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Iconic Premier League title-winning goals
Manchester City and Liverpool once again locked horns to earn the right to be called Premier League champions, and it was Pep Guardiola's side who triumphed again.
After winning the Trophy in 2020/21 with 86 points, Man City stepped up a gear and racked up 93 points in 2021/22.
The champions showed remarkable consistency thanks to incredible performances from the likes of Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, who was named the EA Sports Player of the Season.
They were forced to maintain those levels by a similarly relentless Liverpool team who lost only two matches all season, one fewer than City.
Jurgen Klopp's side were 14 points behind the leaders in mid-January but battled back valiantly and took the race to the final day, ultimately missing out by just one point.
Man City began the season with a 1-0 defeat at early leaders Tottenham Hotspur but bounced back quickly, recording back-to-back 5-0 wins over Norwich City and Arsenal.
Elsewhere, there were strong starts from Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham United, who all earned seven points from their opening three matches.
Brentford also made a wonderful start to their first ever Premier League campaign.
With the return of full crowds in stadiums for the first time since March 2020, the Bees announced their arrival in the top flight with a 2-0 home win over Arsenal, followed by creditable draws against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
Two star strikers returned to the Premier League, with Romelu Lukaku rejoining Chelsea and Cristiano Ronaldo starting a second spell at Man Utd. Both hit the ground running.
Signed from Inter Milan, Lukaku scored three goals in his first three matches, including a brace against Villa.
Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford after 12 years and marked his second debut in style, netting twice in a 4-1 home win over Newcastle United to send Man Utd top of the table.
After Matchweek 4 the Red Devils, Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool were level on 10 points, with Man City just behind on nine.
Everton's 3-1 home win over Burnley gave them three wins and a draw, while the match also featured Andros Townsend's Goal of the Season contender, a sensational 30-yard strike into the top corner.
Nuno Espirito Santo won August's Manager of the Month award after overseeing victories in his first three matches with Spurs, without conceding a goal.
But the north Londoners endured a miserable September, losing successive London derbies against Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal, conceding three times in each contest.
That same month, Man City laid down a marker as Gabriel Jesus scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at title rivals and European champions Chelsea.
Guardiola's side followed up by sharing four goals in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Liverpool, where City twice fought back through Phil Foden and De Bruyne after falling behind to strikes from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
Salah's sensational solo effort to put Liverpool 2-1 ahead was ultimately voted 2021/22's Budweiser Goal of the Season.
It was also goals galore in Matchweek 9, with 40 scored across the 10 fixtures, just three short of the competition's record of 43 netted in February 2011.
Chelsea hit Norwich City for seven, Man City won 4-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion, and Watford stunned Everton with a 5-2 victory at Goodison Park.
That same weekend, a Salah hat-trick inspired Liverpool to a remarkable 5-0 triumph at Man Utd.
Although Man Utd went on to win 3-0 at Spurs, ending Nuno's spell as head coach in north London, United then lost 2-0 at home to Man City.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's departure as manager was confirmed following a 4-1 loss at Watford on 20 November, with Ralf Rangnick appointed as interim boss for the remainder of the season.
Elsewhere, Steven Gerrard took charge at Villa, replacing Dean Smith, who joined Norwich.
Newcastle United brought in Eddie Howe, who ultimately took the Magpies from 19th to a final position of 11th, earning a nomination for the Barclays Manager of the Season award.
Man City gained a stranglehold in the title race as they embarked on a 12-match winning run that their nearest rivals, Chelsea and Liverpool, could not keep up with.
From November until 15 January, the unstoppable City train took them 13 points clear at the top of the table and 14 ahead of Liverpool, although the Reds had two matches in hand.
But Liverpool responded with a remarkable run of their own, winning all 10 matches from 16 January to 2 April and reducing City's lead to just one point ahead of the two teams meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
In another epic encounter, it was Liverpool who twice came from behind this time in another exhilarating 2-2 draw.
Intriguing battles elsewhere in the league were also taking place, with the race for Europe and the relegation battle.
With Chelsea in third spot, Spurs, Arsenal, West Ham and Man Utd were fighting to claim the fourth and final UEFA Champions League place.
At the opposite end of the table, Norwich, Watford, Burnley, Everton and Leeds United were involved in a compelling relegation battle.
With four matches to go, Man City and Liverpool were still only separated by a point.
Arsenal held the last UEFA Champions League spot but were only two points ahead of Spurs. The north London derby proved to be pivotal as Spurs beat the Gunners 3-0 to leapfrog them, before winning their final matches.
At the bottom, while Norwich and Watford suffered early relegation, Everton had every chance of escaping the drop zone, lying two points behind Leeds and Burnley with a match in hand.
Indeed, the Toffees secured safety with a match to spare, recovering from two goals down to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at a raucous Goodison Park.
The final day of the title race summed up a thrilling season full of twists and turns.
Man City needed a home win over a Villa side managed by Liverpool legend Gerrard, but they fell 2-0 behind.
City were still in that situation after 75 minutes, while Liverpool were drawing 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers and looking for a title-winning goal.
Yet City produced an incredible turnaround, scoring three times in six minutes, with substitute Ilkay Gundogan netting twice to seal a dramatic 3-2 win and top spot.
Liverpool ultimately won their match 3-1 but had to settle for second place with 92 points.
There was similar drama at the bottom.
In the final minutes, Burnley were trailing 2-1 against Newcastle but pushing for an equaliser which would have relegated Leeds, who were drawing 1-1 with Brentford.
But the Clarets could not get their goal, and Jack Harrison's stoppage-time winner for Leeds put the matter beyond any doubt.
Son Heung-min shared the Castrol Golden Boot award with Salah, scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Norwich while Salah scored once against Wolves. Both finished on 23 goals.
Salah also claimed the Castrol Playmaker of the Season award with 13 assists, while Alisson and Ederson shared the Castrol Golden Glove award, both finishing on 20 clean sheets.
