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Every season, soccer fans hope to get the same level of high-end competition in their beloved English Premier League. The more competitive the teams, the closer the race to the title is, creating some of the most thrilling moments not just in soccer, but in all of sports. With that in mind, we’re breaking down the five most thrilling EPL title races of all time.
Manchester United found success in the 2007/2008 English Premier League season, but not without an epic chase ending with Liverpool (76 points), Arsenal (83 points), and Chelsea (85 points) finishing just below the Red Devils and their 87 points. Arsenal was leading the league for a time, but after a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United, the Gunners would start to slip down the ladder, increasing Manchester United’s hopes of winning the season by a large margin. In the end, United took the title in a 2-0 victory against Wigan Athletic.
Probably the most shocking title winner on this list, Leicester City managed to win the 2015-2016 Premier League trophy against all odds. Having been promoted to the EPL after their incredible 2013-2014 season in the EFL Championship (two second division in England), Leicester City would be another mid-to-bottom tier team struggling to stay up with a 14th-place finish in the 2014/2015 season. However, in the 2015/2016 season, they’d go on to defy the odds by winning a formidable title race by a 10-point margin (81 points) ahead of the likes of Arsenal (71 points) and Tottenham (70 points). While the margin wasn’t extremely close in terms of winning the Premier League, witnessing Leicester City take home the Premier League title despite having preseason odds of 5,000-1 was an incredible Cinderella story.
The 2018/19 title race was contested by Manchester City and Liverpool, two overly dominant teams not just in the domestic league, but in all of Europe as well. By the final matchday of the Premier League, Manchester City were sitting at 95 points, while Liverpool sat at 94. Liverpool would play their final game after a 16-game unbeaten streak needing a victory, which they achieved 2-0 against Wolverhampton, but would need Manchester City to lose to take the title. City would start the game with 13 wins in a row but would go down 1-0 against Brighton, before putting Liverpool’s title hopes to bed with a 4-1 comeback victory, even though the Reds would put up a whopping 97 points throughout the season only to be snuffed out by City’s 98.
One of the most exhilarating EPL title races of all time occurred in the 2013/2014 season as Manchester City outlasted Liverpool. The key part of this title race was the original 3-2 victory that Liverpool would take over Man City to sit in first place with four games to go. Things seemed up for Liverpool until Chelsea would end their hopes of a title after Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip saw them lose 2-0, before Liverpool then blew a 3-0 lead in their next game against Crystal Palace to tie 3-3. Chelsea (82 points) were the villains in this race, tripping Liverpool down the ladder to 84 points and allowing Manchester City (86 points) to take home the EPL title.
Just four seasons before Leicester City would commit the biggest underdog story of all time in the Premier League, Manchester City was beginning to forge its legacy as one of the most dominant English clubs to ever play the game. This was heartbreaking for Manchester United though, having been the 2010/2011 EPL champions, as the Red Devils would finish tied in points (89 points) with their Manchester rivals after 38 games played.
Since points were tied for first place, the deciding factor went to goal difference, where Manchester City boasted a +64 goal difference, compared to Manchester United’s +56. What made this title race so close is that United were going to win the title until the dying seconds, when Sergio Aguero’s last-second winner saw City beat QPR and win their first-ever Premier League trophy.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.