The English Premier League season is heating up again, with City’s victory over Liverpool last season tightening the race to be crowned English champions. Check out some of the other tight races that have occurred in the EPL over the last 30 years:
While Arsenal is currently on top of the 2022/2022 English Premier League (EPL), it is still a tight race that could still be won by up to 5 contenders in the chasing pack, including Manchester City and Manchester United. If it does end up being a close race, it wouldn’t be the first time; there have been some amazingly tight races over the last 30 years that have got football fans’ pulses racing, with some iconic seasons still up for grabs until the last moments of the campaign. Given their dominance of the EPL, it is unsurprising that Man United feature in 4 of these 5 close title races.
Here is a selection of some of the tightest races in EPL history:
1994/95 - Blackburn/Man Utd (Rovers won)
Not many would have seen unfancied Blackburn Rovers as a threat heading into the 1994/95 season: they had gone 66 seasons without a major trophy and hadn’t even lifted the Division One title since before WW1 (World War 1). However, Rovers had a feared weapon that gave them an edge ̶ Alan Shearer, who eventually became the top all-time scorer in EPL history. Together with the young Chris Sutton, who was signed for a then record fee of £5 million, the pair scored 49 goals between them, with Shearer achieving a record-breaking 34 goals in a 42 game season.
Rovers achieved a 12-match unbeaten run from October to January, but their run was interrupted by United , who were the only side that weren't defeated by Kenny Dalglish's side. The title fight went to the final day after Shearer scored a goal against his boyhood side Newcastle in a close 1-0 win.
Eventually, United had to hope for their bitter rivals Liverpool to do them a favour and beat Rovers, which they duly did. However, United themselves were unable to beat West Ham, resulting in Rovers pipping United by 1 point (89 to 88 points), thus becoming the first team other than United to win the Premier League.
1998/99 - Man Utd/Arsenal (United won)
While most football fans remember Manchester United's 1998/99 treble-winning season for their dramatic last-minute winner against Bayern Munich to clinch the Champions league, not many remember the extremely tight title race for the Premier League. In fact, at Christmas time, United were only 3rd on the table, with Arsenal placed fifth and Aston Villa at the top of the standings. But United dominated in the 2nd half of their campaign, with the dynamic duo of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke ensuring that United remained unbeaten in their final 20 games, with 6 draws.
Christmas leaders Villa eventually faded to 6th place, while rivals Arsenal were right on United’s tail (with a -game unbeaten streak ) in a rivalry memorably dubbed “the Irresistible Force vs the Immovable Object”. The crucial moment in the race turned out to be Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Leeds at Elland Road in the penultimate game of the season. While United fell behind to Tottenham on the final day of the season, they hit back to win 2-1 , thereby claiming the title by one point.
2009/10 - Chelsea/Man Utd (Chelsea won)
Chelsea broke United’s 3 season winning streak with a record 103 goals. However, they only beat United by a mere 1 point in a monumentally close title race. This fairy tale season seemed unlikely after the departure of manager Jose Mourinho, but Carlo Ancelotti proved to have the winning formula for the London club.
Chelsea’s season was dominated by captain John Terry as well as Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who scored 63 goals between them that season. The winning season couldn’t have been achieved without a controversial 2-1 win over United in April, with Drogba's winning goal given despite replays that indicated he was in an offside position.
2011/12 - Man City/Man Utd (City won)
It doesn't get much more dramatic then Manchester City’s Premier League winning season in 2011/2012 with their win only decided on the final afternoon of the season. City had shown their muscle and intentions early on in the season, when they smashed United 6-1 at Old Trafford. And while Mancini's side maintained a 5-point advantage heading into December, a defeat to Chelsea (their first of the season) gave United the chance to catch up to them. In fact, Paul Scholes’ return from retirement energised the Red Devils, and gave them a 2-point advantage heading into the final months.
United could have shut the door when they played City in the reverse fixture, but a Vincent Kompany header gave City the win and proved to be crucial to the title outcome. On the final day, City were top of the table on goal difference, but needed to match United’s result to win their first ever Premier League title.
With their matches played simultaneously, it seemed that United would win yet another title after beating Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, while City were behind to Queen Park rangers heading into extra time. As United players waited on the field for a possible trophy presentation, Edin Džeko equalized for City in the 92nd minute, and Sergio Agüero scored the winner in the 94th minute to clinch the title on goal difference.
2018/19 - Man City/Liverpool (City won)
For a while it seemed that Liverpool would run away with their first EPL title ever, but they were eventually caught by City thanks to a key clash between the two sides in January 2019. Heading into the fixture, Jurgen Klopp's unbeaten side was seven points clear of City.
The clash could have gone either way; Sadio Mane's 18th-minute shot hit the post and rolled agonisingly to the goal-line. In fact, only a miniscule 11.7 millimetres of the ball failed to cross the line thanks to John Stones’ clearance. It was a pivotal moment in the match and in the season, as City won the fixture 2-1.The Reds subsequently slipped up on several occasions, with two goalless draws against United and Everton resulting in City holding a one-point advantage with nine games to play. From that point, both teams displayed remarkable coolness under pressure, as both won 8 from 8 matches, meaning that there was 1 point between them heading int the final day of the season.
While Liverpool duly beat Wolves 2-0 victory, a dominant performance by City against Brighton allowed them to retain their Premier League title with a whopping 98 points. Agonsingly for Liverpool, their 97 points is the highest tally a team has managed without winning the trophy.
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