Manchester City: Sergio Aguero goal 'still gives goose bumps' 10 years on

Football has moments that can transcend the game, moments that live forever in the minds of supporters of all teams, moments that define the very essence of the sport.

Sergio Aguero's last-minute Premier League-winning goal against QPR on 13 May 2012 was one of those moments.

With the dreams of a first league title in 44 years slipping away, the Argentine striker popped up at the death of the team's final match of the season to steal the trophy from under the noses of arch rivals Manchester United and step into the club's folklore.

Ten years on, a statue of Aguero, who remains the highest-scoring overseas player in Premier League history with 184 goals, has been unveiled at City's Etihad Stadium.

It brings not just a chance for the striker and his then-teammates to reminisce about that glorious moment, but an opportunity for some fans to bask in the fact that while millions tuned into the dramatic conclusion on TV, they witnessed it in person.

Rachel Herdson says there was "a carnival atmosphere" at the ground, "because we thought it would be relatively straightforward"

Lifelong City fan Rachel Herdson was in the stands that day, alongside her brother, father and husband.

She says supporting the club had been a mixed bag up to that point, as in the run-up to the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, City had "a rollercoaster period".

• Aguero's title-winning goal changed everything for Manchester City, says chairman

• Ten years since Premier League title-winning goal

• How a dramatic final day unfolded in the 2011/12 title race

And, of course, there was the ever-present rivalry with the red half of Manchester.

City's rise to prominence following the takeover had seen Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United's legendary manager, refer to them as "noisy neighbours" and Ms Herdson distinctly remembers a moment when the Scot was asked if United would ever be derby day underdogs.

His reply? "Not in my lifetime."

'Lump in my throat'

The machinations of the 2011-12 season, though, had brought the title race to the final day and City were top, ahead of United on goal difference, so needed to equal or better their rival's result to take the trophy.

"It was a carnival atmosphere, because we thought it would be relatively straightforward," Ms Herdson says.

Things, however, did not go according to plan.

Ms Herdson says she will take the moment Aguero scored "to my grave"

Stoppages at the Etihad meant United's victory over Sunderland was already in the bag while City were still playing - and they were losing.

Ms Herdson says "real nervousness and disbelief" swept around the stadium.

However, in the 91st minute, Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko headed home an equaliser and the fans dared to dream.

Two minutes later, Aguero picked up a loose ball in the box, sidestepped a tackle and calmly slotted home his shot.

Ms Herdson says she, her family and thousands more supporters went wild.

"I'll take it to my grave," she says.

"Even if we win the Champions League, it will not surpass that moment.

"From that level of despair to euphoria, I still gets goose bumps and a little lump in my throat even now."

'Screaming and bawling'

Down at the pitch side, fellow lifelong fan Sharon Latham was readying herself for the end of the game.

As the club's official photographer, she had stationed herself in front of the dugouts to capture City manager Roberto Mancini's reaction to whatever the final whistle brought.

Looking back at the photographs she took across the course of the game, she admits to "tearing up".

"There's pictures of people of crying and getting ready to walk out, because they thought we had lost," she says.

Ms Latham says as a City fan, all she really wanted to do was "celebrate"

She says even Mancini was showing signs of cracking.

"He was normally not that emotive [but] on this occasion, he was up and down, he was pacing, he was waving his arms and shouting, especially after Edin Dzeko equalised," she says.

She says she also got shots of players "watching and waiting" nervously, but everything changed once Aguero struck.

Through her lens, she caught the moment Mancini leapt through the air into assistant manager Brian Kidd's arms and the "screaming and bawling" players rapturously reacting to the last-minute winner.

She admits, though, that it was not the easiest moment of her career.

"As a fan, it was difficult, because I wanted to celebrate," she says.

And for that very reason, she says she will be taking a different approach at the anniversary celebrations.

"I'm not taking my camera," she says.

"I'm just going to enjoy it."