Has a team ever won the league title starting the final day in 2nd place?
The Premier League title race will go down to the wire with Manchester City and Arsenal fighting out for the crown on May 19.
Table-topper City will take on West Ham United at home, while second-placed Arsenal will host Everton at the Emirates Stadium in a simultaneous kick-off.
City leads the table by two points and is on course to win its fourth successive Premier League title — a first in English football.
Arsenal, meanwhile, is aiming to win its first championship in 20 years. But if it is to do so, it will have to overcome history.
Has a team ever won the title after starting the final day at second place?
In the Premier League era since 1992, no team has ever lapped the first-placed team from the second position and win the title.
There have been nine such instances when the title race went down to the final day.
- Blackburn Rovers – Manchester United : 1994-95 (Blackburn won by 1 point)
- Manchester United – Newcastle United : 1995-96 (United won by 4 points)
- Manchester United – Arsenal : 1998-99 (United won by 1 point)
- Manchester United – Chelsea : 2007-08 (United won by two points)
- Chelsea – Manchester United : 2009-10 (Chelsea won by 1 point)
- Manchester City – Manchester United : 2011-12 (City won on goal difference)
- Manchester City – Liverpool : 2013-14 (City won by 2 points)
- Manchester City – Liverpool: 2018-19 (City won 1 point)
- Manchester City – Liverpool : 2021-22 (City won by 1 point)
However, Arsenal is the last English team to win the league title starting the final day at second place in the 1988-89 season, before the Premier League era.
Starting the day in second place and three points behind Liverpool, Arsenal had to go to Anfield and get a 2-0 win to stay in the title race. And the Gunners did that by scoring a second goal in the first minute of second half stoppage time by Michael Thomas.
The goal meant both teams finished level on points and had a similar goal difference, but Arsenal’s superior goals scored tally of 73 goals edged it to the title. This remains the only time in English football where the title winner was decided by goals scored.
More recently in Germany, the Bundesliga 2022-23 title race was dramatically decided on the final day when Bayern Munich came from second place to win its record-extending 11th championship ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund was held to a 2-2 draw at home against Mainz, while Bayern beat Koln 2-1 with an 89th minute winning goal. Both teams finished level on points but Bayern won the title on goal difference.