What an exciting final day of the current Premier League season was that? Manchester City, who needed a win over Aston Villa to win the championship, were 2-0 down by the 76th minute. But then Josep Guardiola’s team really turned up the heat. The Citizens equalized within a good two minutes. In the 81st minute, German international İlkay Gündoğan scored the decisive goal. What followed was a big party – with collateral damage.
Noel Gallagher, a self-confessed Manchester City fan, suffered one of them. The ex-Oasis singer watched the game live in the VIP area of Manchester Stadium with the players’ families. When Manchester’s third goal was scored and the championship was within reach, pure chaos broke out in the box – as probably in the whole stadium. The rock musician described what happened to the British football magazine talkSport as follows:
“When the third goal was scored, absolute chaos erupted […] I was jumping around like an idiot, handing my 11 year old son around like a league trophy. Everyone picked him up. When I turned around, Rúben Dias’ father came [Innenverteidiger bei Manchester City] ran straight at me and headbutted me, leaving me on the ground covered in blood.
I missed the last two minutes of the game. I was treated directly by St. John’s Ambulance. The wounds had to be stitched up. As I walked down the corridor, I had stitches on my upper lip and two black eyes. Then Pep came to me [Josep Guardiola] crying towards. We hugged and he asked me, “What happened to your face?” I said, “Go be with your players!”.
Winning the title wasn’t Noel Gallagher’s first championship celebration. Back in 2019, he was already the center of celebrations as Manchester City won the Premier League for the second straight year. Photos show him on the pitch with Guardiola.