Premier League: EIGHT times the title went to the final day as Liverpool bid to overhaul Man City 

Liverpool ensured they will keep their Premier League title hopes alive after seeing off Southampton despite making nine changes at St Mary’s – with Klopp masterminding a 2-1 with a new look side.

Manchester City will be frustrated that the Saints failed to get the job done after going in front early on, with Pep Guardiola’s men knowing they would be named champions had they beaten the Reds. 

Instead, the title battle will go to the final day of the season – where City face Aston Villa at home while Liverpool welcome Wolves to Anfield. The Etihad outfit are currently one point ahead of their rivals but Villa are managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who will be desperate to see his old club win the league. 

Fans are set for a nailbiting day on Sunday, yet going into a Premier League finale with the title still up for grabs is actually a rarity. There have only been eight occasions where it has gone down to the wire. 

Sportsmail has taken a look through the archives to look at each season where the title went to the final day and what happened. 

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Man City compete for the title on Sunday – the league crown has gone to the final day on eight previous occasions 

1994-95 – Blackburn pip United to the title 

All Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn side needed to claim their first top-flight crown since 1914 was a win. The only problem was that they had to do it at Anfield against Liverpool.

Despite their tough trip to play the Reds, Blackburn still looked good for the title as they sat just a point ahead of United, who had travelled to West Ham.

Alan Shearer put one hand on the trophy with his 34th goal of the season after he was picked out just inside the area totally unmarked and slotted home beyond David James with 20 minutes gone.

And things got even better when Michael Hughes put the Hammers in front against United. But just after half-time in east London, Brian McClair equalised for the Red Devils before John Barnes also hit a leveller against Blackburn to make things interesting.

Man United failed to catch up to Blackurn in 1995 and drew 1-1 to West Ham on the final day 

Going into stoppage time both games were still all square – that was until Jamie Redknapp hit an outrageous, curling free kick into the top left corner of Tim Flowers’ goal with seconds left.

Blackburn fans had heads in hands – and Liverpool fans weren’t celebrating either. They didn’t want to see their fierce rivals Manchester United lift a third successive Premier League title and thought they had gifted them a chance to do just that.

One goal at the Boleyn and it would have been all over for Dalglish and his brave team, but United couldn’t find a way through against West Ham – managed by Redknapp’s dad Harry.

Blackburn held off the stern challenge from United despite their 2-1 defeat at Anfield  

Dalglish was told the news and the emotions from the players flipped on its head as they got the party started and marched their way around the pitch.

Speaking to Sportsmail about the famous triumph, Shearer said: ‘[Man United] were gunning for us. There was pressure being put on us and Fergie was a master at that, wasn’t he? We got off to a decent start at Anfield. We should have scored in the second half. But we didn’t and we were punished.

‘There was only three or four seconds when I thought: “We’ve lost it”. Then all of a sudden, the whole of Anfield started going mad. That’s when we knew we’d won it.’

1995-96 – United hold firm against Newcastle

Kevin Keegan’s Magpies had soared to the top of the table by 12 points in January during a fiercely contested title challenge against Manchester United, but Newcastle fell away under pressure. 

They finished on 78 points, with United clinching the trophy on 82 points after beating Middlesbrough 3-0 when Newcastle needed them to lose to have any chance of bouncing back to top spot and seal the title.  

As it turned out, Newcastle could do nothing to stop United anyway, as they only managed to draw 1-1 with Tottenham in their final game of the season. 

United mounted an impressive comeback from 12 points down against Newcastle to win the 1995-96 title on the last day

Newcastle were left kicking themselves after missing a huge chance to hold off their rivals

For all of Keegan’s rallying cries, including the infamous ‘I will love it if we beat them’, Newcastle simply ran out of steam, as the likes of David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley fell to five defeats in eight games towards the end of the campaign.

That included a 1-0 home loss to United, following on from a 2-1 loss at Old Trafford. What looked initially as a mammoth task for United ended up being a relatively comfortable job on the final day.  

1998-99 – Man United comeback stuns Arsenal 

The famous treble winning season for United.

United had to work for all three of their trophies that year – having lifted the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League – and it was the Gunners who ran them close for the title. 

It was Arsene Wenger’s men who looked most likely to scoop the domestic crown when United were held by Liverpool thanks to a late equaliser from their former player Paul Ince.

United’s dominance continued as they seized the 1998-99 crown ahead of Arsenal in their famous treble-winning campaign

With three games to go, Arsenal were in the driver’s seat, but a 1-0 loss away at Leeds United meant the pendulum swung back to Old Trafford ahead of the final day. 

It meant United simply had to beat Tottenham in the Premier League finale, a team they often beat with ease – and they duly came up with a result again as David Beckham and Andy Cole found the net as United came from 1-0 down to clinch their fifth top flight title in seven years. 

Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 in their final fixture but missed out on the title by one point, with United finishing on 79.

2007-08 – United beat Wigan to see off Chelsea 

Manchester United were at the DW Stadium knowing a victory would be enough to keep Chelsea’s hands off the Premier League and win it for the second time in a row.

The Blues, at home to Bolton, grew twitchy after news of Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-half strike from the penalty spot. But their dreams of reclaiming the league crown took a boost when Andriy Shevchenko poked home with half an hour left.

But back at Wigan, United deflated those hopes as Ryan Giggs slotted home for goal No 2 and wrapped up the title.

Manchester United saw off Chelsea to be crowed 2007-08 champions after beating Wigan

Chelsea, meanwhile, stumbled at home to Bolton as Avram Grant’s men could only draw 1-1

And to compound the blow for Avram Grant’s men, they weren’t even left with the consolation of finishing level on points with the Red Devils – Matty Taylor’s stoppage-time strike squirmed past a host of bodies and into the net to round off a bad day for Chelsea.

United ended up with 87 points after 27 wins, eight draws and five defeats, while Chelsea were two points short with just 85.

It would be a treble heartbreak for the Blues as they were also beaten by United in the Champions League final in the same season, having lost the League Cup final against Tottenham earlier in the campaign. 

2009-10 – Chelsea win the title in style

It was the year of Carlo Ancelotti, the year of Nicholas Anelka and the year when Didier Drogba was in the form of his life. 

It was Man United and Chelsea going head-to-head for the title once again – but this time the Blues had their noses in front, leading by a point on the final day. 

Ancelotti’s men were in irresistible form that year, taking many teams to the cleaners, and they would do it one last time to wrap up the season with a demolition job. 

The Blues won the title the following season – securing it in style with an 8-0 win over Wigan

The high-scoring Blues fended off United after an top season where they scored 103 times

Their task was bettering United’s result against Stoke City and they were fully up for the job – annihilating the Lactics 8-0. 

Drogba scored a hat-trick to claim the golden boot, Anelka netted a double, with Salomon Kalou, Frank Lampard and even Ashley Cole getting in on the act.

Meanwhile at Old Trafford, United thrashed Stoke 4-0, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s men were not quite good enough to oust the freescoring Blues, who netted 103 times to United’s 86.

Chelsea went on to win the league and cup double that year, while United had to settle for just the League Cup.

2011-12 – Last-gasp Aguero wins stunning title for City 

Commentator Martin Tyler said it best after Sergio Aguero rippled the back of the net in stoppage time to win the league and send the Etihad faithful into raptures: ‘I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again.’

And you probably won’t. In that moment, nearly every football fanatic in the country was a Man City fan. The Sky Blues looked to be facing the impossible – 2-1 down to QPR in the 91st minute and needing two goals to scoop their first league crown since 1968 – with rivals Manchester United at Sunderland waiting for a slip up.

QPR had put up one hell of a fight despite the daunting task of travelling to Manchester looking for a result to secure their top-flight status.

With time running out for Manchester City against QPR Aguero found space in the area and hit a stunning winner

They had come from behind after Pablo Zabaleta’s early strike to take a shock lead through Djbril Cisse and Jamie Mackie, either side of Joey Barton’s red card.

Elsewhere at the Stadium of Light, United were doing their bit with Wayne Rooney scoring the only goal to put them two points clear at the top. City still only needed to beat a relegation struggler at home to secure title glory – but fans looked on in despair thinking their dreams were sinking without a trace.

The 90 minutes were up and the fourth official added five on. Enter Edin Dzeko. City won a corner and David Silva went over to take it as City fans continued to gnaw at their fingernails.

Silva drilled it in and the Bosnian pounced, burying a header at close range – 2-2. ‘Could it happen?’ asked Tyler.

United players were devastated after hearing the news that City had scored at the death 

Man City won their first title since the 60s in one of the most dramatic final days ever seen

Into the 93rd and supporters were seen anxiously tuning in to radio stations with the news that the full-time whistle had gone at Sunderland. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had secured the win and were the champions as it stood – as City launched one final attack.

Aguero picked up the ball outside the box, played a one-two with Mario Balotelli, took one touch to set himself up and slammed home to write his name into the history books.

Images of the Argentine twirling his shirt in the air as the stadium erupted and Roberto Mancini running around the touchline will live long in the memory, as will those of dejected United players upon hearing the news – with Ferguson attempting to console them.

Reflecting on that momentous day, Aguero told Sky Sports in 2017: ‘You only have to talk to any City fans and that game is always the one they want to talk about. The fact that it is in their memories forever means I’m never going to forget it either.’

2013-14 – City crush Liverpool’s hearts

The first of two Liverpool heartbreaks against Manchester City. 

The image of Steven Gerrard slipping to the turf against Chelsea to allow Demba Ba to score en route to a 2-0 defeat will stay with Liverpool fans for life. 

There was so much optimism in the air that the title would be returning to Anfield for the first time in the modern era after Brendan Rodgers men had pulled off a 3-2 win over title rivals City two games previously. 

But after being ousted by Chelsea, City had the chance to go level on points with the Reds and did just that by beating Everton 2-0.

It was Liverpool’s turn to set the pace when they went to Crystal Palace and appeared to be strolling to victory after going 3-0 up in the 53rd minute of the game, but were left stunned by an unthinkable Palace comeback. 

Liverpool were in pole position to win the 2013-14 title before dropping points in two key games against Chelsea and Palace

City won their final five games of the season to pounce on Liverpool’s two setbacks and win the title 

The Eagles scored three times in just nine minutes to snatch a draw to leave Liverpool’s title hopes in tatters. 

City played their game two days later and pounced immediately – pulling off a resounding 4-0 win over Aston Villa, which meant their final day destiny was very much in their hands. 

Liverpool did their job on the final day – beating Newcastle 2-1 – but they needed City to lose their game against West Ham to have any chance of claiming the title. 

It was no surprise that the team on a six-match winning streak cantered to a 2-0 to win their second Premier League title. 

2018-19 – Pep Guardiola’s City too good for the Reds

Liverpool choked again under pressure from City – and just like in 2013-14, they only have themselves to blame after racking up a healthy lead of seven points going into the new year. 

Man City had been enduring some rough form over December, losing three times in eight games that month.

Liverpool had been sensational for much of the season and agonisingly only lost once – to Man City themselves in a 2-1 loss in January. That proved to be the difference as Guardiola’s men inched ahead of them by just a point. 

It was another disappointment against City in 2019 as Liverpool won their last nine games and racked up 97 points but still couldn’t deliver the title 

City were near flawless that season – winning their final 14 games to finish with 98 points 

The margins were so tight, and Liverpool can count themselves incredibly unlucky after amassing an incredible 97 points but still losing out to City, who had 98.

But Liverpool simply drew too many games, while City kept winning. 

Klopp’s men drew a blank in consecutive games against Leicester and West Ham, while they could also only produce a stalemate with Man United before another draw in the Merseyside Derby against Everton. 

After that game, Liverpool would go on to win nine straight games, but they were forced to hope that City slipped up – a team that had been on a run of 14 wins from January until the end of the season – and the slip up never came.

They beat Brighton 4-1 on the final day to rack up their incredible points total, just two fewer than their record of 100 the previous year.