August
Liverpool started the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ipswich, while Erling Haaland scored back-to-back hat-tricks against the Tractor Boys and West Ham to leave City top of the pile at the end of August. Elsewhere, Everton remarkably coughed up a two-goal lead at home to Bournemouth – conceding three times from the 87th minute – becoming the first team in Premier league history to taste defeat from such a commanding position.
September
The surprise result of September was Liverpool’s 1-0 reverse at home to Nottingham Forest which ended Arne Slot’s serene start to his debut season. Earlier in the month, the Reds had swatted aside Manchester United as Casemiro endured a torrid afternoon. Arsenal won the first north London derby courtesy of Gabriel’s second-half header. And Manchester City’s season was rocked when Rodri suffered a ruptured ACL during a 2-2 draw with the Gunners. Elsewhere, Everton did it again, losing 3-2 to Aston Villa after being two goals ahead.
October
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was finally put out of his misery by being sacked after a 2-1 defeat at West Ham. Nottingham Forest rose to fifth in the table as Chris Wood inspired them to a 3-1 away victory over Leicester. And free-scoring Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 and Ipswich 4-3, prolonging the pair’s winless starts to the campaign.
November
Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten league run came to an end at Bournemouth – and then the wheels well and truly fell off for Pep Guardiola’s ageing charges with successive defeats by Brighton and Tottenham. For Spurs, the 4-0 thrashing at the Etihad was the high-watermark of an otherwise forgettable domestic campaign. Off the pitch, referee David Coote was sacked after footage emerged of him taking drugs and criticising Liverpool’s former manager Jürgen Klopp, while Ruben Amorim took the helm at Manchester United.
December
Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 to go 11 points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side and nine clear of stumbling Arsenal. They then put six past injury-ravaged Tottenham. Under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United won the first derby of the season thanks to late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, but they then suffered three straight home defeats for the first time in 45 years. Chelsea’s title hopes faded with back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Ipswich, while Nottingham Forest ended the year in second place.
January
David Moyes returned to Everton after 12 years and quickly set about dragging them away from the relegation scrap. Meanwhile, Tottenham ended the month with four straight league defeats, the last of them against Leicester, who duly leapt out of the bottom three. The shock result of the month came at Anfield where Manchester United thwarted Liverpool thanks to Amad Diallo’s late equaliser, as Ruben Amorim’s charges delivered an uncharacteristically effective performance. Later that month United mourned one of their legends, Denis Law.
February
Chris Wood bagged a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest thumped Brighton 7-0, but defeat by Fulham and coming off at the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline at Newcastle left the top-four race wide open. Meanwhile the last men’s Merseyside derby a Goodison Park ended with fisticuffs and red cards after Everton’s James Tarkowski walloped an equaliser in the 98th minute. Defeat for Arsenal at home to West Ham signalled the slow death of the Gunners’ title charge, though the month also brought a crowd-pleasing 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City. At the bottom of the table, Southampton recorded their first Premier League win since November as they beat fellow strugglers Ipswich at Portman Road.
March
Liverpool had to come from behind to beat Southampton in their only league game of the month, while Arsenal slipped further off the pace with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City – handing Pep Guardiola’s men their ninth loss of the season, more than they had lost in the previous two seasons combined. And Michail Antonio made an emotional return to the London Stadium after admitting he almost died in a car crash in December.
April
The Reds wrapped up their second Premier League title in front of their own fans with a thumping 5-1 win over Tottenham on a balmy day at Anfield. Earlier in the month, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his last goal for his boyhood club, thrashing in a late strike against Leicester. Wolves made it a remarkable six wins on the spin, as their uptick in form condemned Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton to the drop.
May
Everton fans bade an emotional Premier League farewell to Goodison Park (although news emerged that the ground will now be used for women’s games), Tottenham and Manchester United sank to extraordinary league lows before duking it out in the Europa League final, Southampton swerved the unwanted record of becoming the joint worst side in Premier League history as they picked up just their 12th point of the campaign at home to Manchester City, and the final day of the season saw Aston Villa potentially miss out on a Champions League spot after having a goal controversially disallowed at Old Trafford.
