History of the English Premier League - SuperSport - Football History of the English Premier League William McGregor statue © Action Images What is now known as the English Premier League has its roots in an earlier league, called the Football League, which was originally founded in 1888. The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top level football league in England from its foundation until 1992. Since 1995 it has had 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are currently known as The Championship, League One and League Two. Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and is further extended to allow the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest placed clubs in the Premier League. A director of Aston Villa, William McGregor, was the first to set out to bring some order to a chaotic world where clubs arranged their own fixtures.

On March 2, 1888, he wrote to the committee of his own club, Aston Villa, as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion, suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide a number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. The first meeting was held at Anderson's Hotel in London on March 23, 1888, on the eve of the FA Cup Final. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester at a further meeting on April 17 at the Royal Hotel. In 1992, the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal and on May 27, 1992, the Premier League as we know it today was formed. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three.

There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon. A total of 43 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 until the end of the 2009/10 season. Two other clubs (Luton Town and Notts County) were signatories to the original agreement that created the Premier League, but were relegated prior to the inaugural Premier League season and have not subsequently returned to the top flight. Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Due to insistence by Fifa that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On June 8, 2006, Fifa requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007/08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. Ultimately, the 2007/08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. FOREIGN PLAYERS At the inception of the Premier League in 1992/93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland). By 2000/01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36 per cent.

In the 2004/05 season the figure had increased to 45 per cent. On December 26, 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on February 14, 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. No English manager has won the Premier League; the five managers to have won the title comprise two Scots (Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, 11 wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins), an Italian (Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, one win), and a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins). TRANSFER FEES The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season, Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.

The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996. This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand. Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million. This was eclipsed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid on September 1, 2008 for £32.5 million. The Robinho transfer remains the largest ever paid by a Premier League club. The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

RECORDS David James holds the record for the most Premier League appearances, overtaking the previous record held by Gary Speed of 535 appearances in February 2009. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. SPONSORS The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The table below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition: YEARS Barclays Premier League TELEVISION Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar. The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis.

This is in contrast to some European Leagues, including Serie A and La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs. Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth.

On 22 June 2009, due to the troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded the two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009/10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010/11 to 2012/13. MATCH BALLS For the inaugural season of the Premier League, clubs were obliged to supply their own match balls, which were usually provided by the clubs' kit manufacturers. In 1993, the Premier League came to an agreement with Mitre for them to supply the league's teams with their match balls. Mitre supplied balls to the Premier League for seven years, starting with the Mitre Pro Max (1993–1995) and then the Mitre Ultimax (1995–2000). The 2000/01 season saw Nike take over as match ball supplier, introducing the Nike Geo Merlin ball, which had been used in the UEFA Champions League.

The Geo Merlin was used for four seasons before being replaced by the Nike Total 90 Aerow, which ran for another two seasons. The 2004/05 season also saw the introduction of a yellow "Hi-Vis" ball for use in the winter months. Next came the Nike Total 90 Aerow II, which featured an asymmetrical design to help players judge the flight and spin of the ball. For the 2008/09 season, the official ball of the Premier League was the Nike Total 90 Omni, which featured yet another pattern in dark red and yellow and a modified panel design, and was replaced by the Nike T90 Ascente for the 2009/10 season, with blue, yellow and orange trim, and for 2010/11 by the T90 TRACER, and will be electric blue, black and white trim.

TOP SCORERS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (PREMIER LEAGUE ONLY) PLAYER MORE GOALS Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1 000 goals in the league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 4–1 defeat of Middlesbrough in the 2005/06 season. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are the only other teams to have reached the 1 000-goal mark. The highest-scoring match to date in the Premier League occurred on September 29, 2007, when Portsmouth beat Reading 7–4. Five goals is the record individual scoring total for a player in a single Premier League game, and as of November 2009, only three players had achieved this feat, Andy Cole first, followed by Alan Shearer and then Jermain Defoe. Only Ryan Giggs of Manchester United has scored in all 18 Premier League seasons.

Event Streaming Man City outfoxed by league leaders Leicester - CNN.com — Premier League (@premierleague) February 6, 2016 Huth, of all players, scored again in the second half, drilling in a header in the 59th minute to seal the victory. Hardly known as a goal scorer, the German -- who began his career playing for Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri as a 17-year-old at Chelsea -- had previously netted just 17 goals in his entire 14-year career. Sergio Aguero's header with three minutes to go was too little too late for the home side. "It's a crazy Premier League," said Ranieri in post-match commentary, echoing the thoughts of nearly every follower of England's top-flight. "Never were we afraid, we wanted to win here with a fresh mentality." Distraction? Manchester City took the unusual step of naming its managerial successor last week, making a big-splash announcement on a three-year deal with Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola while still battling for the Premiership title. Whether ending the speculation on the fate of current lame duck manager Manuel Pellegrini will come back to bite City remains to be seen.

"I think it was a tough defeat, we played very bad," conceded the Chilean after the match on BT Sport. "I don't think this is finished, we are going to continue fighting." Pellegrini: "Leicester have lots of things that make them dangerous. They defend very well, fast counter-attacks" pic.twitter.com/CnZdeY1BTE — Premier League (@premierleague) February 6, 2016 The overwhelming difference in wealth backing the two sides was evident in the collective price tags of its players: Manchester City's starting unit was purchased for £236 million ($342 million), dwarfing the £20 million ($29 million) it took to assemble Leicester's, according to Sky Sports. Yaya Toure -- whose reported £24 million ($35 million) signing fee in 2010 exceeds that of the entire Leicester squad -- was substituted early in the second half for listless play. David Silva followed him off in the 76th minute with an ankle twist. Making history Leicester City is in the process of making one of the most dramatic turnarounds in sports history, considering crippling debts forced the club into administration in 2002.

By 2008, the Foxes had dropped all the way down to the third tier of English football. Two years later, Thai duty free magnate Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha took over as chairman, spurring Leicester's improbable climb back to the top. "If they win it, people will be talking about this in 100 years time," Sky Sports analyst Paul Merson said before the match. Former Leicester and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton was equally superlative. "To win the league, it would be the best thing that ever happened in club history, and the players would be heroes for the rest of their lives," he said before the match. Which three clubs will be relegated from the Premier League this season? | Paul Campbell | Football | The Guardian Premier League Which three clubs will be relegated from the Premier League this season? Burnley and QPR look doomed, Sunderland need to make their game in hand count, Hull City are clinging on valiantly, Newcastle are in complete disarray, Leicester City are lifting their heads from the sand and Aston Villa should escape The seven strugglers at the bottom of the Premier League.

Photograph: The Guardian Thursday 7 May 2015 11.52 EDT Last modified on Monday 21 November 2016 06.48 EST Share on Messenger Close If you want some drama from your league football this spring, go to Spain, where Barcelona and Real Madrid look likely to be competing for the title until the last day, or turn your attention to the Veikkausliiga in Finland, which has turned the humdrum business of ranking football teams into an art form . The Premier League title race was over before it started, with the best team, player and manager securing their prize with three games to spare. At least the relegation battle should offer us some excitement in the coming weeks. We’ve compiled a list of the contenders, their remaining fixtures and their recent results. Which clubs are going down? Aston Villa, 14th, 35 points Tom Cleverley celebrates after scoring for Aston Villa against Everton.

Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters Remaining fixtures Southampton v Aston Villa , 16 May Aston Villa v Burnley, 24 May Last five results Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Aston Villa Aston Villa 3-3 QPR Manchester United 3-1 Aston Villa Will they stay up? Most probably. Tim Sherwood’s team are scoring goals home and away, they have a habit of pulling off unlikely victories – as they showed on their run to the FA Cup final – and their three remaining fixtures are winnable. Burnley could be relegated by the time they visit Villa Park on the last day of the season and Southampton’s away record has been poor in recent weeks. Villa might not go into the FA Cup final on a wave of euphoria but expect three other clubs to finish below them. Newcastle United, 15th, 35 points Newcastle United fans protest against the owner of their club, Mike Ashley. Photograph: Alex Morton/Reuters Remaining fixtures Newcastle v West Brom, 9 May QPR v Newcastle, 16 May Newcastle v West Ham 24 May Last five results Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle Will they stay up?

It’s 50-50. The fans hate the owner , the manager has turned on his players and the team have lost their last eight league games, but they might just have secured enough points to survive. It seemed unfathomable at the turn of the year but, if Newcastle are still in the Premier League next season, they will owe a debt of thanks to Alan Pardew, who was cheered out of the club at the start of January while they sat in 10th place. They collected 27 points in 20 matches under Pardew and a relegation battle did not look likely, but John Carver’s reign has been an utter shambles: the caretaker manager has produced 11 defeats, two draws a grand total of two victories from his 15 games in charge. That’s a win percentage of 13%. It’s not all Carver’s fault, of course. Newcastle’s business model necessarily requires them to sit in the lower half of the Premier League, but Carver cannot absolve himself completely from the run of defeats that have occurred under his watch.

With matches against QPR , who have won two away matches all season, and West Ham, who have little left to play for, Newcastle should be able to gather enough points. But their survival is likely to rest on the ineptitude of others rather than their own fighting spirit. Leicester City, 16th, 34 points West Brom 2-3 Leicester Will they stay up? With five wins in their last six matches, it looks increasingly likely. Leicester’s recent renaissance has been staggering: 44% of the points they have picked up this season have been won since the start of April. Nigel Pearson has enjoyed a remarked few weeks. Isn’t he fun? Pearson seems to be conducting his own private experiment on the importance of press conferences . We all imagine that things said before and after matches matter, but Pearson is tearing that logic apart. The more ridiculous he sounds, the better his team perform. His bizarre line about ostriches had the press scrambling around for old videos of Kevin Keegan and Joe Kinnear, but his players were clearly unmoved.

Pat Murphy of the BBC might not approve of Pearson’s style – he turned up to Leicester with the pompous tone of a haughty schoolmaster to tell him that he “had made a fool of himself”, “was in danger of being seen as a paranoid bully” and might consider taking anger management classes. Pearson laughed him off, safe in the knowledge that his team are winning football matches. At least it gave us something to talk about while Chelsea were winning all of their matches on snooze mode. Not everyone appreciates Pearson’s robust way with words but, if his team stand behind him and keep performing so brilliantly, he will be receiving an improved contract rather than anger management classes. Hull City, 17th, 34 points West Ham 1-0 Sunderland Will they stay up? Sunderland have a game in hand on their fellow strugglers but it’s at the Emirates in the last week of the season, four days before they visit Stamford Bridge on the final day.

They have a decent record against Chelsea – they held them to a goalless draw earlier this season after becoming the first team to beat José Mourinho in a league match at Stamford Bridge last April – but they need to go into the final week of the season with something to hold on to. Dick Advocaat has not been relegated in his career and seems to be enjoying life in the north-east. Speaking after Sunderland’s victory over Southampton on Saturday , he said he was having a “great time” in the Premier League. When asked if his team would stay up, he said be believed “100% … but I have to say that”. If Sunderland can win their only remaining home game – against Leicester next weekend – he will probably earn a new contract and a chance to rebuild over the summer. QPR, 19th, 27 points West Brom 1-4 QPR Will they stay up? No. Even if they win their remaining matches they could still go down, and there is next to no chance that QPR will win their final three games. They haven’t won two consecutive matches all season and didn’t win an away game until February.

If QPR are to stay up, they will have win at the Etihad on Sunday; the last time they beat Manchester City away in the league the game was played at Maine Road and Tony Blair was the Prime Minister. Chris Ramsey is a likeable manager and will reportedly be given another year at the club to earn promotion from the Championship. He will need to sort out that defence. They have conceded 61 goals in 35 matches so far this season. That’s relegation form by anyone’s counting. At least Harry Redknapp if available if things don’t work out with Ramsey. Burnley, 20th, 26 points Burnley 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur Will they stay up? No. Their last goal came in a 1-0 defeat of Manchester City , which sounds impressive, but that game took place in the middle of March. To have any hope of staying up they need to win their three remaining fixtures and pray for an unlikely series of results elsewhere. Sean Dyche seems like a good man and his team have battled with honest endeavour but they have not scored enough goals. Just look at their recent results: they have lost their last four games 1-0.

The maths is not yet conclusive, but the game is up for Burnley. Premier League History - 1993/94 Season Review 1993/94 Season Review Man Utd retain their title and lift the Premier League trophy for a second time After ending a 26-year wait for the title by becoming champions in the inaugural Premier League season, Manchester United cemented their dominance by claiming the league and FA Cup double, and in so doing became only the fourth team in the 20th century to achieve the feat. It was also a landmark season for the league itself, as a title sponsor was introduced to the top flight of English football for the first time. Having been known simply as the FA Premier League in its first season, the competition was rebranded as the FA Carling Premiership in 1993/94. Sir Alex Ferguson's only major addition at Old Trafford was Roy Keane, who was voted in the 1992/93 Professional Footballers' Association team of the year despite Nottingham Forest's relegation.

The 22-year-old midfielder came in as a natural replacement for captain Bryan Robson, by now 36, for a record-breaking £3.75million, and he instantly established himself as a key player. Champions Most clean sheets 21: Arsenal Early tests of Man Utd's title credentials were passed as they beat Aston Villa and Norwich City, who had finished second and third respectively in the 1992/93 season, in the opening five matches. The fine start earned Ferguson the first of a record 27 Barclays Manager of the Month awards he would go on to win during his tenure at Old Trafford. Despite defeat to United, Norwich were among the early challengers at the top, and Canaries striker Efan Ekoku became the first striker to score four goals in a Premier League match as they beat Everton 5-1 at Goodison Park. Norwich's form dropped off drastically from November, culminating in a 13th-place finish, and Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United quickly established themselves as the Red Devils' nearest challengers after mixed starts to the campaign.

Promoted Newcastle, galvanised under manager Kevin Keegan, recovered from back-to-back losses at the start of the season to move up to third by December. Their form was inspired by strike partnership Andrew Cole and Peter Beardsley, who returned to St James' Park in the summer after four years at Liverpool and two at Everton. Cole was the Barclays Golden Boot winner with a league-record 34 goals, while Beardsley contributed 21. Their combined total of 55 remains the highest in Premier League history. Andrew Cole scores one of his 34 Premier League goals in 1993/94 A defeat at Chelsea was Manchester United's only loss before the start of 1994 and they established a 16-point lead at the top in January, despite arch rivals Liverpool coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Anfield on 4 January. That classic contest proved to be one of the last matches in charge for Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, who was replaced by Roy Evans. United went on a 22-match unbeaten run before Chelsea beat them again at Old Trafford on 5 March.

A slight dip in form allowed Kenny Dalglish's Blackburn side to close in. Boosted by the arrivals of goalkeeper Tim Flowers in November and Ian Pearce and David Batty the previous month, Rovers won 16 out of 20 matches from December until mid-April. That impressive run included a 2-0 victory against Man Utd, which reduced the Red Devils' advantage to three points at the top. But the Old Trafford outfit won five of their final seven matches, while Blackburn won once in their final five, with costly defeats at Southampton and Coventry City allowing Man Utd to win the league by eight points. Rovers' 2-1 defeat at Coventry officially crowned Man Utd as champions, and they capped off a landmark campaign by beating Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final to clinch the double. Blackburn finished eight points adrift of the champions, with Newcastle finishing seven points further back in third and Arsenal, who qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, finishing fourth, boosted by the best defence in the division, which shipped just 28 goals in 42 matches.

Graham Stuart's late goal against Wimbledon ensured Everton's survival The battle against relegation went down to the wire, with Everton looking to move out of the drop zone and retain their Premier League status after an unbroken 40-year spell in the top flight. Oldham Athletic were three points adrift of safety going into the final day, but a 1-1 draw at Norwich consigned them to relegation. Swindon Town, who conceded a Premier League-record 100 goals in the campaign, finished bottom. Everton were one point below Southampton, Sheffield United and Ipswich Town going into the finale, and went 2-0 down against Wimbledon after 20 minutes at Goodison Park. However, a Graham Stuart penalty and a sensational Barry Horne volley made it 2-2, and they clinched a dramatic 3-2 win that secured their survival with Stuart's 81st minute winner. Southampton, who were four points adrift of safety in April before a last-gasp 5-4 victory at Norwich sparked an upturn in form, stayed up with a 3-3 draw at West Ham United.

Ken Monkou, the matchwinner at Norwich the previous month, scored a 90th-minute own goal for the Hammers but it was not enough to put Alan Ball's side in the drop zone. Ipswich Town stayed up courtesy of a goalless draw at Blackburn but Sheffield United were the team to join Oldham and Swindon in the relegation zone after Mark Stein's 90th-minute strike gave Chelsea a 3-2 win against the Blades. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United - BBC Sport Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Chelsea are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Manchester United, conceding just two goals Chelsea 10 points clear at top of league United stay in third place Blues unbeaten at home in league in a year United had 70.3% possession Chelsea moved to within two wins of reclaiming the Premier League title after Eden Hazard's goal gave them a narrow victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Hazard's first-half finish gave Jose Mourinho's side three points and means that victory in forthcoming games at Arsenal and Leicester City will return the title to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2010.

Chelsea were pushed all the way by a resurgent United, hunting a seventh successive Premier League victory. Wayne Rooney and the recalled Radamel Falcao came closest for United but once again they fell victim to the resilience and defensive strength that is Chelsea's trademark under Mourinho, assisted by the brilliance of Hazard, and ended frustrated. The reaction of Chelsea's players as referee Mike Dean sounded the final whistle, celebrating wildly in front of their supporters, suggested they believed this was the victory that has pushed them to the brink of glory, as they moved 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. Top four's run-in West Brom (h) Southampton (h) And now, even if they do not wrap it up in these next two games, surely nothing can stop Mourinho winning the title in his second season after coming back to Stamford Bridge. As for United, this defeat may have ended their recent winning streak but they once again produced compelling evidence that they are now a very different proposition from the side that struggled, even though they were grinding out results, earlier this season. Manager Louis van Gaal, as expected, had to reshuffle his side after ruling out Michael Carrick, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind through injury.

Ander Herrera was utilised in the anchor role vacated by Carrick and Rooney was pushed into midfield - but United were still able to make the more impressive start and should have taken an early lead. Media playback is not supported on this device Van Gaal gives prickly post-match interview Rooney looked a certain scorer when he raced on to Luke Shaw's cross but placed his finish inches wide, so close that goalkeeper David de Gea joined United's fans in celebrating a goal until they realised after several seconds that the effort was off target. Herrera was prominent as United looked the better side but, as ever, Chelsea were rock solid and resilient and took the first chance that came their way seven minutes before the break. Falcao, given a rare start, was easily bundled off the ball by John Terry and when Oscar played in Hazard with a clever backheel he applied a cool finish between De Gea's legs. Van Gaal protested furiously to fourth official Craig Pawson that Falcao had been fouled but to no avail.

Chelsea almost doubled their lead early in the second half when Didier Drogba's shot was deflected over De Gea but Hazard could only turn the loose ball against the upright from an angle as he tried to complete the job at the far post. United's recent improvement was underlined as they continued to take the game to Chelsea, keeper Thibaut Courtois blocking Paddy McNair's 20-yard shot and Oscar deflecting Rooney's precise effort inches wide. Van Gaal introduced Angel Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj for Juan Mata and Ashley Young as they continued to carry the fight to Chelsea, who seemed content to protect their lead and hit on the break. Falcao had worked hard but it had been another fruitless game and his frustration continued with 12 minutes left when he escaped from Kurt Zouma to collect Shaw's pass only to strike the outside of the post from a tight angle. There was one last alarm for Chelsea when Herrera was cautioned for tumbling under Gary Cahill's challenge in the penalty area - and the scenes at the conclusion of an enthralling contest reflected the importance of this win.

Manchester United have 65 points so far this season, one more than they collected in the whole of 2013-14 Eden Hazard has had a hand in 15 goals (eight goals, seven assists) in his last 17 Premier League appearances Chelsea have failed to score in only one league match all season - away at Sunderland in November Chelsea's last home defeat in the Premier League came almost exactly a year ago, against Sunderland on 19 April Eden Hazard's goal was Chelsea's 101st of the season in 48 matches across all competitions 2 Ivanovic Booked at 57mins 24 Cahill 8 Oscar Booked at 63minsSubstituted for Ramires at 67'minutes 4 Fàbregas Substituted for Mikel at 90+2'minutes 10 Hazard Substituted for Willian at 90+4'minutes 11 Drogba Booked at 54mins Substitutes 3 Shaw Substituted for Blackett at 80'minutes 21 Herrera Booked at 90mins 8 Mata Substituted for Januzaj at 7

0'minutes 10 Rooney 18 Young Substituted for Di María at 70'minutes 9 Falcao Manchester City win Premier League title in thrilling finale - CNN.com Manchester City win Premier League title in thrilling finale By John Sinnott, CNN updated 11:20 AM EDT, Mon May 14, 2012 On a day of high drama and emotion, the blue half of Manchester was left to celebrate as Manchester City pipped their city rivals to the title.

Click on for the highlights ... 20 mins: Manchester United, relying on City to slip up against QPR, score first through Wayne Rooney in their must-win match at Sunderland. Advantage United! 39 mins: Back in Manchester, Pablo Zabaleta puts City back in the driving seat as Paddy Kenny fails to keep his shot out. 48 minutes: A terrible mistake from Joleon Lescott allows Djibril Cisse (center) to race through and equalize for QPR. Advantage well and truly with United! 54 minutes: With City looking shell-shocked, QPR captain Joey Barton is sent off after a clash with Carlos Tevez. 66 mins: Unbelievable! Jamie Mackie (3rd from left) puts 10-man QPR 2-1 ahead after a rare counter attack. Classic smash and grab -- the City players can't believe it. 92 minutes: With time added on City grab a lifeline through substitute Edin Dzeko (right). But City need to win. United have beaten Sunderland 1-0! 95 minutes: City have done it! Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is mobbed by teammates after scoring the winner with seconds to go in injury time.

City manager Roberto Mancini (center) runs to greet his jubilant players after their breathtaking victory. Victorious captain Vincent Kompany holds aloft the Premiership trophy ... ... while United players look dejected as the result from Manchester filters through. HIDE CAPTION How Battle of Manchester was won << Premier League title decided in stoppage time of Manchester City's game with QPR Manchester City win their first league title since 1968 Arsenal qualify for Champions League after win at West Brom Bolton relegated after 2-2 draw at Stoke London (CNN) -- Manchester City won the English league title for the first time in 44 years to deny rivals Manchester United a 20th domestic championship in a gripping conclusion to the Premier League season. Defending champions United had looked on course to win the title after winning 1-0 at Sunderland thanks to Wayne Rooney's first-half effort, but City scored two remarkable stoppage-time goals to fashion an improbable 3-2 home victory against Queens Park Rangers. City had led the table on goal difference at the start of Sunday and Pablo Zabaleta's first-half goal suggested Roberto Mancini's side would comfortably win their first title since 1968.

But a mistake by Joleon Lescott allowed Djibril Cisse to level and following a red card for QPR midfielder Joey Barton, Jamie Mackie popped up to head in the visitors' second goal to give United fans hope that their team might yet snatch the title from their city rivals. Fans celebrate Manchester City's big win Man City legend on EPL success Abu Dhabi celebrates Man City win Abu Dhabi celebrates Man City win Man City's last gasp goal wins title City bombarded the QPR penalty area and in stoppage time Edin Dzeko headed home to give their fans hope, before Sergio Aguero scored a stunning individual winner in a finale that no script writer would have dared pen. It was a goal that ensured City won the title on goal difference in the Premier League's 20th season, arguably the most dramatic finish in its history given it was decided in the last three minutes. "To win it like this is incredible," Mancini, who at times during the second half gave the impression he could barely believe his side appeared to be doing all they could to throw away the title, told Sky Sports. "I don't think I've ever seen a finale like this.

"We didn't deserve to lose, we had a lot of chances and we deserved to win the game and championship. "It's fantastic for the club and the supporters after 44 years. It's been a crazy season and a crazy last minute." In 1999 United won the Champions League final with two stoppage-time goals against Bayern Munich in Barcelona and Sunday's epic events bore parallel, though this time the Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson had to suffer as victory was snatched away from him in those heart-palpitating final moments. "I would like to say on behalf of Manchester United congratulations to our neighbors," said Ferguson. "It's a fantastic achievement to win the Premier League. It's the hardest league in the world and anyone who wins it deserves it." The rollercoaster game at the Eithad Stadium that wrung every ounce of emotion out of both City and QPR fans had consequences at the other end of the table given a Rangers defeat would have condemned them to relegation if Bolton Wanderers had beaten Stoke City away -- and at one stage Owen Coyle's side led 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium.

But a 77th-minute Jonathan Walters goal earned Stoke a 2-2 draw to relegate Bolton to the Championship and allow QPR -- managed by former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes -- to stay up in the Premier League. Arsenal finished third after a 3-2 win at West Brom to secure their Champions League place, while north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur beat Fulham 2-0 to take fourth. Premier League's expansion over 20 years Spurs will join Arsenal in the Champions League only if Chelsea lose to Bayern Munich in the European Cup final on May 19. Newcastle's hopes of a Champions League place evaporated after a 3-1 defeat at Everton, though Alan Pardew's team have the consolation of a Europa League place. It is estimated that Manchester City's owner Sheikh Mansour from the ruling family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has invested close to $1.6 billion in securing this Premier League title. The title gives City's owners huge kudos, though not necessarily immediate financial benefits. "It should be remembered that there is a price of success, namely bonus payments to players and managers," financial blogger Kieron O'Connor, who writes the Swiss Ramble blog, told CNN.

"In fact, it is entirely possible that the net financial result might be negative for a direct comparison between finishing first or second, though it might be different if the comparison is against coming, say, sixth the previous season." It is a title that City probably should have wrapped up a long time ago. Yaya Toure on Man City's title bid Yaya Toure's two goals against Newcastle put Manchester City in pole position to clinch the English Premier League title. The club's last domestic championship came in 1968. The Ivory Coast international scored the only goal in last year's English FA Cup final against Stoke, ending a 35-year trophy drought for City. Toure's older brother Kolo joined Manchester City a year earlier in 2009, having moved from English rivals Arsenal. The midfielder was not such a key player at his previous club Barcelona, and filled a central defensive role in the 2009 Champions League final victory against Manchester United. Two weeks earlier, also playing in defense, Toure scored the opening goal as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the Spanish Cup final.

Toure played in the Ivory Coast's first World Cup in 2006, and also appeared at the 2010 tournament. He suffered defeat in final of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, and his six-week absence was crucial to City's loss of form. Toure has played in the European Champions League for several seasons, and is pictured here on duty for Greek club Olympiakos against Lyon in 2004. He started his European career with Beveren in Belgium, before moving to Ukraine's Metalurh Donetsk in 2004 along with compatriots Arsene Ne (left) and Igor Lolo (center). Toure's title mission >> The world's 10 best-paid sports teams At one stage in December after their barnstorming start to the season -- notably a 6-1 win over the defending champions at Old Trafford -- City were eight points of United after beating Norwich 5-1.

However, a combination of Carlos Tevez going AWOL after falling out with Mancini, Yaya Toure's absence as he played for the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations, David Silva's dip in form and Mario Balotelli's ill-disciplined antics allowed the defending champions to claw back that deficit and go eight points clear. But a disastrous April for United -- including a 1-0 defeat by City at the Eithad Stadium -- enabled Mancini's team to move top on goal difference going into the final round of matches. Sunday's games were broadcast to 211 countries around the world -- testament to the Premier League's global appeal. The remarkable end to the season could not have come at a better time for the league given it has recently announced the new tender for its next three-year broadcasting rights starting from the 2013-14 season. "Games going down to the last game of the season will certainly increase interest and may in turn show the league as more valuable because of the unresolved title, Champions League and relegation issues," said lawyer Daniel Geey of Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Sunday's 10 games also ensured this was the most prolific Premier League season ever with 1,066 goals, beating last season's record total of 1,063. Part of complete coverage on Sky Bet: Latest Football Betting | Online Betting Premier League betting offers a huge amount of choice and excitement with Sky Bet, with markets, offers and odds which cover all aspects of the Premier League football. Some of the markets available include: Top goal scorer match betting Top 4 places Relegation odds Outright winners Since the Premier League was formed in 1992, it has grown into a powerhouse of global football, revered as one of the best football leagues in the world, with betting to match. Manchester Utd undoubtedly stand out as one of the best teams in the premiership over it's lifetime, however in recent years, Chelsea, Leicester and Man City have both tasted success in winning the title. Champions League Betting The Champions League is widely regarded as European football's most exciting competitions. Thirty-two teams compete to reach the prestigious knockout phase of the competition with the ultimate goal to be hailed the Champions of Europe.

You can join in all the excitement with Sky Bet's huge range of Champions League betting opportunities from match, group and outright betting to 'Name the finalists', Stage of Elimination odds and Nationality of Winner. Europa League Betting The Europa League replaced the old UEFA Cup in 2009/10 and attracts 48 clubs playing six matches home-and-away. Chelsea became the first English side to win the tournament in 2013 with Atletico Madrid (2) and Porto the other winners. So if you want the very latest Europa League football odds visit Sky Bet. Domestic Football Betting While Sky Bet offer a wealth of odds across all football markets, if you prefer betting on the domestic game, we have a huge range of markets on offer, including the: With betting on these leagues, cups and trophies, there is a huge choice of games available with match and outright betting, however Sky Bet also offer in-play betting for all key games. European Football League Odds The growth of European Football League betting means that there is always a wealth of football betting opportunities.

Whether you are betting on footballing giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Milan to the lesser known European clubs Sky Bet will always provide a host of exciting markets to bet on. So if you want the best football odds from La Liga, Serie A, the German Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie, the Belgian Leagues and the Portuguese Super Liga then there is only one place to go. Keep up to date with the latest European Football odds at Sky Bet. Football Betting Specials There are dozens of football betting specials available from the latest manager markets to transfer specials where there are up to 100 key transfer targets you can bet on. In addition, there are dozens of team and player specials available. Free Football Betting Tips Check out the very latest betting tips from Sky Sports experts including former England and Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp who provides his football tips for all Premier League and Champions League matches and his weekly Red Hot Acca. Sky Sports football presenter Ed Chamberlin and Soccer Saturday football host Jeff Stelling also provide their expert views and betting tips every week.

Euro 2016 With Euro 2016 in France fast approaching, you can already find a great selection of odds and prices on Euro 2016 betting markets at Sky Bet. Markets for the 2016 competition include outright winner, group winners, home nation qualification and a selections of specials.

Question: Who were the first team to beat Manchester City in a Premeirship league match in the present season?
Answer: CHELSEA