Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989)

Michael Thomas's stoppage-time goal at Anfield won Arsenal the 1988–89 title.

On 26 May 1989, Liverpool and Arsenal met at Anfield for the final match of the 1988–89 Football League season. They sat first and second in the First Division table, and the points gap meant the game would decide the champion. Arsenal needed to win by two clear goals to overtake Liverpool; any other result would hand the title to the home side. Arsenal won 2–0, with midfielder Michael Thomas scoring the decisive second goal in the dying seconds of the match, ending the club's 18-year championship drought.

Quick Facts

Event: 1988–89 Football League First Division
Date: 26 May 1989
Stadium: Anfield
Referee: David Hutchinson (Oxfordshire)
Attendance: 41,718
Weather: Warm

Facts from the source article.

Background

The two clubs had been due to meet a month earlier, but the stadium disaster at Hillsborough during Liverpool's FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest, which killed 97 Liverpool supporters, meant the fixture was postponed out of respect. Arsenal manager George Graham adjusted his usual formation to a defensive one to stop Liverpool's attacking threat; David O'Leary was employed as a sweeper in a back five.

Striker Alan Smith scored from a header as play resumed in the second half, but as the game drew to a close with the score 1–0, Arsenal needed a second goal to win the title. In stoppage time, Arsenal's Thomas made a run through the Liverpool midfield. He scored a last-minute goal, in the process denying Liverpool the chance of a second League and Cup double.