The 2021–22 Premier League was the 30th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992, and the 123rd season of top-flight English football overall. The start and end dates for the season were released on 25 March 2021, and the fixtures were released on 16 June 2021.
Manchester City successfully defended their title, securing a sixth Premier League title and eighth English league title overall on the final day of the season; it was also the club's fourth title in the last five seasons.
Summary
Manchester City were the defending champions, having won their fifth Premier League title during the previous season.
This season saw the return of full attendance, after the final third of the 2019–20 and the entirety of the 2020–21 seasons were held with limited or no attendance due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This season was the second season to feature a winter break, with no Premier League matches scheduled between 23 January and 7 February 2022.
The race for first place
The early title race was dominated by Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, who were separated by two points by early December. By December, Chelsea led the way following a run of just one defeat in 14 matches until a shock defeat to West Ham United gave City the edge. A run of 12 consecutive victories, concluding in a victory over Chelsea that essentially ended their title hopes, gave Manchester City a 13 point lead by January (though Liverpool had two games in hand due to COVID-19 postponements). Liverpool then went on a 10 game winning run, including both their games in hand, to cut City's lead to a single point ahead of their meeting at the Etihad on 10 April. A 2–2 draw retained City's narrow lead going into the final weeks of the season.
Newcastle takeover
On 7 October, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund purchased an 80% stake and completed the £300m takeover of Newcastle United, ending the 14 year ownership of Mike Ashley. On 12 October 2021, an emergency meeting was convened by the other 19 Premier League clubs between themselves and the Premier League, where they voiced their anger at the league's decision to ratify the takeover; Newcastle United were the only Premier League club to be excluded from attending the meeting. On 18 November 2021, Premier League clubs voted to tighten the Premier League's financial controls in order to limit Newcastle United's spending power.
At the time of the takeover, Newcastle were in 19th position having failed to win any of their first seven games. The new ownership announced the departure of Steve Bruce and hired Eddie Howe; while Newcastle did not win a game until the 15th attempt, their form improved dramatically after five signings in the January transfer window. A run of 12 wins in their final 18 games secured an 11th place finish.
COVID-19 outbreaks force postponements
In December 2021, multiple matches were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreaks in multiple clubs, with many clubs calling for the league to shut down until 2022. Following a meeting on 20 December involving all 20 Premier League clubs, a decision was made to fulfil the fixtures over the Christmas period "where it is safe to do so". Clubs were advised that if they had 13 fit players, plus a goalkeeper, then they should fulfil their fixtures.
Abramovich sanctions
On 2 March, Roman Abramovich announced that he planned to sell Chelsea, stating his intent to donate all proceeds of the sale to the victims of the war in Ukraine. In the following days, numerous reports about interested buyers surfaced including Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers shareholder Todd Boehly, Pakistani businessman Javed Afridi, and other unnamed parties.
On 10 March, the British government froze all of Roman Abramovich's assets due to his close personal ties with Vladimir Putin, leaving Chelsea unable to sell tickets or merchandise, buy or sell players, and negotiate contracts. The UK government issued Chelsea a licence that allowed the club to continue footballing activities, ensured that employees continued to be paid, and allowed season-ticket holders to continue to attend games.
Final day climax
The end of the season saw the title race, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League qualifications, and the relegation battle all decided on the final day for the first time in Premier League history.