2008/09 Premier League season review

Manchester United won the 2008/09 Premier League with 90 points, four ahead of Liverpool, for their third title in a row and their 18th English league title. Liverpool lost only two league games all season but drew 11. Edwin van der Sar set a Premier League record by going 1,311 minutes without conceding a league goal.

In Fantasy Premier League, Frank Lampard was the top scorer with 226 points, and Sir Moult won the overall game with 2,264 points from about 1.95 million managers.

You can replay the season here with a £100m squad picked from 334 players across all 20 clubs, or read on for how it unfolded.

Scolari, Robinho and the deadline-day deals

Chelsea started 2008/09 under a new manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and signed Deco, who was Player of the Month in August. Liverpool paid Tottenham £19 million for Robbie Keane.

The biggest change came at Manchester City. Mark Hughes had been appointed in June, and at the start of the season the Abu Dhabi United Group agreed a takeover that made City one of the richest clubs in the world. On the eve of the transfer deadline they signed Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record £32.5 million. They had already brought back Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea, and he scored twice at Sunderland on his return.

On deadline day, 1 September, Manchester United paid £30.75 million for Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov, after Spurs had accepted a bid from City.

Hull City arrived in the top flight for the first time in their history. Stoke City returned after 23 years away, and West Bromwich Albion came up with them.

How United caught Liverpool

United started slowly. Chelsea and Liverpool had 20 points each from their first eight games, and after 12 rounds United were eight points behind the two leaders.

A 5-0 home win over Stoke started a 16-match unbeaten league run, and United went top in January. Behind it was a defence that stopped conceding: Van der Sar kept 14 consecutive league clean sheets and went 1,311 minutes without letting in a goal, a Premier League record. United finished with 24 clean sheets and 28 wins, the most of any side that season.

Liverpool kept pace for longer than anyone expected. On 9 January, the day before a trip to Stoke, Rafael Benítez read out a list of "facts" about Sir Alex Ferguson at a press conference. Liverpool lost only one more league game after it. Late goals from Fernando Torres beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield and Portsmouth 3-2 away, and Liverpool briefly went top in February.

Chelsea's challenge faded first. Scolari was sacked on 9 February and Guus Hiddink took temporary charge two days later.

Liverpool then lost to Middlesbrough, but in March they won 4-1 at Old Trafford. The decisive moment came on 5 April. United were losing at home to Aston Villa when Federico Macheda, a 17-year-old on his debut, scored a late winner to complete a 3-2 comeback. It put United a point clear with a game in hand.

United dropped only two more points. A goalless draw with Arsenal on 16 May clinched the title with a game to spare. Liverpool finished on 86 points, with the most goals in the league (77) and the fewest defeats (two), and still came second.

Ryan Giggs was PFA Players' Player of the Year, Nemanja Vidić the Premier League's Player of the Season and Steven Gerrard the Footballer of the Year. Ferguson was Manager of the Season. United's season ended with a 2-0 defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Arsenal, Villa and the race for Europe

Behind the top three, the table looked like this:

• Chelsea finished third on 83 points under Hiddink and won the FA Cup, beating Everton in the final.
• Arsenal were fourth on 72 points, with defeats to Manchester City and Aston Villa along the way. William Gallas lost the captaincy in November after saying the team wasn't brave enough, and Cesc Fàbregas took over. In April, Andrey Arshavin scored all four Arsenal goals in a 4-4 draw at Anfield.
• Everton finished fifth and reached the FA Cup final.
• Aston Villa beat Everton 5-4 at Goodison Park in December, with Ashley Young scoring in stoppage time, and climbed to within a point of Arsenal. They faded to sixth.
• Fulham, who had stayed up on the final day a year earlier, finished seventh and qualified for Europe.

Tottenham had the strangest season. A 1-0 defeat by Hull in October left them bottom with two points, and Juande Ramos was replaced by Harry Redknapp on 26 October. Three days later they drew 4-4 with Arsenal, scoring twice at the end. Spurs reached the League Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United, brought Keane back from Liverpool in January after six months, and finished eighth.

Manchester City finished tenth, and their 6-0 win over Portsmouth in September was the biggest of the season.

Hull's start and Newcastle's fall

Hull won six of their first nine games in the top flight, including away wins at Arsenal and Tottenham, and were third in late October. They won only two of their remaining 29 games and survived in 17th, a point above Newcastle.

Newcastle went through three managers. Kevin Keegan left on 4 September, Joe Kinnear took over later that month and then needed heart surgery in February, and Alan Shearer was appointed on 31 March. On the final day they lost 1-0 at Aston Villa, to a Damien Duff own goal, and went down after 16 years in the Premier League. Mark Viduka played 12 league games without scoring in his final season at the club.

The other two places went to:

• West Bromwich Albion, who were relegated first after a 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool on 17 May.
• Middlesbrough, who lost at West Ham on the final day and finished level on points with West Brom.

Stoke, promoted with Hull and West Brom, finished 12th.

Surprises and disappointments

Some of the season's best stories came from outside the top four.

• Hull City were third in late October in their first top-flight season, with wins at Arsenal and Tottenham, and then held on to stay up.
• Stoke City finished 12th, comfortably clear of trouble, in their first top-flight season for 23 years.
• Ashley Young scored the stoppage-time winner in Villa's 5-4 win at Everton and was named PFA Young Player of the Year.
• Federico Macheda turned the title race with his debut goal against Villa at 17.
• Andrey Arshavin scored four at Anfield, all of Arsenal's goals in a 4-4 draw.

Others had seasons to forget:

• Newcastle went through three managers and were relegated after 16 years in the Premier League.
• Tottenham were bottom with two points in October and changed manager before recovering to eighth.
• Robbie Keane scored five league goals in 19 games for Liverpool and was sold back to Spurs after six months.
• Roque Santa Cruz, Blackburn's 19-goal striker the year before, was limited by injuries to four goals in 20 games.
• Chelsea sacked Scolari in February, in his first season.

2008/09 in Fantasy Premier League

About 1.95 million managers played Fantasy Premier League in 2008/09. The winner, playing as MOULTANIC and known in the game as Sir Moult, was from Australia and finished on 2,264 points.

Frank Lampard was the game's top scorer with 226 points, ahead of Gerrard (216) and Ronaldo (206). Nicolas Anelka, who won the Golden Boot with 19 goals, was the top-scoring forward with 179.

Vidić was the top defender with 187 points. Despite Van der Sar's record run, the top goalkeeper was Fulham's Mark Schwarzer, with 175.

The PFA Team of the Year

The champions supplied six of the players' own Team of the Year, including their whole back line apart from the right-back.

The season's awards: Giggs was PFA Players' Player of the Year and Ashley Young PFA Young Player of the Year. Gerrard was Footballer of the Year, Vidić the Premier League's Player of the Season and Ferguson Manager of the Season. Anelka won the Golden Boot with 19 goals, one ahead of Ronaldo.

2008/09 quick answers

Who won the Premier League in 2008/09? Manchester United, with 90 points, four ahead of Liverpool.

When did United clinch the 2008/09 title? On 16 May 2009, with a 0-0 draw against Arsenal and a game to spare.

Who was relegated in 2008/09? Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion.

Who was the Premier League top scorer in 2008/09? Nicolas Anelka, with 19 league goals.

Who was PFA Player of the Year in 2008/09? Ryan Giggs. Ashley Young was Young Player of the Year.

How long did Van der Sar go without conceding? 1,311 minutes across 14 consecutive league clean sheets, a Premier League record.

Who scored the most FPL points in 2008/09? Frank Lampard, with 226.

Who won Fantasy Premier League in 2008/09? Sir Moult, with 2,264 points.