Premier League 2018-19

The 2018-19 Premier League season produced one of the greatest title races in the history of English football. Manchester City retained their crown with 98 points, but were pushed to the very last day by a Liverpool side who amassed 97 points -- the highest total ever recorded by a team finishing second in the English top flight.

Liverpool led Manchester City by seven points at the turn of the year and lost just a single league game all season -- a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad on 3 January that proved to be the pivotal moment. Jurgen Klopp's side were relentless, winning 30 of their 38 matches, but City's extraordinary consistency in the run-in, winning their final 14 league games in succession, proved decisive.

The Golden Boot was shared three ways for the first time in Premier League history, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal and Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane all finishing on 22 goals. Virgil van Dijk's commanding performances at the heart of Liverpool's defence earned him the Player of the Season award, as the Reds conceded just 22 goals -- the best defensive record in the league.

Chelsea finished third under Maurizio Sarri, while Tottenham claimed fourth despite a challenging campaign that included the protracted move to their new stadium. Both clubs would go on to contest the Champions League final. Arsenal finished fifth after a late-season collapse, blowing a top-four position with just six games remaining.

Jose Mourinho's troubled spell at Manchester United ended in December after a dismal start to the season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's appointment as caretaker brought an initial bounce, including a famous Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, but results tailed off and United eventually finished sixth.

Newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers were the story of the mid-table, finishing seventh in their highest league position since 1980. Under Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves took points off every team in the division except Liverpool and Huddersfield, qualifying for the Europa League in the process.

At the bottom, Huddersfield Town were relegated before the end of March with just 16 points -- one of the poorest seasons in Premier League history. Fulham and Cardiff City joined them, with all three promoted clubs going back down after a single season.

A campaign defined by the breathtaking title duel between City and Liverpool, 2018-19 set an almost impossibly high standard for competitiveness at the top of English football.