2018–19 in English football


The 2018–19 season was the 139th season of competitive association football in England.

National teams

England national football team

Kits

Results and fixtures

Friendlies
2018–19 UEFA Nations League A
Group 4
2019 UEFA Nations League Finals
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
Group A

England U-21 national football team

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Group 4

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

The final draw was held on 23 November 2018, 18:00 CET, in Bologna. The 12 teams are drawn into three groups of four teams. Hosts Italy are assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the other teams are seeded according to their coefficient ranking following the end of the qualifying stage, calculated based on the following:

England U-19 national football team

2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

Group B
Knockout stage

England U-17 national football team

2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship

Group B

England women's national football team

Results and fixtures

Friendlies
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)
UEFA Group 1
2019 SheBelieves Cup
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
Group D
Knockout stage

England women's national under-20 football team

2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

Group B
The official draw was held on 8 March 2018 at the Rennes Opera House in Rennes.
Knockout stage

England women's national under-17 football team

2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification

Group 5

UEFA competitions

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Group B
Group C
Group F
Group H

Knockout phase

Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
The final was played on 1 June 2019 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. The "home" team was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
It was the second all-English final in the competition's history and the first since 2008.

UEFA Europa League

Qualifying phase and play-off round

Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Play-off round

Group stage

Group E
Group L

Knockout phase

Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
The final was played on 29 May 2019 at the Olympic Stadium in Baku. The "home" team was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws. It was the second all-English final in the competition's history and the first since 1972, when it was first known as the UEFA Cup.

UEFA Youth League

UEFA Champions League Path

Group B
Group C
Group F
Group H

Domestic Champions Path

First round
Second round

Play-offs

Knockout phase

Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
The final was played on 29 April 2019 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.

UEFA Women's Champions League

Knockout phase

Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals

Men's football

Premier League

In one of the closest title races since the formation of the Premier League, with a new points total set for finishing second, Manchester City became the first top-flight team in a decade to retain their title in part thanks to a late run that saw them win their last 14 games – despite falling short in the Champions League, the Sky Blues became the first team in English football to complete a domestic treble, by once again retaining the League Cup and securing their first FA Cup since 2011. Liverpool finished second, missing out on ending their wait for a league title once again, despite pushing City all the way to the final day and once again finishing their league campaign unbeaten at Anfield as well as having been top at Christmas; however, it was in Europe that the Reds enjoyed more success as they made it to a second successive Champions League final against the odds, including a stunning 4-0 victory at home to Barcelona - and ultimately made amends for the previous season's loss, winning their sixth European title and their first under manager Jurgen Klopp.
The battle for the top four also proved to be a close-run battle, with each of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United fighting for the last two Champions League spots – in the end, securing the spots for Europe's elite competition were Chelsea, who also reached the final of the League Cup and won the Europa League to at least ensure a trophy but endured another disappointing league campaign that saw talk of a potential third title in five seasons rapidly fade away in the New Year, and Tottenham Hotspur, who also saw talk of a potential title win diminish owing in part to a poor run of league form from March onwards; however, the North London side more than made up for this by also reaching their first ever Champions League final in a European run that saw them narrowly edge past both Manchester City and Dutch front-runners Ajax, ultimately falling to fellow English side Liverpool in a tight final. Arsenal and Manchester United were forced to settle for fifth and sixth respectively, the Gunners missing out on Champions League qualification once again on two different fronts, falling to Chelsea in the Europa League final to mark a disappointing end to Unai Emery's first season in charge, whilst the Red Devils endured a problematic season across all tournaments with even the sacking of manager José Mourinho and then the temporary appointment of United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær failing to provide much spark to the Manchester side.
Wolverhampton Wanderers enjoyed the best top-flight season for a newly promoted side since Ipswich Town in 2001, finishing 7th; this represented their best finish in the English pyramid since finishing 6th in 1980. 7th was also enough for the Europa League qualifying rounds, and this, added to a run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup - their longest such run in 21 years - earned Portuguese manager Nuno Espírito Santo and his team plenty of praise. Leicester City endured a troubling season both on and off the pitch, first suffering tragedy with the death of club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash shortly after a 1-1 home draw with West Ham United – with the Foxes then enduring a run of poor results against lesser sides in 2019, including a third-round FA Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Newport County, resulting in the dismissal of manager Claude Puel; however, the appointment of former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers helped push the club back up the table and to a top-ten finish.
Watford finished not far behind the Foxes, also enjoying their greatest top-flight season since finishing 2nd in 1984, the Hornets breaking the 50 point barrier and narrowly missing out on the top ten on top of reaching the final of the FA Cup for the first time in over 30 years, ultimately failing at the hands of Manchester City. Having successfully qualified for the qualifying rounds of the Europa League the previous season, Burnley endured a troublesome first half of the campaign that saw them first narrowly miss out on a Europa League group stage spot and then find themselves firmly in the relegation zone at Christmas; however, the return of influential goalkeeper Tom Heaton after Boxing Day saw the Clarets fight their way out of the bottom three with games to spare. A very poor start to the season saw Southampton stuck in a relegation battle for the second season running, resulting in the dismissal of Mark Hughes in early December – despite the threat of the drop hanging over them until the closing months, a resurgence under former RB Leipzig manager and Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl saw the Saints climb away from the bottom three and towards safety with games to spare.
At the bottom of the table, both Huddersfield Town and Fulham endured early relegations – the two clubs never really looking like escaping the drop; whilst the Terriers saved some face by narrowly avoiding breaking the records for the most defeats and most goals conceded in a 38-game season, the London side fell back into the Championship at the first time of asking in almost similar fashion to their previous top-flight season by having three different managers throughout the campaign and conceding more goals than anyone else. The fight to avoid the final spot proved to be much closer, with Cardiff City once again falling back into the second tier after just one season – a consequence of a poor start to the season and several defeats from winnable games, though the Bluebirds at least went down fighting in a season also marked with off-field tragedy, with the death of club record signing Emiliano Sala on his way to joining the team for the first time; in addition, as a result of Cardiff's relegation and Swansea's failure to mount a real promotion charge, it meant that the Premier League would not have a Welsh presence for the first time in eight seasons.

Championship

Despite making a slow start to the season on top of losing star player James Maddison to Leicester City in the summer, Norwich City secured their third promotion to the Premier League in eight seasons – whilst a late run of draws in April threatened to derail the Canaries' hopes, the Norfolk side never looked like falling out of the top two and secured promotion in German head coach Daniel Farke's second season in charge. The battle for second place went down to the wire between Yorkshire sides Leeds United and Sheffield United – but it was ultimately the Blades who won the fight, securing their second promotion in three seasons and returning to the top-flight for the first time since 2007, earning manager Chris Wilder his first taste of the top-flight; as with the previous few seasons, a horrendous late-season run ultimately proved costly to Leeds, to the point where they only even managed to finish as high as third due to West Bromwich Albion failing to win their own final game of the season; both teams were subsequently knocked out in the play-off semi-finals. Instead taking the final promotion spot were Aston Villa in what proved to be a roller coaster campaign, the Villans making amends for their play-off final loss the previous season and ending a three-year absence from the top-flight in Dean Smith's first season as manager - at the expense of Derby County, who none-the-less enjoyed a fantastic season under new manager Frank Lampard.
Swansea City's first season in the Championship since 2011 saw them stuck mostly in mid-table – with growing fan protests off-field towards the running of the club that had seen them relegated resulting in the resignation of the Swans' long-time chairman Huw Jenkins in early 2019. Likewise, having been widely tipped to win promotion back to the top-flight at the first attempt, Stoke City endured a largely mediocre league season that saw them fight more to avoid relegation rather than win promotion, draw a staggering 22 times and change managers twice. Having made a strong start to their league season, a collapse in form nearly saw Wigan Athletic relegated from the second tier for the third time in five seasons; however, the Manchester-based club recovered enough in the second half of the season to escape the drop and ensure a second successive season on the second level of league football.
After 17 consecutive seasons in the second tier and a succession of mid-table finishes, Ipswich Town's luck finally gave out and they endured relegation to the third tier for the first time in 62 years, the Tractor Boys never really looking like escaping the drop after falling to the foot of the table in early October and with only five wins all season. Bolton Wanderers finished just above them, falling back into League One on Good Friday after two seasons and in a campaign full of struggle both on and off the pitch, amid severe financial problems on top of nearly having their last run of home games cancelled altogether ; to make matters worse, the Trotters were then forced into administration after the season ended, becoming the first club to have the increased 12-point deduction imposed on them for the following season. Taking the final spot were Rotherham United, who gave themselves a decent chance of escaping the drop, but eventually fell back into the third tier for the second time in three seasons, the Yorkshire club ultimately being let down once again by their atrocious away record - just one win on the road, and one win in their last 48 second tier away games - and a failure to turn any one of their 16 draws into wins or take advantage of their relegation rivals slipping up.

League One

In one of the most remarkable campaigns of the season and in spite of losing influential manager Nathan Jones to Stoke City in January, Luton Town defied their critics and stormed their way to promotion for the second season running, returning to the Championship for the first time since 2007 and going up as champions – whilst remaining unbeaten at their home ground in the league for the entire season. The fight for the second spot went all the way to the penultimate game with Barnsley, Football League Trophy winners Portsmouth and Sunderland fighting it out; the spot ultimately went to Barnsley, who secured an immediate return to the second-tier in German head coach Daniel Stendel's first season in charge, also impressing with an unbeaten league home record as well. Taking the final promotion place were Charlton Athletic, who dramatically scored in the last minute of normal time against Sunderland in the playoff final to end a 3-year exile from the Championship and consign the Black Cats to another season in League One.
Despite being widely tipped for a top-six finish, Burton Albion endured a largely mixed season that saw them in the bottom half of the table more often than the top, failing to really challenge for an immediate return to the second tier. Blackpool's league season proved to be mediocre, with the Lancashire club failing to mount a real promotion challenge but also not being remotely threatened with relegation – however, it was off the pitch that proved to be more important for the Seasiders, with the removal of Owen Oyston after over 30 years as owner and after years of fan protests and legal battles with former chairman Valērijs Belokoņs, an act widely celebrated by Blackpool fans. Despite making a reasonable start to their first ever season in the third tier, Accrington Stanley endured a sharp drop in form after the new year, with only a run of late wins pushing the side away from the threat of relegation – still a remarkable effort for the Lancashire side.
The second half of the season saw one of the tightest relegation battles in the history of the third tier, with 12 teams remaining in the mix from January onwards – but ultimately, it was Bradford City, Scunthorpe United, Walsall and Plymouth Argyle who fell into League Two; whilst Bradford's relegation came just two years after narrowly missing out on promotion to the Championship and in a season where they had three different managers and Scunthorpe United fell back into the fourth tier after five years in League One, Walsall had actually spent the first couple of weeks challenging for promotion before results rapidly declined and Plymouth Argyle again looked like masterminding an unlikely escape from the drop like they had done the previous campaign, only for results to go against them in the final games of the season. Having been in bottom position for nearly the entire season and 10 points from avoiding relegation after 31 games, a late run of 7 wins and 27 points in their last 15 games ensured that AFC Wimbledon would remain in League One for a fourth consecutive campaign, narrowly surviving on goal difference.

League Two

Just two seasons after returning to the Football League as fifth tier champions and only one year after victory in the Football League Trophy, Lincoln City ended their season with another success to their name with promotion to League One and earning their first promotion to the third tier in over 20 years – despite the closeness of the promotion race, the Lincolnshire side remained in the top two for practically the entire season and mathematically secured first place on Easter Monday. The race for the remaining automatic promotions was a close-ran battle between Mansfield Town, Bury and Milton Keynes Dons; Bury were the second team to ensure promotion, returning to League One at the first attempt, whilst Milton Keynes Dons took the final spot in the last game of the campaign in a winner-takes-all match against Mansfield Town, also securing an immediate return to the third tier and finally giving new manager Paul Tisdale promotion after two unsuccessful play-off final attempts with Exeter City. Taking the final spot through the play-offs were Tranmere Rovers, whose return to the Football League saw the North West club successfully challenge for a second consecutive promotion, winning out against Newport County in the final at Wembley in the dying seconds of extra-time.
Despite narrowly missing out on ending a 32-year exile from the third tier, Newport County enjoyed what proved to be a great season; having looking like missing out on the play-offs altogether, the Welsh side made a late rally and edged their way into the top seven in their final game, a big achievement in a season where they also enjoyed an impressive FA Cup run that saw them make it to the fifth round – beating top-flight Leicester City and second-tier promotion-chasers Middlesbrough – before ultimately falling to Manchester City at Rodney Parade. Oldham Athletic made a strong start to their season before results rapidly fell aware and they fell into mid-table, with not even the appointment of former player Paul Scholes as manager having much impact on the Latics.
In spite of having made a very poor start on their return to the Football League and then only narrowly avoiding breaking the record for the longest winless run, Macclesfield Town defied their critics and scraped their way to safety, in parts thanks to the surprise appointment of former England defender Sol Campbell as manager. Suffering relegation instead were Yeovil Town and Notts County – the Glovers falling out of the Football League just six years after winning promotion to the Championship and sixteen years after entering the fourth tier for the first time, a strong start to the season rapidly falling away in stunning fashion and the Magpies becoming the oldest club in English football to fall into non-league football, having been a member of the Football League since its inception 131 years previously and having never fallen out of the fourth tier before. This also made them the first of the Football League's founder members to suffer automatic relegation from the league, albeit with several of the others having lost their places under the previous election system.

National League Top Division

In one of the tightest promotion races in the history of the fifth tier and just two seasons after their spectacular fall into non-league football, Leyton Orient finally returned to the Football League, never looking like falling out of the promotion race and narrowly edging the automatic promotion spot in manager Justin Edinburgh's first full season as manager; the season ended in tragedy, however, following Edinburgh's death from cardiac arrest the following month. In their first season in the fifth tier, Salford City narrowly missed out on automatic promotion - but made up for it by winning the play-offs, earning promotion to League Two and the Football League for the first time in their 79-year history.
Despite languishing near the bottom of the table for most of the season, a late surge in results saved Dover Athletic, while Chesterfield almost suffered a third consecutive relegation after a long winless run in the league stretching from August to December, before the appointment of veteran manager John Sheridan in the new year helped the club find form and move away from the bottom.
At the bottom of the table, all four relegated teams were confirmed with at least three games to go – Aldershot Town, Braintree Town, Havant and Waterlooville and Maidstone United. While both Braintree and Havant suffered immediate relegation back to the National League South, the second time in three seasons for the former, Aldershot Town's relegation came only six seasons after they had dropped out of League Two. Maidstone United had played at the highest level of the National League for three years. However, Aldershot were granted a reprieve from relegation when Gateshead were demoted two divisions for breaching the league's financial regulations.

League play-offs

Football League play-offs

EFL Championship
Final
EFL League One
Final
EFL League Two
Final

National League play-offs

National League
Final
National League North
Final
National League South
Final

Cup competitions

FA Cup

Final

EFL Cup

Final

Community Shield

EFL Trophy

Final

FA Trophy

Final

Women's football

League season

Women's Super League

Women's Championship

Cup competitions

FA Women's Cup

Final

FA Women's League Cup

Final

Managerial changes

This is a list of changes of managers within English league football:
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of departurePosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Ipswich TownEnd of caretaker spell30 May 2018Pre-season30 May 2018
Shrewsbury TownSigned by Ipswich Town30 May 2018Pre-season1 June 2018
Macclesfield TownSigned by Shrewsbury Town1 June 2018Pre-seasonMark Yates19 June 2018
Exeter CityEnd of contract1 June 2018Pre-seasonMatt Taylor1 June 2018
Leeds UnitedSacked1 June 2018Pre-season15 June 2018
Doncaster RoversResigned4 June 2018Pre-season27 June 2018
Oldham AthleticSacked8 June 2018Pre-season13 June 2018
ChelseaSacked13 July 2018Pre-season14 July 2018
BlackpoolResigned6 August 201812th10 September 2018
Cheltenham TownSacked21 August 201810 September 2018
Scunthorpe UnitedSacked22 August 201818th27 September 2018
Notts CountySacked26 August 201812th31 August 2018
Crawley TownSigned by Notts County31 August 201814th7 September 2018
Bradford CitySacked3 September 201817th4 September 2018
Northampton TownSacked30 September 201820th1 October 2018
Aston VillaSacked3 October 201812th10 October 2018
Macclesfield TownMark YatesSacked8 October 201824th27 November 2018
BrentfordSigned by Aston Villa10 October 201824th16 October 2018
Ipswich TownPaul HurstSacked25 October 201824th27 October 2018
FulhamSacked14 November 201820th14 November 2018
SouthamptonSacked3 December 201818th5 December 2018
Manchester UnitedSacked18 December 20186thOle Gunnar Solskjær 19 December 2018
Birmingham City W.F.C.Marc SkinnerSigned by Orlando Pride14 January 20194thMarta Tejedor21 January 2019
Huddersfield TownMutual consent14 January 201920th 14 January 2019
Leicester CitySacked24 January 201912th26 February 2019
FulhamClaudio RanieriSacked28 January 201919th 28 February 2019

Diary of the season

3 August 2018: The first match of the Football League season pits Frank Lampard's Derby County against Reading. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scores the first goal of the new season, but goals from Chelsea loanee Mason Mount and an injury-time winner from Tom Lawrence gives the Rams a 2–1 win.
4 August 2018: The first Saturday of the Football League season sees newly relegated West Brom lose 2–1 to a Bolton Wanderers side who were nearly relegated themselves last year. Among other Championship action, newly-promoted Wigan defeat Shefffield Wednesday 3–2, and Graham Potter makes a winning start as Swansea manager by beating Sheffield United 2–1 away. In League One, Sunderland come from behind to defeat Charlton 2–1 in their first game at this level in 30 years, and in League Two, Swindon Town stun newly-promoted Macclesfield 3–2 with two stoppage-time penalties.
6 August 2018: Blackpool manager Gary Bowyer becomes the first managerial casualty of the new season when handing in his resignation after just one game played. The Seasiders had travelled to Wycombe Wanderers for their season opener just a few days before and shared out a goalless draw in Buckinghamshire.
31 August 2018: The first month of the new season sees Liverpool leading the Premier League on goal difference; three games in, the Merseysiders, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Watford all hold 100% records. Reigning champions Manchester City are in fifth, ahead of Bournemouth on goal difference, and Leicester City are seventh. West Ham United, the only Premier League team without a point, prop up the table. Newcastle United and Southampton are clear ahead of Burnley and Huddersfield Town in the relegation zone on goal difference. None of the teams relegated from the Premier League last season - Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion, and Stoke City - have managed to join the Championship promotion race yet and stand 10th, 11th, and 17th respectively. Leeds United and Middlesbrough take an early lead in the Championship and stand three points clear of third-placed Bolton Wanderers. Aston Villa, newly-promoted Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, and Sheffield United hold fourth to seventh place on 9 points each, with Derby only ahead of United because of alphabetical order. Reading and Ipswich Town share joint bottom, while Birmingham City stand above Queens Park Rangers out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
30 September 2018: September closes with Manchester City leading Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, with goal difference still the margin between the leaders. Chelsea are third, Spurs and Arsenal are contesting fourth, and Watford and Bournemouth complete the top seven. Newcastle, Cardiff, and Huddersfield stand in the relegation zone with 2 points each. Championship top scorers West Brom have seized the lead in the second division, and stand a point in front of Leeds, Middlesbrough, and Sheffield United. Norwich City are fifth, and Brentford hold sixth over Swansea, Wigan Athletic, and Derby on goal difference. Preston North End have fallen to the bottom of the table, a point behind Millwall and Ipswich.
27 October 2018: Following a draw with West Ham United, Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's helicopter crashed in a car park outside of King Power Stadium, Leicester City's home stadium. None of the five passengers survived, including Srivaddhanaprabha.
31 October 2018: As Halloween arrives, the top seven remains unchanged, save for Spurs and Arsenal exchanging places. Goal difference continues to be the difference between Manchester City and Liverpool. Cardiff have climbed out of the relegation zone, ahead of Fulham on goal difference, Newcastle have dropped to 19th, and Huddersfield remain bottom. Sheffield United have seized the lead of a congested Championship, with Leeds still second with two points less than their Yorkshire rivals. Middlesbrough and Norwich are behind Leeds only on goal difference, with West Brom and Derby two points behind them. However, six other teams are all within 3 points of the play-off places, including newly-promoted Blackburn and early strugglers QPR. Ipswich return to the foot of the table, 3 points behind Hull City and Reading.
30 November 2018: Manchester City now hold a two-point lead over Liverpool, despite both teams remaining unbeaten. Spurs have climbed above Chelsea, who have only won 3 of their past 8 league games. Arsenal are fifth, 5 points clear of Everton, and it appears increasingly likely those 5 teams will be the contenders for Champions League qualification. Despite winning only once in November, Manchester United have climbed to 7th. Improved form has seen Newcastle and Huddersfield escape the bottom 3, and now Southampton and Fulham are joint bottom, with Burnley below Crystal Palace on goal difference to stand 18th. A competitive promotion race continues to gather pace in the Championship, with 3 points separating Norwich, Leeds, Middlesbrough, West Brom, and Sheffield United. Nottingham Forest have claimed 6th place ahead of arch-rivals Derby on goal difference. Despite appointing former Norwich boss Paul Lambert as manager, Ipswich remain bottom, 6 points adrift of safety. Reading and Millwall are out of the relegation zone ahead of Hull and Bolton on goal difference.
8 December 2018: Manchester City lose 2–0 at Chelsea, resulting their first defeat of the season. This also meant that Liverpool go top of the league after defeating Bournemouth 4–0 away.
18 December 2018: José Mourinho is sacked as manager of Manchester United after a poor start to the season left them in seventh place, nineteen points behind rivals Liverpool. Former Manchester United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær takes over as caretaker manager until the end of the season, on loan from Norwegian club Molde.
31 December 2018: 2018 ends with defending champions Manchester City dropping points and losing to Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leicester City to give Liverpool a 7 point gap lead after winning every game in December. Tottenham Hotspur remains third despite losing to Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Chelsea drop to fourth, despite defeating Manchester City. Arsenal stays at fifth, and Ole Gunnar Solskjær's Manchester United rise to sixth in the table. In the Championship, Leeds United have a 3 point lead at the top above second-place Norwich City. West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Derby County complete the promotion play off spots, with Middlesbrough ahead of Derby County only on goal difference. Ipswich Town remain bottom of the table, 5 points behind 23rd placed Reading and 7 points behind 22nd placed Rotherham United.
3 January 2019: The last undefeated team in England's top five divisions, Liverpool, lose 2–1 to Manchester City, preserving Arsenal's Invincibles record from the 2003–04 season.
11 January 2019: A spy was discovered at Derby County’s training ground before their game at Leeds. The whites won 2-0 later on the day.
21 January 2019: Cardiff City's record signing, Emiliano Sala was on board a Piper Malibu that disappeared near Alderney in the Channel Islands.
31 January 2019: The first month of 2019 concludes with Liverpool still top of the Premier League, though now only 5 points ahead of Manchester City. Spurs remain third, while Arsenal climb to fourth, with 2 points and a +4 goal difference the margin between them, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Wolves' return to the top flight continues to be a successful once as the Midlanders stand 7th, though only 4 points separate them from West Ham in 12th. Huddersfield are rooted to the foot of the table, 12 points adrift of 17th-placed Burnley, and look destined for a return to the Championship. Fulham and Cardiff are also some distance from safety. A tier below, Leeds still hold their 3-point buffer over Norwich. The top six in unchanged, except for Sheffield United climbing above West Brom. Meanwhile, Ipswich are still stuck at rock bottom, Reading are now in 22nd, a point behind Rotherham, and Bolton has dropped to 23rd.
22 February 2019: Chelsea are handed a transfer embargo by FIFA for the next two transfer windows for breaching rules in relation to youth players.
24 February 2019: Leicester City sack Claude Puel after losing 4–1 to Crystal Palace at home.
24 February 2019: Manchester City win the Carabao Cup 4–3 on penalties against Chelsea. The final was overshadowed by Kepa Arrizabalaga refusing to be subbed out by Maurizio Sarri.
28 February 2019: Liverpool's lead has been cut to 1 point by Manchester City as February ends. Consecutive losses for Tottenham have thwarted their title ambitions and it now appears that they are in a race for Champions League qualification, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all within 7 points of them. Wolves continue to hold the coveted 7th place, with Watford behind them only on goal difference. The bottom 3 remains unchanged, though Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion are not far away. Norwich are now 2 points in front of the Championship title race, Leeds dropping to 3rd behind Sheffield United on goal difference. West Brom and Middlesbrough continue their play-off chase, but now they are joined by Bristol City in 6th, following a run of 7 wins in a row. Reading and Rotherham swap positions in an otherwise unchanged relegation zone.
3 March 2019: Liverpool’s 0–0 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby, coupled with Manchester City’s win at Bournemouth a day earlier, means that The Reds are not top of the League for the first time since December.
9 March 2019: West Brom, 4th in the Championship, sack Darren Moore after drawing 1–1 with bottom-club Ipswich.
10 March 2019: Jack Grealish is punched by a Birmingham City supporter during the Second City derby. Grealish scores the winner later on as Aston Villa won 1–0.
17 March 2019: Liverpool win 2–1 at Fulham to go top again, but City now have a game in hand.
22 March 2019: Birmingham City were given a 9-point penalty deduction for breaching Financial rules.
30 March 2019: Huddersfield Town become the first side in the top four divisions of English football to be relegated this season, after losing 2–0 to Crystal Palace.
31 March: Liverpool’s late victory over Tottenham puts them top of the league again by 2 points, but Manchester City still have a game in hand.
31 March 2019: As April arises, Liverpool remain top of the Premier League, but now have played a game more than Manchester City, who have the Manchester derby as their game in hand. Spurs, now very vulnerable, and Manchester United, now appointed Ole Gunnar Solkjaer permanently, complete the top four. Leicester, now managed by Brendan Rodgers, are closer to 7th placed Wolves and are alongside Watford for the race for that place. Huddersfield have become the second ever side to get relegated from the Premier League before the end of March, and Fulham look likely in joining them in the Championship. Only Cardiff City have a realistic chance of surviving, while Burnley, Southampton, and Brighton aren’t safe yet. In the Championship, Norwich remain top, but Leeds reclaim 2nd place from Sheffield United after the Blades lost 3–2 at home to Bristol City and Leeds beat Millwall 3–2. Managerless West Brom were not too far off for promotion, but would have to hope both Yorkshire sides drop points. Middlesbrough have had a rotten month after losing nearly all of their matches in March, resulting them being outside the top six for the first time in 7 months. Aston Villa, meanwhile, have had a perfect March as their 5 wins in a row saw them in the playoffs for the first time since August. Completing the top six were Derby. The bottom three were still unchanged, but Ipswich look likely to go out of the Championship. Millwall are also in real danger of being sucked into the relegation zone, while Reading are now above the dotted line.
2 April 2019: Fulham join Huddersfield into the Championship after a 4–1 loss to Watford.
3 April 2019: The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finally hosts a football match as Crystal Palace became the first visitors to Spurs’ new ground. Heung-Ming Son was the first goalscorer on the new stadium as Tottenham won 2–0.
13 April: With promotion rivals, Mansfield and MK Dons dropping points, Lincoln City became the first EFL team to achieve promotion thanks to a 1–1 draw with Cheltenham. On the same day, Ipswich were relegated to the 3rd tier for the first time since 1957 after drawing 1–1 with Birmingham City.
19 April 2019: Bolton are relegated to League One after losing 2–0 to Aston Villa, who were on a club equalling 9 wins in a row.
22 April 2019: Aston Villa, who won 10 games in a row for the first time ever, and West Brom confirm their places in the playoffs.
24 April 2019: Manchester City defeat United 2–0 in the derby to go top again.
26 April 2019: The Football League confirm that the EFL Championship game between Bolton Wanderers and Brentford, scheduled to take place the following day at the University of Bolton Stadium, has been postponed due to a PFA approved strike by the Bolton players over unpaid wages owed to them by owner Ken Anderson. It is the first case of a game being postponed due to industrial action by the players in the 131-year history of the Football League. The EFL later confirmed Wanderers must fulfill their remaining fixtures against Brentford and Nottingham Forest, even if it means using U23 or U18 players. Few days later, on 3 May, Brentford were awarded a 1-0 win by the EFL.
27 April 2019: Rotherham are relegated after a year being promoted as they lost 2–1 at West Brom and Millwall drew with Stoke City. At the top, Sheffield United are all but promoted to the Premier League after a 2–0 win against relegated Ipswich. A few hours later, Norwich confirmed theirs with a 2–1 home victory over Blackburn. In the National League, Leyton Orient return to the EFL after drawing 0–0 with Braintree.
28 April 2018: Leeds’ 1–1 draw with Aston Villa confirms Sheffield United’s promotion.
30 April 2019: Luton Town and Barnsley are promoted without kicking a ball after Portsmouth and Sunderland both lost their games in hand.
4 May 2019: Cardiff are relegated to the Championship after losing 3–2 to Crystal Palace at home. This meant that the Premier League would be all English for the first time since 2011. Elsewhere, Liverpool win 3–2 at Newcastle to push the title race to the final day.
5 May 2019: Derby County beat Middlesbrough to the final playoff spot by defeating West Brom 3–1 on the final day.
6 May 2019: Vincent Kompany scores a rocket of a goal as Manchester City defeat Leicester to go to the final day top of the league.
12 May 2019: Manchester City win the Premier League after defeating Brighton 4–1 away, despite going behind and Liverpool winning 2–0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. City become the first team to defend the title and win the league away from home since the 2008-09 and 2007-08 seasons respectively and also become the 13th team to do so to do the aforementioned.
18 May 2019: Manchester City complete the first ever English domestic quadruple of trophies by winning the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium by beating Watford 6–0. That matches the record set by Bury against Derby County as the biggest win margin in the final of the competition's history, back in 1903. This confirms next season's FA Community Shield to be between treble winners City and league runners-up Liverpool.
1 June 2019: In the second ever all English UEFA Champions League final, Liverpool defeats Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 to win their sixth European Cup/UEFA Champions League and their first trophy since winning the EFL Cup in 2011-12.

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