Summary
Arsenal overcame a 13-point gap to Manchester United in the 1997/98 campaign.
United dominate the list with five out of seven points overhauls.
Manchester City overcame a 10-point deficit to Liverpool in 2018/19 to win the league.
Arne Slot's Liverpool have been in exceptional form in the Premier League this season, and look on course to dismantle Manchester City as champions. It looks like an uphill task for Pep Guardiola's side to overturn the gap, especially with the key injury of Ballon d'Or winner Rodri. Bigger points gaps have been overturned in previous Premier League campaigns, though. In fact, City clawed back a 10-point deficit to Liverpool in the 2018/19 season, eventually finishing on 98 points, which was one clear of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Five of the seven comebacks on this list are from Manchester United teams, which is perhaps unsurprising given they won the league 13 times between 1992 and 2013 under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. Here is the full breakdown of the top seven points overhauls in Premier League history.
Top 7 Points Overhauls in Premier League History
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
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7
7 Manchester City - 2018/19
10-point gap overhauled
Manchester City won the Premier League in 2018/19.
City won the 2017/18 Premier League title with 100 points - the first team to achieve this feat. Despite this, they lost 5-1 over two legs to Klopp's Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. This was the start of an intense rivalry between the two clubs. After Liverpool's 5-1 victory against Arsenal on 29th December 2018, they found themselves 10 points clear of City, having played a game more. Guardiola's side had just lost three out of their last four matches and were facing an uphill battle to retain their league title.
The two teams faced off against each other on 3rd January 2019 with seven points separating them. In an end-to-end clash, Leroy Sane scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute at the Etihad Stadium to secure an invaluable 2-1 victory. After Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Leicester City at Anfield, the gap at the top was five points with 14 matches left to play. City went on to win all 14 games, including a tense 1-0 victory against the Foxes in the penultimate match of the season, which saw Vincent Kompany score from 30 yards to break the deadlock. Liverpool finished one point behind City on 97 points, the biggest tally by any team in Premier League history to not win the title.
6 Manchester United - 2008/09
10-point gap overhauled
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugs his shoulders after scoring for Manchester United.
On 18th December 2008, Ferguson's side were 10 points behind Rafa Benitez's Liverpool. They did have three games in hand, though, as they played two Club World Cup matches just before Christmas. When they returned from Japan, the Red Devils went on a sparkling run of form, winning 11 matches in a row. Title rivals Liverpool brought this run to an end in March, beating United 4-1 at Old Trafford. A 2-0 away defeat to Fulham the following week meant United were giving Benitez's side a chance of getting back in the title conversation.
United steadied the ship, though, dropping only two points in their final nine matches. Liverpool also enjoyed a successful end to the campaign, winning 10 of their 11 matches, but finished on 86 points, which was four behind Ferguson's side. It was also the 18th league title for the Red Devils, equalling Liverpool's all-time record.
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5 Manchester United - 2002/03
10-point gap overhauled
Manchester United's David Beckham (C) scores past Aston Villa's Dutch goal keeper Stefan Postma
United only managed to get eight points from their first six matches, including defeats to Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United. After dropping points to City and West Ham United in mid-November, Ferguson's side found themselves 10 points behind Arsenal. Their form remained inconsistent before the turn of the year, winning four games in a row before back-to-back defeats at the end of December.
After their Boxing Day defeat to Middlesbrough, the Red Devils went on an impressive run of form, winning 15 out of their last 18 matches. They were unbeaten during this time and needed to be, as they found themselves eight points behind the Gunners in March. Eventually, United finished on 83 points, five points clear of Wenger's side.
4 Manchester United - 1996/97
10-point gap overhauled
Manchester United parade the Premier League trophy in 1996.
This was one of United's most impressive comebacks to win the Premier League title. On 8th December 1996, they drew 2-2 away at West Ham, leaving them in sixth place, 10 points behind leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. Following a draw against Sheffield Wednesday on 18th December, the Red Devils won nine out of their next 11 matches, putting them above their bitter rivals.
They did stumble with defeats to Sunderland and Derby County, but a crucial victory at Anfield in April 1997 meant they were in the ascendancy. Eventually, they finished on 75 points, seven points clear of a trio of teams, including Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
3 Manchester United - 1995/96
12-point gap overhauled
Kevin Keegan Newcastle 90s
The title race between Newcastle and United in the 1995/96 season remains one of the most infamous in Premier League history. Ferguson's side endured a slump from 27th November to 13th January, winning only two out of their nine games. This left them 12 points behind Kevin Keegan's Newcastle side, who were nicknamed the 'Entertainers' for their swashbuckling style of football.
With only 15 matches left in the season, the Red Devils knew that they needed to go on an impressive run of form to catch the Magpies. They did just that, winning their next six games, including a 1-0 away win against their title rivals at St James' Park.
The mind games between the two managers intensified in the final months of the season. Ferguson said in an interview that he didn't think teams like Leeds and Nottingham Forest would try as hard against Newcastle as they did against United. After a 1-0 win away at Leeds, with a trip to the City Ground for Stuart Pearce's testimonial up next, Keegan said:
"No, no... when you do that with footballers, like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce, I've kept really quiet, but I'll tell you something, he went down in my estimation when he said that.
"We have not resorted to that, but I'll tell you, you can tell him now if you're watching it, we're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and... and... I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!"
Newcastle went on to draw 1-1 at Forest and finished on 78 points, four points behind United. Keegan's rant remains an iconic Premier League moment, which was symbolic of his team's collapse in the last few months of the campaign.
2 Manchester United - 1992/93
12-point gap overhauled
United secured their first league title in 26 years in the inaugural Premier League season, but they had to do it the hard way. On 5th December 1992, the Red Devils found themselves 12 points behind Norwich City. The Canaries quickly relinquished their lead, though, following a 1-0 away defeat to Ferguson's side on 12th December. Mike Walker's team didn't win any of their next five matches, meaning in mid-January, United were at the top of the table for the first time.
The Red Devils wobbled in March, going winless in four matches, including a 1-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic. They returned to form, though, winning their last seven games to finish ahead of Aston Villa and Norwich to secure their first league title since 1967.
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1 Arsenal - 1997/98
13-point gap overhauled
arsenal-1997
United have featured heavily on this list of points comebacks, but in the 1997/98 campaign, they were the ones to relinquish a 13-point lead at the top of the table. At the start of January 1998, the Red Devils were 13 points clear of Arsenal, meaning they were the odds-on favourites to win the league for the third consecutive year, but Wenger's side had other ideas.
In the new year, the Gunners won 14 out of their next 16 matches, including a 10-match winning streak from March to April. This included a 1-0 away win at Old Trafford in March 1998, with Marc Overmars scoring the decisive goal. The Gunners wrapped up the league title with games to spare following their impressive end-of-season form, eventually winning the title by one point ahead of United.
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