Agueroooo, play-offs and goal difference - the most dramatic title races in history
Ahead, of a cracking Premier League finale, we take a look back at some of the best title races to have gripped Europe over the years.
Published : May 08, 2019 00:20 IST
We are now 37 matchdays into the Premier League season and it seems that neither Manchester City nor Liverpool are going to blink in an intriguing title race.
There have been stunning displays, hard-fought victories and dramatic comebacks from both. The last time Liverpool dropped a point was the March 3 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby. Man City's last failure to take three points was incredibly on January 29.
Here we take a look back at some of the best title races across Europe over the years, including the iconic Michael Thomas and Sergio Aguero moments for Arsenal and Man City, respectively.
1963-64 Serie A: Bologna and Inter Milan
The 1963-64 Serie A title race was so tight, the Scudetto had to be decided via a play-off for the first and only time in history, after Bologna and Inter finished with 54 points.
The match ended 2-0 to Bologna with the legendary Harald Nielsen, the season's top scorer, netting the second goal to seal the trophy.
1988-89 English Football League: Arsenal and Liverpool
Arsenal should have wrapped up the 1988-89 title long before the season finale but a loss to Derby County and draw against Wimbledon allowed Liverpool to leapfrog it before its final-day match at Anfield.
The Gunners needed to win by two goals to snatch the title and left it late, with Michael Thomas scoring an iconic goal to give Arsenal its first championship since 1971.
1994-95 Premier League: Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers was the only team to win the Premier League other than Arsenal and Manchester United between 1992 and 2005, but it limped across the line, losing to 2-1 Liverpool at Anfield on the last day of the season.
However, it was bailed out by a profligate United, which could only draw 1-1 with West Ham. Had Sir Alex Ferguson's side won, it would have claimed the title by a single point.
1998-99 Premier League: Manchester United and Arsenal
Arsenal was left hoping for a Tottenham victory at Manchester United on the final day and it looked as though its fierce rival was going to do it a favour when it went 1-0 up at Old Trafford.
But United clinched the first trophy of its historic treble by one point, as goals from David Beckham and Andy Cole secured a comeback victory.
2004-05 Scottish Premier League: Rangers and Celtic
Celtic was on the verge of claiming the Scottish Premier League title after a 2-1 Old Firm derby win over Rangers in April sent it five points clear at the summit.
It was, however, only two clear entering the last day of the season and suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Motherwell, allowing Rangers to sneak the title courtesy of a 1-0 away win at Hibernian.
2006-07 Eredivisie: PSV and Ajax
Going into the final day of the season, Ajax led PSV in the table by one goal with the teams having won, drawn and lost the same number of games.
In a dramatic finale, PSV beat Vitesse 5-1 with Alex, Jefferson Farfan, Ibrahim Afellay and Phillip Cocu all scoring as they comfortably bettered Ajax's 2-0 victory over Willem II to take the glory on goal difference.
2006-07 La Liga: Real Madrid and Barcelona
Real Madrid fell five points behind leader Barcelona after losing 2-1 at Racing Santander on April 14, but the Catalans surrendered their advantage by losing against Villarreal and drawing against Real Betis.
Madrid salvaged a 2-2 draw against Real Zaragoza in the penultimate weekend but Raul Tamudo's last-gasp strike saw Barca held by Espanyol by the same scoreline, keeping the arch rivals level on points.
Both sides won their final fixtures, meaning Los Blancos were crowned champions due to a superior head-to-head record in that season's Clasicos.
2011-12 Ligue 1: Montpellier and PSG
PSG was denied Ligue 1 glory in the first season of the Qatar Sports Investment era by a team nobody expected. The club parted company with Antoine Kombouare halfway through the season and replaced him with Carlo Ancelotti in a bid to hold off Montpellier. It was unable to do so and lost out by three points in a dramatic title race, with a 2-1 defeat to an Eden Hazard-inspired Lille key to their failure.
It went down to the final day but despite a 2-1 win over Lorient it was Rene Girard's Montpellier, led by the superb form of top-scorer Olivier Giroud, who won the title for the first time in its history by beating Auxerre 2-1.
RELATED | The 95-100 point bracket is the new Premier League equilibrium
2011-12 Premier League: Manchester City and Manchester United
Manchester United thought it had won the title in 2011-12 with a 1-0 win at Sunderland on the final day of the season, with 10-man QPR holding an implausible lead over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium going into stoppage time.
But one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Premier League history saw Edin Dzeko equalise before Sergio Aguero's iconic winner ensured it was the blue half of Manchester celebrating that night.
2013-14 La Liga: Atletico Madrid and Barcelona
Atletico Madrid is the only team in the past 15 seasons to stop Real Madrid and Barcelona from winning La Liga, and its 2013-14 triumph was wrapped up in impressive fashion.
It travelled to Camp Nou on the last day of the season knowing a defeat would see the Catalans claim the title. It looked as though its heroic bid might fail when Alexis Sanchez scored after Diego Costa and Arda Turan were forced off injured, but Diego Godin's second-half equaliser delivered glory to Atleti.
RELATED | Diego Godin confirms Atletico exit as Inter switch looms