Tightest Premier League Title Races: Man City’s Battles With Liverpool and Man United Top List

• Manchester City and Liverpool are once again involved in a tight title race in the 2023-24 season
• Both clubs featured in exciting title races in the 2018-19 and 2021-22 Premier League campaigns
• Manchester City edged past bitter rivals, Manchester United, on the last day of the 2011-12 season

The 2023-24 Premier League title race is heating up.

Only two points separate leaders Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal at the top of the table after Matchday 27.

Sports Brief looks at the tightest Premier League title races in history, with the 2023-24 season set to go down the wire again.

Closely Contested Premier League Title Races

1. Man City vs. Man Utd (2011-12)

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In terms of drama and excitement, nothing will top the 2011-12 Premier League title race featuring Manchester City and Manchester United.

The Red Devils looked like they were on their way to another league title after they built an eight-point lead over City with six matches remaining.

United collapsed down the stretch, though, dropping points in three of their next four games, including a 1-0 loss to Manchester City.

That poor run of form saw United drop to second ahead of the final round of matches. With both teams having the same number of points and City having a superior goal difference than United, the only hope for the Red Devils to win the title was for them to have a better result than their crosstown rivals on the final day.

It looked like luck was smiling on United that fateful afternoon on May 13, 2012. The Red Devils defeated Sunderland in their match, while City trailed QPR 2-1 heading into second-half stoppage time.

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A miracle transpired, though, that City fans young and old will never forget. Edin Dzeko tied the match at 2-2 in the 92nd minute with a header from David Silva's corner.

Sergio Aguero then sent City fans into a frenzy a couple of minutes later, sidestepping a tackle by Taye Taiwo before blasting an unstoppable right-footed shot past QPR goalkeeper, Paddy Kenny, to give City the 3-2 win and the Premier League title.

A statue of Aguero has since been put up at Etihad Stadium for fans to pay tribute to the Manchester City legend, per the BBC.

2. Man City vs. Liverpool (2018-19)

Liverpool fans will forever remember the 2018-19 Premier League season as the title that got away. The Reds scored a total of 97 points that season but still fell short in their bid to win the championship.

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The reason why they failed was because of Manchester City's scintillating form to end the season. Pep Guardiola's men won each of their last 14 league matches to grab the title away from Liverpool.

It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Reds, who had a seven-point lead over City on January 3, 2019. They came close to building a 10-point advantage that day, with Sadio Mane nearly giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead in their clash against City.

John Stones managed to clear the ball, with just 11.7 millimetres of it not crossing the line, per The Guardian. City ended up winning that contest 2-1, starting a sequence of events that led to them winning the Premier League title.

3. Man City vs. Liverpool (2021-22)

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Manchester City and Liverpool once again locked horns in a battle for the ages in the 2021-22 Premier League season. Only one point separated the two sides heading into the final day of the season, with Manchester City holding the lead.

City once enjoyed a 13-point advantage earlier in the season but that was clawed back by the Reds, who went on a 10-game winning run in the second half.

Pep Guardiola's men only needed to match or better the Reds' result on the final day for them to capture back-to-back titles.

Matchday 38 was full of twists and turns for both sides, with leads changing in the Liverpool vs. Wolves and Manchester City vs. Aston Villa matches.

For the Reds to lift the trophy, they needed to win their match against Wolves and hope for City to drop points against Villa.

It looked like luck was finally smiling on Liverpool, as Aston Villa took a shock 2-0 lead against Manchester City after 69 minutes.

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The problem for the Reds was that they weren't winning their match against Wolves at that time, meaning the title still would end up with City if the results were to hold.

Liverpool's hopes of winning the title were soon extinguished after City scored three goals in a six-minute span to turn a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead in a hurry.

Ilkay Gundogan pulled a goal back in the 76th minute before Rodri equalised in the 78th minute. Gundogan struck again in the 81st minute to give City the lead for the first time in the match.

Liverpool managed to score two late goals through Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson to grab the win against Wolves, but City's win in the other match meant the title went again to the blue half of Manchester.

Carragher's Premier League predictions

Sports Brief recently reported on Jamie Carragher's picks to win the Premier League title this season.

The Sky Sports pundit picked Manchester City, who trail Liverpool by a point heading into Matchday 28.