5 of the biggest meltdowns in Premier League title race
The Premier League is easily the most popular league in the world and the exciting drama it provides is the biggest reason behind their popularity. A glance at the current league table will show how unpredictable this league can be.
Leicester are leading the table by 8 points with four games remaining and if the same were the case in any other top European league, there won’t be a lot of doubts about the eventual champions. However, the Premier League has taught us not to count our chickens before they’ve hatched because in this league, anything is possible and sometimes just one momentary lapse in concentration can change the momentum of the title race in the opposite direction.
In the history of the Premier League there have been many closely fought title races and some others in which the favourites run out of steam before crossing the finish line.
#5. Aston Villa (1992-93)
It was the first Premier League season and believe it or not, recently relegated team, Aston Villa, were title contenders during that season. The final Premier League table might suggest that Manchester United were runaway winners of the league, but that wasn’t the case.
There were 22 teams in the Premier League and each team had to play 42 games. Villa led the table for most part of the season and after 36 games, the top of the league table looked like this.
Position | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Aston Villa | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 52 | 33 | 19 | 67 |
2 | Manchester United | 36 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 54 | 28 | 26 | 66 |
Aston Villa drew their next game against Coventry City, while United won their game against Sheffield Wednesday to take a one point lead over Villa. Both teams won their next two games and with three more games to go, Villa were still in touching distance of the title.
Position | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Manchester United | 39 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 60 | 29 | 31 | 75 |
2 | Aston Villa | 39 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 56 | 34 | 22 | 74 |
Villa’s mental strength was about to be tested and they crumbled. They lost their last three games of the season and in the end United went on to win the title by 10 points.
The first Premier League season was memorable for other reasons also. Norwich led the league table at Christmas with a negative goal difference. They also finished the season in third with such a goal difference. Newly promoted Blackburn Rovers finished in fourth and it was also the last season in charge for Brian Clough, as his Nottingham Forest side were relegated.