First Division 1981/82
Liverpool won the 1981/82 First Division with 87 points, 4 points ahead of Ipswich Town. Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Middlesbrough were relegated. The season's 462 matches produced 1,173 goals, 2.54 a game.
Liverpool
Champions
1,173
Goals
2.54
Goals a game
46%
Home wins
Final table
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 80 | 32 | +48 | 87 |
| 2 |  Ipswich TownIpswich Town | 42 | 26 | 5 | 11 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 83 |
| 3 |  Manchester UnitedMan United | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 78 |
| 4 |  Tottenham HotspurTottenham | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 71 |
| 5 |  ArsenalArsenal | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 71 |
| 6 |  Swansea CitySwansea | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 69 |
| 7 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 72 | 67 | +5 | 66 |
| 8 |  EvertonEverton | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 64 |
| 9 |  West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 58 |
| 10 |  Manchester CityMan City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | -1 | 58 |
| 11 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 57 |
| 12 |  Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 42 | 48 | -6 | 57 |
| 13 |  Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 52 |
| 14 |  Coventry CityCoventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 62 | -6 | 50 |
| 15 |  Notts CountyNotts County | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 61 | 69 | -8 | 47 |
| 16 |  Birmingham CityBirmingham | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 61 | -8 | 44 |
| 17 |  West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 46 | 57 | -11 | 44 |
| 18 |  Stoke CityStoke | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 44 | 63 | -19 | 44 |
| 19 |  SunderlandSunderland | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 38 | 58 | -20 | 44 |
| 20 |  Leeds UnitedLeeds United | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 39 | 61 | -22 | 42 |
| 21 |  Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 63 | -31 | 40 |
| 22 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 42 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 39 |
▌ Champions ▌ Relegated. Three points for a win, one for a draw. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →
The 1981/82 title race
The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →
Points, Fri 21 May 1982
1
Liverpool
87
2
Ipswich Town
83
3
Man United
78
4
Tottenham
71
Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.
1981/82 · Fri 21 May 1982
An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
The 1981/82 scoreline grid
Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way. Select a square to see those matches.
Times it's happened
Never
Once
2
3–4
5–9
10–19
20+
First-ever results
Every result in 1981/82 had happened before.
Biggest wins
Highest-scoring matches
Most common results
How 1981/82 compares
At 2.54 goals a game, 1981/82 was the 9th lowest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 46% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 26% were draws and 27% away wins.