What happened in English Premier League 2007-08?

Champions: Manchester United
Runners-up: Chelsea
Champions League places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
UEFA Cup places: Everton, Portsmouth (FA Cup), Tottenham Hotspur (Carling Cup), Manchester City (Fair Play table)
Leading Scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 31 goals

It was a Manchester United and Chelsea one-two for the second season running, but this time it went down to the final day of the season.

United signalled their intentions for an assault on the Barclays Premier League and Champions League by spending over
£50million on Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani.

Elsewhere, Liverpool parted with over £20million on Fernando Torres and he rewarded them with 24 Barclays Premier League goals, while Blackburn Rovers' signing of Roque Santa Cruz for £3.5million proved inspired, the Paraguayan scoring 19 times to help them to a seventh place finish.

United started slowly, picking up just two points from their opening three matches. Arsenal set the early pace, and indeed spent most of the season at the top of the league until March when their form dipped dramatically.

Chelsea, who replaced manager Jose Mourinho with Avram Grant in September, were generally on the fringes of the title race until the last two months of the season. It would, though, transform into a two-horse race between United and Chelsea, the Blues emerging as genuine contenders when coming from behind to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Didier Drogba double.

Grant's side would have been in control had they not conceded a late equaliser to Wigan Athletic's Emile Heskey in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on 14th April. Wigan would play a key role on the final day, as they needed to pick up a result at home to United to prevent Sir Alex Ferguson's side becoming champions. Chelsea needed to beat Bolton Wanderers and hope for the best, knowing that they trailed United by -17 on goal difference, despite being on the same points. It was not to be for the Blues, as a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, the 31st goal of an amazing personal season, and a Ryan Giggs effort ensured the trophy would be heading back to Old Trafford. Chelsea only managed a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton.

Just as enthralling as the title race, was the battle to avoid relegation. Going into the final day, two clubs from
Birmingham City, Reading and Fulham would be joining Derby County in the Championship. Roy Hodgson had earned much praise for bringing Fulham back from the brink, and his side were in control of the situation on the final day, knowing that a win at Portsmouth would keep them up. Birmingham and Reading did all they could to avoid relegation, beating Blackburn and Derby 4-1 and 4-0 respectively but a 76th minute header from Danny Murphy saw Fulham maintain their Barclays Premier League status at the expense of the Blues and the Royals.

Manchester United made it a historic double by beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw in Moscow. The match demonstrated the strength of the Barclays Premier League and the victory sealed a triumphant season for a United side that dazzled crowds on a weekly basis.

There were several managerial changes in the 2007/08 season. One of the most high profile was Tottenham Hotspur's decision to replace Martin Jol with Juande Ramos early on in the campaign. The Spaniard delivered the White Hart Lane faithful a trophy in the form of the Carling Cup.

Portsmouth secured the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Cardiff City thanks to a Kanu goal in front of 89,874 at Wembley Stadium.

FA Cup Winners - Portsmouth [Final - Portsmouth 1 v 0 Cardiff City]
League Cup Winners - Tottenham Hotspur [Final - Tottenham Hotspur 2 v 1 Chelsea (aet)]
Champions League Winners - Manchester United [Final - Manchester United 1 v 1 Chelsea (aet) Man United win 6-5 on penalties]
UEFA Cup Winners - Zenit St Petersburg [Final - Zenit St Petersburg 2 v 0 Glasgow Rangers]