Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (26 May 1989)
| Event | 1988–89 First Division | ||||||
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| Date | 26 May 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Anfield, Liverpool | ||||||
| Referee | David Hutchinson (Oxfordshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 41,783 | ||||||
| Weather | Warm | ||||||
The final match of the 1988–89 English Football League season was contested on 26 May 1989, between Liverpool and Arsenal, at Liverpool's Anfield ground. It was a match between the top two teams in the First Division, and the teams were close enough on points for the match to act as a decider for the First Division Championship. Arsenal needed to win the game by at least two goals to take the title, while Liverpool enjoyed home advantage and had won the FA Cup the previous weekend.
Despite being labelled underdogs, Arsenal won 2–0, with a last-minute goal scored by Michael Thomas, giving Arsenal their ninth First Division title and denying Liverpool the chance of a second Double.
The match is considered to be one of the most dramatic conclusions to a league season in the history of the English game.
The match had been originally scheduled to be played on 23 April. However, on 15 April Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough was the scene of the worst disaster in English football history, with 96 fans crushed to death inside the stadium. The Liverpool–Arsenal fixture was postponed, with no suitable date found until after the FA Cup Final. Liverpool beat Everton 3–2 in that game, meaning that if they won the League title as well, it would complete a historic second Double.
Arsenal had been the leading team at the top of the First Division for much of the season. At the turn of the year, they had been 15 points ahead of Liverpool, but their form dropped as the season drew to a close, whilst Liverpool had been unbeaten since 1 January. In the run-up to the Anfield match, Arsenal lost to Derby County and drew with Wimbledon; Liverpool won twice, 2–0 against Queens Park Rangers and 5–1 against West Ham United allowing them to overtake Arsenal with one game to play and take a superior goal difference. On the eve of the match, they were three points ahead, with the table looking as follows:
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