'Breathtaking' Victory for Manchester's Other Team LONDON - Soccer fans get really mad if you say it's only a game. For some it's more like a religion, only more intense. That fervor was on display on Sunday when Manchester City scored a last-minute goal to secure the top place in English soccer for the first time in 44 years. It was a nail-biting finish to a season in which City vied with local rival Manchester United, one of the world's best-known teams, for the Premier League championship. Click here for Rob Hughes" match report. Some fans were in tears as the deciding match against underdog Queens Park Rangers headed for a draw - City needed a win to clinch the title. The tears turned to ecstasy as Sergio Agüero scored the winning goal in extra time. My colleague John F. Burns writes: "The win had the emotional force of an earthquake in Manchester, where United and City have been playing derbies since 1881, dividing the citizens for much of that time into two fiercely loyal camps - the red of Manchester United and the light blue of Manchester City." Loyal fans will claim at least some of the credit for their idols" win. But, as most of them would acknowledge, it also goes to Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who has spent around $1.5 billion on players and infrastructure since he bought the club from Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, in 2008. Agüero alone cost more than $60 million. Soccer is big business, and sometimes the investment pays off.