8 Craziest Results on the Final Day of the Premier League (Ranked)

There is something quite special about the final day of a Premier League season. Teams await the outcome of their hard work, which can sometimes come down to them getting a result in their very last game of their season.

Simultaneously, there are also fixtures played out between two teams with nothing to play for, and that sense of freedom can yield some hugely entertaining games and results. The fact these matches are frequently played in intense May sunshine only helps them stick in the mind of every football fan.

As the 2023/2024 season draws to a close, this article ranks some of the most unbelievable final day results ever seen in Premier League history. Eight different games from eight different seasons make up this list.

Ranking factors

This list has been ranked based on the:

• Importance of the match
• Surprising nature of the result

While some of the most high-scoring matches in Premier League history have taken place on the final day of the season, the ones that carry the most importance have been ranked higher on this list than the dead rubbers.

8 Stoke City 6-1 Liverpool

2014/2015 Season

Steven Gerrard is one of the Premier League’s most iconic players and is absolutely adored by his boyhood club Liverpool, with whom he made over 500 league appearances. When he announced he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the 2014/15 season, everyone connected with the Merseysiders was desperate to give him the perfect send-off, but that didn’t quite work out as planned.

On the final day of the season, with Liverpool unable to finish any higher, they were utterly humiliated by a Stoke City side similarly with nothing to play for. The Potters went in at the break 5-0 up, one of the biggest half-time leads in Premier League history, and in the 70th minute, their defenders even stopped tracking back to allow Gerrard to score a consolation goal, before his former Liverpool teammate Peter Crouch completed the 6-1 demolition at the Britannia Stadium.

7 Tottenham Hotspur 5-4 Leicester City

2017/18 Season

Both Tottenham and Leicester each had nothing to play for on the final day of the 2017/18 season, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side secure in the Champions League places and Leicester City some way off pipping Burnley to the final Europa League spot. With little pressure on the shoulders of these players, they played out an absolute cracker in front of over 77,000 at Wembley Stadium, which was Spurs’ temporary home while their new ground was under construction.

In an end-to-end match, England strikers Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy each bagged braces, along with Erik Lamela, as Spurs went from 3-1 down at the start of the second half to 4-3 up by the hour mark. Vardy then levelled things again in the 73rd minute, but Kane responded three minutes later with a guided finish and his 30th league goal of the season ended up being the winner for the north London outfit.

6 Manchester United 4-2 Blackpool

2010/11 Season

Blackpool were arguably the neutral’s favourite during their only Premier League season in 2010/11, but despite a miraculously strong start to the campaign that had them playing some fine football, they were left needing a result on the final day of the season to stay up. To make matters worse, they were away at Manchester United, who were to be crowned champions after the match.

In a dramatic relegation battle in which five teams went into the final day with a chance of going down, Ian Holloway’s side recovered from a slow start to briefly lead at Old Trafford, thanks to an outstanding Charlie Adam free-kick and a clever flick from Gary Taylor-Fletcher. However, the Tangerines were pegged back thanks to goals from Anderson, Michael Owen and an unfortunate own goal from Ian Evatt, consigning them to a 19th-place finish and relegation to the Championship.

5 Arsenal 4-2 Wigan Athletic

2005/06 Season

Arsenal were bidding farewell to Highbury, their home of 113 years, at the end of the 2005/06 season, playing in commemorative redcurrant shirts, just as they had in their very first season at the famous old ground. The way the season had panned out meant it was also a hugely important game as the Gunners had to win, and hope their deadly north London rivals Tottenham slipped up, in order to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

Spurs’ squad was struck by the infamous lasagna-gate fiasco and ended up losing 2-1 away at West Ham, meaning Arsene Wenger’s side just needed a win to secure a place in the top four. They briefly fell behind, but their star man Thierry Henry soon took control of proceedings as he bagged a hat-trick, kissing the Highbury turf after scoring his third from the spot, and won the game for Arsenal, sending the old ground off in style.

4 Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa

2021/22 Season

There is nothing more thrilling for a neutral than a title race that goes down to the last day and in the 2021/22 season, Manchester City and Liverpool both went into their final matches with a chance of lifting the title. For a long time, it looked like being the Reds’ day as goals from Matty Cash and former Liverpool player Philippe Coutinho saw Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa side go 2-0 ahead at the Ethiad Stadium with 20 minutes remaining.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side turned the game on its head entirely in a remarkable five-minute turnaround, courtesy of an accurate strike from Rodri and a brace from Ilkay Gundogan. Liverpool’s 3-1 home win over Wolves wasn’t to be enough, and Man City lifted their sixth Premier League title in unbelievable circumstances, although it didn’t quite eclipse their 2012 triumph when it came to drama.

Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa
Date	22nd May 2022
Manchester City scorers	Ilkay Gundogan (76′, 81′), Rodri (78′)
Aston Villa scorers	Matty Cash (37′), Philippe Coutinho (69′)
Ground	Etihad Stadium
Attendance	53,395

3 Chelsea 8-0 Wigan Athletic

2009/10 Season

Chelsea were also involved in a title race that went right down to the wire in the 2009/10 season, although Carlo Ancelotti’s side didn’t appear interested in engaging in any drama. They knew a win over Wigan Athletic, who had recorded a shock 3-1 victory over them in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, would be enough to pip Manchester United to the league title, and they showed Roberto Martinez’s side no mercy.

Nicolas Anelka’s strike and Frank Lampard’s penalty meant the Blues went in at half-time 2-0 up before they ran riot, with Didier Drogba bagging a hat-trick, Anelka completing his brace and Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole also getting in on the act, and rounding off an 8-0 trouncing of a sorry Latics side. The winning margin helped Chelsea become the first team in the competition’s history to score over 100 goals in a season, as they sealed their third Premier League crown in style.

Chelsea 8-0 Wigan Athletic
Date	9th May 2010
Chelsea scorers	Nicolas Anelka (6′, 56′), Frank Lampard (32′ pen), Salomon Kalou (54′), Didier Drogba (63′, 68′ pen, 80′), Ashley Cole (90′)
Wigan Athletic scorers	N/A
Ground	Stamford Bridge
Attendance	41,383

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2 West Bromwich Albion 5-5 Manchester United

2012/13 Season

The 2012/13 season was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final in management, and having wrapped up the league title weeks prior to the final day of the season, his players were able to perform with freedom away at West Brom in the Scotsman’s final match in charge of Manchester United. And for a long time, things seemed to be going to plan, as goals from Shinji Kagawa and Alexander Buttner, either side of a Jonas Olsson own goal, saw the Red Devils roar into a 3-0 lead after just half an hour.

Goals from James Morrison and Romelu Lukaku saw the Baggies close the gap, but Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez proceeded to add United’s fourth and fifth and seemingly put the outcome beyond any doubt. However, a dramatic final ten minutes saw West Brom claw their way back and earn a dramatic 5-5 draw, marking one of the highest-scoring games in Premier League history, as Lukaku became only the third player to ever score a hat-trick against Fergie’s United in the Premier League.

West Bromwich Albion 5-5 Manchester United
Date	19th May 2013
West Brom scorers	James Morrison (40′), Romelu Lukaku (50′, 80′, 86′) Youssouf Mulumbu (81′)
Manchester United scorers	Shinji Kagawa (6′), Jonas Olsson (9′ og), Alexander Buttner (30′), Robin van Persie (53′), Javier Hernandez (63′)
Ground	The Hawthorns
Attendance	26,438

1 Manchester City 3-2 Queens Park Rangers

2011/12 Season

Ten years before their dramatic final-day comeback against Aston Villa, Manchester City fans had to endure an even more gut-wrenching last day as they sought their very first Premier League title ahead of city rivals, Manchester United. Pablo Zabaleta fired them ahead in the first half, before Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie gave QPR a shock lead in the second half, and as the game entered stoppage time, the title appeared to be heading to Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

But City rallied and Edin Dzeko headed home from a corner before Sergio Aguero shimmied his way through the QPR defence and belted his shot home, after the final whistle had already blown in United’s game. The Etihad Stadium descended into delirium as Man City celebrated their first league title for 44 years in what has gone down as one of the greatest games in Premier League history.

Manchester City 3-2 Queens Park Rangers
Date	13th May 2012
Manchester City scorers	Pablo Zabaleta (39′), Edin Dzeko (90+2′), Sergio Aguero (90+4′)
Queens Park Rangers scorers	Djibril Cisse (48′), Jamie Mackie (66′)
Ground	Etihad Stadium
Attendance	48,000

3:55

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