Every Time the Premier League was Won on the Final Day

The 2023/24 Premier League title race has been one of the best in the competition’s history. Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal were embroiled in a rare three-way duel heading into the final month of the campaign.

While Jurgen Klopp’s side ultimately faded, failing to provide the charismatic German coach with a fitting send-off during his final season on Merseyside, Arsenal have managed to keep pace with perennial champions City until the final Sunday of the season. This is new territory for Mikel Arteta’s parsimonious group, but Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Cityzens are no strangers to closing out the campaign under tense circumstances.

The Premier League title race has gone down to the wire on no less than nine different occasions since the competition’s inception in 1992. Here is the story behind each compelling conclusion.

9 Winner: Blackburn Rovers, 1994/95

Runners-up: Manchester United

The 1994/95 season was the culmination of a rivalry that had been brewing in Lancashire for a couple of seasons. Blackburn Rovers had been taken over by local businessman Jack Walker in 1991 and had begun to threaten to win titles in the seasons that followed. Manchester United, on the other hand, were the dominant force in the Premier League at the time, as they had won the first two editions of the competition following the split from the Football League in 1992.

Blackburn were powered by the most expensive strike force in English football history as they boasted Alan Shearer (signed from Southampton for £3.3m) and Chris Sutton (signed from Norwich for £5m). It was a formidable partnership that scored a combined 49 goals in the 1994/95 season. This was 61% of Blackburn’s total goal tally in the league.

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Blackburn had gained what would turn out to be an unassailable lead heading into the final day as, despite losing to Liverpool, they won the title thanks to United’s inability to overcome West Ham. This was Rovers’ peak in the Premier League as their decline began as soon as the next season started. United, meanwhile, moved on from their ageing players and promoted youth, notably from the class of ’92.

8 Winner: Manchester United, 1995/96

Runners-up: Newcastle United

United’s injection of youth proved to be the correct decision the season after they lost the title on the final day because this time around they won the title on the final day, ending Newcastle United’s hopes of claiming Premier League glory. Players such as David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes filled the holes left by the departure of Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis.

Newcastle had a busy summer, signing players like David Ginola and Shaka Hislop, with David Batty and Faustino Asprilla being lured to the North East in February 1996. The points gap between Newcastle and Man United shrunk and grew over the course of the season, with The Mags being 12 points ahead at one stage of the season in January. A poor run of form, however, saw the Tyneside club drop to second with eight games to go.

This title race also prompted one of the most iconic rants in football history. After comments made by Sir Alex Ferguson where he suggested Nottingham Forest and Leeds didn’t try as hard against Newcastle as they did against Manchester United, Keegan produced his famous ‘I will love it if we beat them’ speech. One line from the diatribe, ‘he’s got to go to Middlesborough and get something’ was ill-thought-out, however, as United promptly went to the Riverside, won 3-0 and brought the title back to Old Trafford.

7 Winners: Manchester United, 1998/99

Runners-up: Arsenal

The previous season had seen Arsenal and United duke it out, with the Gunners winning their first Premier League title with two games to spare. This campaign was far closer and only added to the feud burning between Arsene Wenger and Ferguson which formed one of the greatest managerial rivalries of all time.

Both clubs started the season slowly and after five games, Arsenal were eighth, while United were 10th. Both improved greatly in the second half of the season, however, and occupied the top two spots from matchday 27 onwards.

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A draw between the two sides midway through the season, and an 86th-minute loss to Leeds United in the penultimate game are two moments from this campaign that Arsenal can point to as key times when they could have gained the upper hand in their fight against Manchester United. Ultimately, Arsenal were powerless on the final day as United’s win over the Gunners’ hated north London rivals Spurs secured the first trophy in United’s famous continental treble.

6 Winners: Manchester United, 2007/08

Runners-up: Chelsea

The Premier League had to wait a while before its next final-day showdown. Chelsea had a strong start, but it threatened to turn sour after Jose Mourinho left the club after ‘losing his happiness’. Avram Grant’s first game in charge was a baptism of fire, however, as John Obi-Mikel received a red card 32 minutes in before Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha condemned Chelsea to what would turn out to be a highly influential loss.

Chelsea only lost one more game that season, but United’s vastly superior goalscoring, powered by Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, proved to be a major difference-maker as they headed into the final day with a superior goal difference to Chelsea. All they needed to do was draw in the end, as Chelsea were unexpectedly held by Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge. The Blues had the misery piled on, however, as 10 days later United defeated them in the Champions League final in Moscow.

5 Winners: Chelsea, 2009/10

Runners-up: Manchester United

Revenge was a dish best served cold for Chelsea. The Blues had traded first and second with United on numerous occasions over the course of this season, but on this occasion it was Chelsea who had a better group of goalscorers.

Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka all reached double figures for the west London club. Meanwhile, only Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov were able to score more than 10 for United and this clearly gave Chelsea the edge in a complete change from the two clubs’ fight for the title two seasons prior. This was Chelsea’s first title in the original post-Mourinho era and was a key battle in one of the greatest Premier League rivalries.

4 Winners: Manchester City, 2011/12

Runners-up: Manchester United

What more could you want from a title fight? An underdog beating their hated local rivals in a title race won via a last-minute goal after all hope seemed lost only 10 minutes prior is the way every single football fan wants to win a title, isn’t it?

City had not been champions of England during the Premier League era or since the 1967/68 season when they won the title at the expense of their neighbours Manchester United. The similarities between the two title deciders separated by 44 years are eerie, as on both occasions Sunderland were involved and going into the final game both clubs were level on points.

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Manchester United did what they could in 2012, beating Sunderland (something they did not do in 1968) but City’s vastly superior goal difference gave them the edge over their rivals. Though it looked as if United would walk away with the title on that day, as City found themselves one goal down against QPR with minutes to go. Edin Dzeko levelled the score in the 92nd minute and, well, you know what happened a couple of minutes later; Sergio Aguero snatched the title for City in one of the greatest moments on the final day of any Premier League season.

3 Winners: Manchester City, 2013/14

Runners-up: Liverpool

For once, a title showdown in this list doesn’t include Manchester United. First place changed hands 25 different times over the course of the 2013/14 season, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all leading at some point during the campaign. Arsenal actually led the league for the longest time during the course of the season before a run of two wins from nine games dropped them back to fourth place. Chelsea took over from them but an incredible run of form from Liverpool saw them take control of the league with seven games to go.

With three games left, it was Liverpool’s league to lose, and they did just that. Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip helped Chelsea to beat Liverpool at Anfield before the Merseyside outfit chucked away a three-goal lead against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This allowed Manchester City, who had been steadily rising in the table, to snatch the league away from Liverpool on the final day.

2 Winners: Manchester City, 2018/19

Runners-up: Liverpool

This league title was decided by just 11mm. That was how much of the ball failed to cross the line in a clash between Manchester City and Liverpool in the 2018/19 season. John Stones cleared the ball off the line to give Pep Guardiola’s side arguably the most important win of the season.

It would end up being the only game that Liverpool lost during the entire campaign. Both clubs went on an incredible run of form after this with Liverpool picking up 43 points out of the 51 available. Four draws proved costly for Jurgen Klopp as City picked up 48 of a possible 51, pipping Liverpool to the league title by one point.

1 Winners: Manchester City, 2021/22

Runners-up: Liverpool

Two things are seemingly guaranteed in this list. A club from Manchester will be involved, and Liverpool will lose to the blue half of the city. Chelsea actually controlled the league for a stint in the early stages of the campaign, but big winning streaks for City and Liverpool saw them return to familiar positions in the league table.

It was during Liverpool’s 10-game sequence of victories, however, that Manchester City dropped vital points, allowing Liverpool to completely cut what was a 13-point lead. Once again, however, Liverpool failed to beat City as a 2-2 draw allowed the Cityzens to retain a narrow lead.

On the final day, City led by a single point, meaning they needed to win or match Liverpool’s result and the title would be theirs. Liverpool went behind early on to give City the advantage, but they quickly equalised. Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa actually took the lead against City, but the Liverpool legend failed to prevent his team from collapsing as they conceded three goals, gifting the title once again to the team that took it from him eight years prior.

All stats courtesy of the Premier League.