a last-gasp goal for City against QPR, snatching the title from United on the final day. Nani reflects that United's loss at the Etihad with three games remaining was crucial, as it gave City hope and momentum. Although United beat Sunderland 1-0 on the final day, the result proved insufficient. The manner of the defeat—losing by a single goal in dramatic fashion rather than by several points—made the loss particularly difficult to accept and continues to haunt Nani.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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