What a decade it has been in the Premier League. From surprise title winners to teams dominating and decimating opponents, to teams losing the title on goal difference – we’ve seen it all.
In this article, we take a look at the top 5 Premier League moments from the decade
Manchester City’s last-minute title win
Ever since Sheikh Mansour took ownership of Manchester City, many fans and pundits believed that it was just a matter of time before the Sky Blues win the Premier League, owing to the ambition shown by the new owners who also displayed mighty financial clout. And that prophecy came true at the end of the 2011-12 season when they edged out rivals Manchester United on goal difference.
City left it very late in their final game of the season, where they needed a win to lay their hands on the Premier League title. Sergio Aguero was the hero as he scored an injury-time winner to win the English league title for the first time since 1968 under extraordinary circumstances.
5000/1
Yes, that was the odds being offered on Leicester City’s chances of winning the Premier League title.
The Foxes ended up doing exactly that, led by Italian manager Claudio Ranieri whose team lost just thrice in the entire season, having finished the previous season in 14th.
Leicester had shocked and surprised everyone, and new stars were born with the likes of Jamie Vardy, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez guiding them to a historic win.
Their title win is possibly a one-off, and it would probably be years before a team fighting for relegation one season, go on and win the title in the next.
Manchester City and Liverpool title race
The decade has seen some intense rivalry at the top of the table, first between Manchester United and Manchester City at the start of the decade, with Liverpool briefly entering the fray, and then Manchester City and Liverpool going at it in the last two seasons.
While the 2011-12 season ended with City winning the title on goal difference after both City and United ended the season on 89 points, the 2018-19 season saw City and Liverpool finish just a point apart from each other. Liverpool had a good lead at the start of 2019 but were pegged back by a resurgent Manchester City side, who just about edged it, ending the season with 98 points, while Liverpool secured 97 points.
The battle between these two teams, led by two charismatic, world-class managers, was one of the best in Premier League history, and the best of the decade.
Legendary managers bid adieu
Two legendary managers bid goodbye to the Premier League in the 2010s, as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger – who had an intense rivalry while managing Manchester United and Arsenal, respectively – left their jobs. Ferguson ended his managerial career on a high, taking United to their 20th league title and his 13th when he quit his job in 2013.
Wenger, meanwhile, left the Gunners in 2018, after a few years of poor results. The two greats created incredible teams and shaped the global phenomenon that the Premier League became, and their departure has left a huge hole in the league.
Incredible comebacks
The Premier League has time and again been declared as the best league in the world – or, at least, the most entertaining. The decade has seen loads of goals, as well as fantastic comebacks by teams which has also resulted in titles being won or lost.
The most memorable comeback is the one that we’ve mentioned earlier in this article, where Manchester City scored a last-gasp winner against QPR to win the league title. There have been others like the iconic 4-4 draw between Newcastle United and Arsenal, where the Gunners squandered a 4-goal lead, or Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge of Manchester United, where the Red Devils let in three goals in the final 10 minutes.
There was also the pivotal 3-3 draw between Liverpool and Crystal Palace, where the Reds allowed Crystal Palace to score three goals in the final 15 minutes in the penultimate game of the season. The draw meant that City would take the lead in the title race, and Liverpool eventually lost the title by a point.
