2011–12 Premier League

Seventy-four years of waiting, decided by a single point on a single afternoon.

The 2011–12 Premier League season is remembered as one of the most dramatic title races in the competition's history. Manchester City, under Italian manager Roberto Mancini, chased down defending champions Manchester United in a relentless, point-by-point battle that stretched all the way to the final afternoon of the season. The result—City winning their first top-flight league title in 74 years—remained one of the most celebrated moments in the club's history.

Last updated 2026-10-03 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Competition

Premier League

Dates

13 August 2011 – 13 May 2012

Winners

Manchester City
1st Premier League title
3rd English title

Relegated

Bolton Wanderers
Blackburn Rovers
Wolverhampton Wanderers

Best goalkeeper

Joe Hart (17 clean sheets)

Highest scoring

Manchester United 8–2 Arsenal (28 August 2011)

Facts from the source article.

Background

The final day delivered the script no one dared to hope for. City needed to beat newly promoted QPR at the Etihad, while United had to beat Wigan at Old Trafford. Both teams won. Both teams scored. And in the end, it came down to a single point, a single goal difference in the aggregate, a single afternoon in which two great clubs' fates were decided not by a season's work but by a single, brutal, beautiful, terrifying final whistle. For City, it was liberation. For United, it was a bitter, hollow victory—winning the game but losing the war.

Did You Know?

Manchester City's 2011–12 title was their first top-flight league championship since 1937–38, a gap of 74 years.
Roberto Mancini's side featured a midfield partnership of Yaya Touré and David Silva that became one of the most talked-about combinations of the era.