A century of our favourite images from the season including wild celebrations, protesting fans and goalmouth scrambles
By Jonny Weeks
August
Reigning champions Liverpool left it late to beat Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening day of the season in their first league game back at Anfield following the death of Diogo Jota. The Reds also squeaked past Newcastle thanks to Rio Ngumoha and then Arsenal, after Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick, which won goal of the month. Meanwhile, Manchester City lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham and 2-1 away to Brighton, Everton christened their new home, Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a win, and Sunderland made a strong start on their return to the top flight with two wins from three.
Fans remember Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash last summer, with tributes near Anfield. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
Martin Dubravka of Burnley cannot reach a strike by Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty
Riccardo Calafiori scores for Arsenal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty
Chris Wood of Nottingham Forest celebrates a goal against Brentford with Murillo (top) and Ibrahim Sangaré. Photograph: Ritchie Sumpter/Nottingham Forest FC/Getty
Pedro Neto lambasts the assistant referee during Chelsea’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace. It would prove to be a frustrating season for the Blues. Photograph: Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC/Getty
Iliman Ndiaye of Everton scores the first goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Rio Ngumoha wheels away after scoring a late winner for Liverpool against Newcastle. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters
Jack Grealish enjoys Everon’s victory over Wolves at Molineux with the away fans – the Manchester City loanee proved to be an early fan favourite with Evertonians. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty
September
There were late goals aplenty in September. Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored a stoppage-time equaliser as Arsenal drew with Manchester City, before Gabriel Magalhães headed a 96th-minute winner when the Gunners came from behind to beat Newcastle. Elsewhere, Liverpool defeated Burnley with a 95th-minute Mo Salah penalty while Eddie Nketiah nicked a late winner for Crystal Palace as Arne Slot’s side lost for the first time. After five winless games to start their campaign, Aston Villa came from a goal down to beat Fulham. At the bottom, Graham Potter left West Ham, to be replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo, who had just departed Nottingham Forest. Manchester City comfortably won the Manchester derby 3-0.
Patrick Dorgu of Manchester United challenges Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Reece James of Chelsea tries to get past Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui during a rainswept match at Old Trafford. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty
Gabriel Martinelli chips the ball over the Manchester City goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, to score for Arsenal. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali remonstrates with the referee, Robert Jones, at Bournemouth. Photograph: Ian Walton/Reuters
Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Nottingham Forest, shows his displeasure in front of a well-cropped crest during his side’s defeat to Sunderland. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty
Calvin Bassey of Fulham fails to clear an Ollie Watkins shot at Villa Park. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty
October
Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest just 19 minutes after losing 3-0 to Chelsea, and a mere 40 days after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo. Liverpool endured a torrid month with defeats against Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford. Bournemouth’s 2-0 win over Forest lifted them to second, while Sunderland moved into the top four thanks to a 2-1 win at Chelsea. At the bottom, Burnley beat Wolves thanks to Lyle Foster’s 95th-minute winner, after which Vítor Pereira reacted angrily to abuse from Wolves supporters.
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario calls for calm at Elland Road. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty
Ange Postecoglou’s body language tells the story of his short-lived tenure at Nottingham Forest during a home defeat to Chelsea. Photograph: Neal Simpson/Getty/Allstar
Savinho of Manchester City wins a header while under pressure from Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Loum Tchaouna (right to left) is joined by Jaidon Anthony, Lesley Ugochukwu and Josh Cullen in celebrating Burnley’s second goal against Leeds. Photograph: Peter Powell/Reuters
Crystal Palace fans react to their Jean-Philippe Mateta completing his hat-trick against Bournemouth in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Brighton’s Danny Welbeck (left) scores from a free-kick against former side Manchester United at Old Trafford. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Bruno Guimarães of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring Newcastle’s second goal against Fulham at St James’ Park. Photograph: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images
Wolves manager Vítor Pereira reacts angrily to fans after his side’s home defeat to Burnley. The Portuguese was sacked by Wolves on 2 November. Photograph: Jacob King/PA
Eberechi Eze (centre) scored the only goal of the game for Arsenal against former side Crystal Palace. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
An aerial view of the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth faced Nottingham Forest. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
November
Tempers frayed as Everton’s Idrissa Gueye gave his own teammate, Michael Keane, a slap round the face during a 1-0 win at Manchester United, resulting in a red card for the Senegalese, who later apologised for his actions. Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed Tottenham 4-1 to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 victory against Liverpool, before Harvey Barnes earned Newcastle United victory over Pep Guardiola’s men. Tyler Adams scored the goal of the month from the centre circle but Bournemouth were still defeated 3-2 by high-flying Sunderland. And West Ham fans staged a protest against the clubs owners, featuring a coffin and a hearse, before watching their side beat Burnley 3-2.
Tomas Soucek’s late goal against Newcastle United sealed a first West Ham win under Nuno Espírito Santo. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
West Ham fans carry a coffin in protest at the club’s owners, prior to their win over Burnley at the London Stadium. Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA
Manchester United celebrate a goal scored by Bryan Mbeumo (obscured) in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Spurs did not win a home league game between the opening day and 6 December. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool sarcastically claps referee Chris Kavanagh after he awarded a penalty to Manchester City, who won 3-0. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Enzo Fernández celebrates scoring during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Raúl Jiménez (left) of Fulham battles for possession with Sunderland keeper Robin Roefs. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Idrissa Gueye (left) slaps Everton teammate Michael Keane at Old Trafford. The Toffees beat Manchester United despite Gueye being sent off in the first half. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
Granit Xhaka (left) challenges with Bafodé Diakité during Sunderland’s 3-2 win over Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters
Guglielmo Vicario (right to left), Randal Kolo Muani, Pedro Porro and Richarlison ponder another Tottenham home defeat, this time to Fulham. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters
Ismaïla Sarr of Crystal Palace is tackled by Diogo Dalot of Manchester United at Selhurst Park. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
December
Mohamed Salah accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” after the Egyptian was left out of the starting lineup for the third game running – Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Elland Road. Elsewhere, Emi Buendía scored with the last kick of the game as Aston Villa beat Arsenal to close the gap on the Premier League leaders. But when the two sides met again later in the month, with Villa on an 11-match winning streak, Arsenal dominated and won 4-1. And Erling Haaland became the quickest player to reach 100 Premier League goals as Manchester City got the best of a nine-goal thriller with Fulham.
Heavy rain falls early in the first half of Fulham 4-5 Manchester City. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola barks orders at Savinho at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Caoimhin Kelleher can’t keep out a strike by Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka at the Emirates. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Marc Guéhi celebrates scoring a late winner for Crystal Palace against Fulham. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images
Mohamed Salah was back on the bench for Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton. Following his incendiary comments at Leeds and Afcon duties, the 33-year-old did not start again for Arne Slot in the league until 24 January. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
The unmistakeable figure of Erling Haaland during the warm-up before Manchester City faced Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Sunderland won the Wear-Tyne derby after an own goal by Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade. Photograph: Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/Shutterstock
A view of the Holmesdale End of Selhurst Park as the sun sets during Crystal Palace’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Eli Junior Kroupi scores Bournemouth’s fourth in a 4-4 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was a breakthrough season for the teenage forward, who finished the campaign with 13 league goals. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
January
Chelsea parted company with Enzo Maresca in acrimonious fashion on New Year’s Day – to be replaced, briefly, by Liam Rosenior – before Ruben Amorim’s miserable tenure at Manchester United was ended after a 1-1 draw with Leeds. Michael Carrick, who stepped in at United on an interim basis, started strongly as his side duly beat neighbours Manchester City in his first game in the dugout. Carrick then chased that up with a 3-2 win at Arsenal. Elsewhere, Igor Thiago scored a hat-trick against Everton and then a brace against Sunderland as he pushed Erling Haaland in the race for the golden boot.
Guglielmo Vicario flaps at a cross and is lucky that Trai Hume (left) did not score for Sunderland in a 1-1 draw at Tottenham. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Leeds fans delight in Brenden Aaronson’s goal against Manchester United at Elland Road. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters
Harrison Reed (not pictured) scores a world-class equaliser in stoppage time past Liverpool’s Alisson to secure a 2-2 draw for Fulham. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland tangles with Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke at the Etihad. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters
Brian Brobbey rips the shirt of Maxence Lacroix during Sunderland’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Hugo Ekitiké has a goal ruled out for offside during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Burnley at Anfield. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Taiwo Awoniyi shows off his shin pads after scoring in Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win at Brentford. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
Michael Carrick applauds the travelling Manchester United fans after the 3-2 victory at Arsenal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sánchez and Marc Cucurella form an orderly queue of celebration during Chelsea’s victory over West Ham. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon seems non-plussed despite scoring the opening goal against Liverpool at Anfield. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
February
Erling Haaland scored a 93rd-minute penalty for Manchester City as they came back to beat Liverpool, while Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against bottom-of-the-table Wolves after a mix-up between goalkeeper David Raya and Gabriel Magalhães. Tottenham sacked Thomas Frank and replaced him with Igor Tudor, but the Croatian watched in horror as his side were thumped 4-1 by Arsenal. Meanwhile, Spurs’ relegation rivals Burnley came from 3-0 down to briefly draw level with Brentford, but Mikkel Damsgaard’s late winner for the Bees meant it was all for nothing.
Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke scored twice in a 2-2 draw to dent Manchester City’s title bid. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters
Matheus Cunha celebrates a goal against Fulham to continue Manchester United’s revival under Michael Carrick. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images
Antoine Semenyo (left) takes on Milos Kerkez at Anfield. The Ghana international made an instant impact after joining Manchester City from Bournemouth in January. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland buries a late penalty past Liverpool’s Alisson at Anfield. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Spurs’ match with Newcastle. Photograph: John Walton/PA
North London was definitely red after Arsenal’s second emphatic 4-1 win over rivals Tottenham of the season. Photograph: Ian Walton/AP
The derby defeat was a tough baptism in the Premier League for Tottenham manager Igor Tudor. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Beto beats Nick Pope to the ball as Everton beat Newcastle away at St James’ Park with a 3-2 victory. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters
March
Liam Rosenior came out with the strangest quote of the season when he said his players were trying to “respect the ball” when they surrounded both the ball and referee Paul Tierney with a bizarre huddle prior to their match with Newcastle, a 1-0 home defeat. Tudor’s hapless tenure at Tottenham continued apace with defeats against Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. Arsenal opened up a nine-point lead in the title race, albeit with a game in hand, as Max Dowman became the youngest ever Premier league goalscorer, aged just 16 years and 73 days, during the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Everton. Danny Welbeck’s stellar season for Brighton continued with both goals against Liverpool in a 2-1 victory.
Fulham’s Calvin Bassey and West Ham goalkeeper Mads Hermansen battle for the ball at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images
Chelsea players bizarrely huddle around referee Paul Tierney prior to their match against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images
Konstantinos Mavropanos takes one for his team, West Ham, in blocking an Erling Haaland shot. Photograph: Dave Shopland/AP
Jumping for goalscorers: Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko leaps in delight following his goal against Aston Villa in a 3-1 win. Photograph: Peter Powell/Reuters
Richarlison scores to rescue a late draw for Tottenham against Liverpool at Anfield, the first point of Igor Tudor’s tenure after over a month. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Despite their dismal form, Tottenham fans gave their side a raucous welcome as the team bus arrived to face Nottingham Forest. Spurs lost 3-0. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
April
In a seismic fixture in the title race, Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad thanks to a stellar performance from Rayan Cherki, meaning both clubs had the title in their hands going into the final stretch of the season. City’s fans mocked their rivals afterwards, claiming the result had triggered “panic on the streets of London”. Elsewhere, West Ham thrashed Wolves 4-0 and Forest pumped Burnley 4-1 and Sunderland 5-0, leaving Tottenham – and new manager Roberto De Zerbi – adrift in the relegation zone alongside Burnley and Wolves.
Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha bends a fine shot around Bernd Leno to give the Reds the lead at Anfield. Photograph: Liverpool FC/Getty Images
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s late equaliser for Everton denied Brentford a precious three points in the Bees’ bid for European qualification. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters
Marc Guéhi scored his first goal for Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in a dismal 3-0 defeat for Chelsea. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
Jean-Philippe Mateta winds up to kick the corner flag in celebration as his two goals sealed a comeback win for Crystal Palace over Newcastle. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images
Lisandro Martínez pulls the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Manchester United defender was sent off for the offence after a video review. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Xavi Simons can’t hide his dejection after Brighton’s late, late equaliser at Tottenham cancelled out the Dutchman’s fine strike. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
A banner is unveiled by Manchester City fans after they beat Arsenal at the Etihad. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
No pyro, no party: Crystal Palace welcomed West Ham to Selhurst Park with a pre-match fireworks display. The game finished goalless. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Leeds continue their late-season form with a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth to pull away from the relegation zone. Sean Longstaff (right) came off the bench to score a 96th-minute equaliser. Photograph: Ian Walton/Reuters
West Ham fans react to a missed chance against Everton at the London Stadium. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Eberechi Eze’s goal was the difference for a nervy Arsenal in their 1-0 win over Newcastle. Photograph: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
The defeat at the Emirates was Newcastle’s fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions under Eddie Howe. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Casemiro’s final season as a Manchester United player was an excellent one: here he is scoring his ninth league goal of the campaign in a 2-1 win over Brentford. Photograph: Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/Shutterstock
May
Rather than panic, Gunners fans partied on the streets of London as Arsenal edged their way to a first title since 2004 with a sequence of narrow victories. Arsenal finished the season seven points ahead of Manchester City, who said farewell to manager Pep Guardiola after 10 glorious years. At the bottom, Tottenham evaded the drop as West Ham, who were denied a late point against Arsenal by VAR in a season-defining moment for both sides, succumbed to relegation alongside Wolves and Burnley.
Robert Sánchez (right) of Chelsea and Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest clash heads, which resulted in both requiring medical treatment at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Jérémy Doku scores a late equaliser for Manchester City at Everton but the 3-3 draw handed the initiative to Arsenal in the title race. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz goes down under a challenge from Bournemouth’s James Hill at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Ian Walton/Reuters
Arne Slot – seen here during the 1-1 draw with Chelsea – cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines for much of Liverpool’s season. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
West Ham have a crucial goal disallowed against Arsenal after VAR rule that David Raya was fouled. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery shows his delight as his side confirmed Champions League qualification with a 4-2 win over Liverpool. Villa finished the season five points ahead of the Reds. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images
Dango Ouattara rescues a point for Brentford against Crystal Palace but the Bees fell short in their quest to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history. Brentford were ultimately edged out on goal difference by Brighton, who finished eighth. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
After their Premier League title was confirmed with Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth, Arsenal fans congregate outside the Emirates. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks emotional after his final match in charge, a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the Etihad. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images
Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard lifts the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park on the final day of the season. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League