One of the best parts of watching football is watching title races, and right now, there is a fantastic one in the Premier League between Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal for the 2023–24 season.
Who will win the Premier League title is anybody’s guess at this stage since only two points now separate the top three clubs.
While Pep Guardiola has guided Manchester City to five trophies in the previous six seasons, the club did not cruise to every victory. Instead, they were involved in several close battles.
Among domestic accomplishments, winning the league championship stands head and shoulders above the rest, especially considering how difficult it is to do it in today’s Premier League.
But what constitutes an excellent championship race? One team may have blown a huge lead, an underdog may be challenging the well-established Titans, or more than two teams may be competing to the finish.
The following is MySportDab selection of the greatest Premier League championship races ever.
Table of Contents
8. 1997/98 – Arsenal and Manchester United
As Arsene Wenger’s first entire season as Arsenal manager and the club’s first Premier League trophy, the title match versus Manchester United was a source of immense delight for Arsenal supporters.
Arsenal were unlikely to finish the season as champions, but after Christmas, they hit a stride and went 18 games without a loss, collecting 45 points out of a possible 51.
A 1-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford in March was the turning point, putting Arsenal in complete control; however, two losses towards the season’s finish meant they were just one point ahead of United.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Arsenal | +35 | 78 |
| 2 | Manchester Utd | +47 | 77 |
7. 1995/96 – Manchester Utd and Newcastle
‘You can’t win anything with kids,’ Alan Hansen said early in the season, contributing to the title’s legendary status.
Four Manchester United players, all 21 or younger, were recently defeated by Aston Villa. The summer saw the departure of the team’s experienced players, while Eric Cantona was yet to return from his extended suspension.
With 15 games remaining in the Premier League season, Kevin Keegan’s exciting Newcastle team seemed destined to win it all.
They led by 12 points. However, Manchester United is always on top of their game, and the Magpies’ comeback was primarily due to Cantona’s return after an eight-month ban.
Manchester United won the title by four points after Newcastle ran out of steam, despite Keegan’s famous “I would love it if we beat them” statement, which he gave in reaction to certain remarks made by Sir Alex Ferguson.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Man Utd | +38 | 82 |
| 2 | Newcastle | +29 | 78 |
6. 1994/95 – Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United
With its non-traditional winner and thrilling last-day drama, this championship battle has all the makings of a classic.
Although they hadn’t won the English Premier League since 1914, Blackburn Rovers became a formidable force under Jack Walker’s ownership. Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton’s sensational striking combo was unstoppable.
A late goal by Jamie Redknapp gave Liverpool a 2-1 victory against Blackburn on the last day of the season.
With the championship hanging in the balance, fans and coach Kenny Dalglish were in disbelief as they awaited news of Manchester United’s performance against West Ham.
Eventually, word got out that Blackburn had won the title, and the Red Devils had only managed a draw despite several golden opportunities.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Blackburn Rovers | +41 | 89 |
| 2 | Man Utd | +49 | 88 |
5. 1998/99 – Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea
The 1998–99 season was a nail-biter amongst Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, with Ferguson’s team winning by a single point.
Chelsea took the lead at the midway point with a 21-game winning streak under their captain Gianluca Vialli’s guidance.
After Arsenal broke the streak, Chelsea’s season ended due to a string of three draws in April. After losing to Middlesbrough in December, Manchester United recovered and went on a winning streak.
After the season, Manchester United won the Premier League at home against Tottenham, advanced to the FA Cup final against Newcastle, and defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
They came out on top, and it was the end of one of the best seasons ever. On the other hand, there was drama on the last day when Manchester United fell behind Tottenham but rallied to ensure that Aston Villa’s victory against Arsenal was irrelevant.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Man Utd | +43 | 79 |
| 2 | Arsenal | +42 | 78 |
| 3 | Chelsea | +27 | 75 |
4. 2009/10 – Chelsea and Manchester United
Once again, Manchester United are involved in a championship chase, but Chelsea emerged victorious.
The true story was the teams’ relative excellence, finishing with 85 and 86 points, respectively. Two teams scoring so many points was unusual at this period.
Chelsea may have done everyone a favor since this would have made it four straight titles for Manchester United. It was known at the time that this match was pivotal in the championship chase.
Chelsea won the league under Carlo Ancelotti, and in case anybody still thinks they didn’t deserve it, they beat Wigan 8-0 on the last day to secure the title.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea | +71 | 86 |
| 2 | Man Utd | +58 | 85 |
3. 2018/19 – Man City and Liverpool
Compared to the matchup between Chelsea and Manchester United in 2009–10, this one was a little more up-to-date.
Man City and Liverpool’s point totals from the 2018–19 season were absurd.
City under Pep Guardiola had 95 points, and Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp had 94 points entering the last day of the competition.
Liverpool were undefeated in 16, whereas City had won 13 consecutive games. On the previous day, it seemed like neither team could lose, and it was obvious that they were both worthy of the championship.
While Liverpool comfortably thumped Wolves 2-0, Man City momentarily sparked some excitement by falling 1-0 away at Brighton. But Guardiola wouldn’t let this one slide out, resulting in a 4-1 victory.
Fans of Liverpool will never understand how their team could have finished with 97 points and still have yet to win the championship. That total ranks third all-time in Premier League play.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Man City | +72 | 98 |
| 2 | Liverpool | +67 | 97 |
2. 2011/12 – Man City and Manchester United
Nothing will ever surpass the 2011–12 championship that Man City won at Manchester United’s expense in terms of dramatic final-day events.
It had been since 1968 that they had won a tournament, but a new era had begun, and money was coming in. Nobody saw them winning it the way they did, but they were anticipated to be there.
The door opened for City when they went on a losing streak and lost to their rivals, adding to their previous 6-1 loss at Old Trafford.
Edin Dzeko scored a goal to tie the game in stoppage time at the Etihad Stadium, but City still needed to win—not draw—because Manchester United had already done their part by defeating Sunderland.
After more than three minutes of stoppage time, Sergio Aguero scored after receiving a pass from Mario Balotelli. The celebrations could finally commence. This Premier League match could have been the most dramatic ever.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Man City | +64 | 89 |
| 2 | Man Utd | +56 | 89 |
1. 2007/08 – Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal
In the 2007–08 season, Ferguson’s Manchester United team prevailed against Arsenal and Chelsea in another thrilling three-way battle.
They dominated for most of the season, but Eduardo’s terrible injury in February’s tie with Birmingham City caused them to drop out of the title hunt.
Since then, they’ve won one of the next eight games. Their aspirations were dashed in a 2-1 loss to Manchester United.
Even though Manchester United were unstoppable thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea, coached by Avram Grant, refused to back down.
They were authentic, albeit improbable, contenders after going 18 games without a loss. Things became intriguing with a 2-1 victory against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge; on the last day, goal differential was the only thing separating them.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Man Utd | +58 | 87 |
| 2 | Chelsea | +39 | 85 |
| 3 | Arsenal | +43 | 83 |
