Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool, 10 April 1998
“I always wanted to kick Peter Schmeichel for some reason,” Michael Owen said, looking back on how he became the first player to be sent off in a Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Liverpool. He was first booked for kicking the goalkeeper and, minutes after scoring to cancel Ronny Johnsen’s opener, Owen earned his second yellow for a lunge on the Norwegian in the 40th minute. Johnsen had to be carried off on a stretcher. Earlier in the season United had comfortably beaten Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield, and the Merseyside club were keen to ruin the party and ensure their rivals did not get a boost in their title race against Arsenal.
It seemed Owen had ruined that ambition, but United failed to use the advantage handed to them on a platter. The draw put United seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal but Arsène Wenger’s side had four games in hand. “I don’t think they’re as good a footballing team as us,” Sir Alex Ferguson said of Arsenal. “They will find out points will be dropped at the end of the season – no question about that.” Arsenal went on to win the league with two games to spare.
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal, 23 March 2008
This Arsenal defeat definitively ended their title hopes in 2008. At the beginning of March of that year, Arsenal were top but a run of draws against Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough allowed Manchester United to push them down to second, putting massive stakes on the match at Stamford Bridge. A revival looked on the cards after Bacary Sagna put Arsenal in front, but Drogba then, inevitably, turned the match with two goals. The result pushed Chelsea to second and moved Arsenal down to third, where they remained come the end of the season.
In three-way title races, neutrals get the best of both worlds by watching a team collapse while still having two other sides be competitive. Wenger’s side followed up the disappointment at Chelsea with another draw and a loss in their next three games to firmly put them out of contention, while Chelsea tried to add some suspense over the outcome of the title fight. A few weeks later they beat Manchester United by the same scoreline at the Bridge with Michael Ballack scoring twice, but United won their last two games of the season to secure the league by two points. Chelsea’s two wins became inconsequential after drawing at home to Bolton on the final day while United won 2-0 at Wigan.
Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea, 3 April 2010
It may seem like refereeing controversies mar every round of matches at the moment, but it was no different 14 years ago. The season’s title race, amid a new era for Chelsea after Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment the previous summer, can be defined by the 2-1 defeat of Manchester United at Old Trafford. But the star of the show was not Joe Cole, whose backheel flick in the 20th minute gave the visitors the lead. Nor was it Drogba, who came off the bench to score the second. It was Mike Dean and his team of officials. Both sides were denied clear penalties in the first half and Drogba’s goal was allowed to stand despite the striker being a good few yards offside.
“That’s twice we’ve been beaten by refereeing decisions, it happened at Stamford Bridge as well,” Ferguson said. “The linesman is right in front of Drogba and he gets it wrong. It was a poor, poor performance from the officials in a game of this magnitude. The quality of the officials has cost us.” United could hardly complain, though. Paul Scholes was lucky to still be on the pitch at full time and their late consolation, scored by Federico Macheda, was guided into the net by his right arm. The three points were a massive fillip for Ancelotti’s side, who went on to win four of their last five games, including an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan on the final day to pip United to the title by a point.
Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal, 9 April 2023
A point gained versus two dropped. What is the difference? Arsenal found out after their thrilling 2-2 draw at Anfield last season. Despite going 2-0 down Liverpool got a point with Roberto Firmino netting his 11th goal against Arsenal in the 87th minute. Arsenal’s players were crestfallen as the Brazilian nodded in a cross at the far post but their undoing came from relinquishing the control they had exhibited for much of the first half.
Arsenal’s point owed much to Aaron Ramsdale, who emerged as a heroic figure, repeatedly thwarting a relentless Liverpool onslaught. His highlights included denying Mohamed Salah’s deflected curling effort and preventing Ibrahima Konaté from bundling home a last-second winner from virtually on the goal line. Reflecting on the match, the goalkeeper said it felt like both gaining a point and squandering two. Although still leading the table by six points, the chinks in Arsenal’s armour were evident to Manchester City after the Anfield thriller. A few weeks later, Kevin De Bruyne helped pull the strings as the defending champions comfortably defeated Mikel Arteta’s side 4-1, a scoreline that somehow still flattered their rivals. City subsequently clinched their third consecutive title with three games to spare.