ADVERTISEMENT
Is this the best ever rivalry?
AFP
Last Updated IST
SET FOR A THRILLING FINISH: Very little separates champions Manchester City from Liverpool in a season that has gone down to the wire. Reuters
SET FOR A THRILLING FINISH: Very little separates champions Manchester City from Liverpool in a season that has gone down to the wire. Reuters

Manchester City and Liverpool's enthralling battle for the Premier League title will come to a climax on Sunday when City visit Brighton, while Wolves travel to Anfield.

Defending champions City have the upper hand as they lead by a point knowing they only have to match Liverpool's result to become the first side in a decade to retain the title.

Liverpool have not lifted the league since 1990, but could not have done much more to finally end that wait after posting a club record 94 points with one game to spare.

ADVERTISEMENT

Incredibly the Reds could post the third highest points tally ever in the Premier League with a victory against Wolves and still miss out.

"Both teams deserve the title. But it can be just one. The team that is going to lose can't have regrets because they have given everything," said City boss Pep Guardiola.

Statistically, this is the greatest Premier League title race of all-time, but AFP Sports looks at what rivals it for drama from the history books.

It is rare for the title to be won on the final day, even rarer to do it in the final minute of stoppage time in the final game.

Should City seal the title on Sunday it will be the club's fourth in eight years, a run that was started by Sergio Aguero's dramatic winner as they came from 2-1 down in injury time to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 on the day and Manchester United to the title on goal difference.

Prior to Aguero's winner in 2012, the most dramatic conclusion to a title race had no rival as Arsenal snatched the league from Liverpool's grasp in 1988/89.

The reason the top two were even facing off in the final game of the season was because the fixture was rescheduled after the horror that saw 96 Liverpool fans killed at Hillsborough during their FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.

However, on the field Liverpool had responded resolutely, winning seven of their next eight games to lift the FA Cup and move three points ahead of Arsenal before the end of season showdown.

The Gunners not only needed to win at fortress Anfield but do so by two clear goals.

And against the odds they did so as Michael Thomas sealed a 2-0 win in stoppage time.

Liverpool edged a battle for superiority on Merseyside in both the league and the FA Cup as Kenny Dalglish scored the winning goal in the title race in his first season as player-manager.

Everton led their local rivals by 12 points after victory at Anfield in late February, but Liverpool went on a storming run to win 11 and draw one of their last 12 games to claim the title by two points.

Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 10 May 2019, 16:33 IST)