Manchester United won the 2008-09 Premier League title and relegation race on 90 points, 4 points ahead of Liverpool. It came down to the final days: Manchester United did not lead for good until May 10, 2009. Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion finished in the relegation places.
Loading season data…
English Premier League standings, 2008-09
Team
W
D
L
GD
PTS
L10
Streak
Manchester United (MUN)
28
6
4
+44
90
8-1-1
W1
Liverpool (LIV)
25
11
2
+50
86
9-1-0
W5
Chelsea (CHE)
25
8
5
+44
83
8-1-1
W5
Arsenal (ARS)
20
12
6
+31
72
7-2-1
W1
Everton (EVE)
17
12
9
+18
63
5-3-2
W2
Aston Villa (AVL)
17
11
10
+6
62
2-4-4
W1
Fulham (FUL)
14
11
13
+5
53
6-1-3
L1
Tottenham Hotspur (TOT)
14
9
15
0
51
6-1-3
L1
West Ham United (WHU)
14
9
15
-3
51
3-3-4
W1
Manchester City (MCI)
15
5
18
+8
50
5-0-5
W1
Wigan Athletic (WIG)
12
9
17
-11
45
3-1-6
W1
Stoke City (STK)
12
9
17
-17
45
5-1-4
L1
Bolton Wanderers (BOL)
11
8
19
-12
41
1-5-4
L1
Portsmouth (POR)
10
11
17
-19
41
3-3-4
L1
Blackburn Rovers (BLB)
10
11
17
-20
41
3-2-5
D1
Sunderland (SUN)
9
9
20
-20
36
1-1-8
L2
Hull City (HUL)
8
11
19
-25
35
0-3-7
L1
Newcastle United (NEW)
7
13
18
-19
34
1-3-6
L2
Middlesbrough (MID)
7
11
20
-29
32
1-3-6
L1
West Bromwich Albion (WBA)
8
8
22
-31
32
2-4-4
D1
The dashed line on the chart is the relegation line: the pace of the best team in the drop zone.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 19 times.
Manchester United trailed by as many as 10 points on December 28, 2008.
Manchester United took first place for good on May 10, 2009.
Manchester United won 11 games in a row from December 26, 2008 to March 4, 2009, the longest run of the race.
Liverpool led by 4 points as late as January 13, 2009.
Manchester United went 8-0-0 from January 10, 2009 to February 21, 2009, turning a deficit of 8 points into a lead of 8 points.
The top two ended the day within three points of each other on 75 of the 98 days played.
Five teams held first place.
Manchester United spent 124 of the season's 282 charted days in first place.