2008–09 Scottish Premier League
The 2008–09 Scottish Premier League season was the eleventh season of the Scottish Premier League and the second season under the sponsorship of the Clydesdale Bank. It began on 9 August 2008 with a game between Falkirk and Rangers. After the 33rd round of matches, the league split in half and each team played a further five matches against the teams in their half of the league.
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 August 2008 – 24 May 2009 |
| Champions | Rangers 5th Premier League title 52nd Scottish title |
| Relegated | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Champions League | Rangers Celtic |
| Europa League | Heart of Midlothian Falkirk Aberdeen Motherwell |
| Matches played | 228 |
| Goals scored | 548 (2.4 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kris Boyd (27) |
| Biggest home win | Celtic 7–0 St Mirren (28 February) |
| Biggest away win | Kilmarnock 0–4 Rangers (9 November) Dundee United 0–4 Motherwell (18 January) |
| Highest scoring | Rangers 7–1 Hamilton Academical (6 December) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
Champions Rangers qualified directly for the Champions League, while second-placed Celtic qualified for the qualifying rounds. Four teams qualified for the new Europa League: Hearts and Aberdeen via league position, Falkirk via the Scottish Cup, and Motherwell by the Fair Play initiative. Inverness were relegated after their fifth season in the SPL and were replaced by St Johnstone for the following season's competition.
The championship was determined on the final day of the season. Leaders Rangers travelled to Tannadice to play Dundee United knowing that a win would secure the title. Meanwhile, Celtic needed to win their final match of the season against Hearts at Celtic Park and hope that Rangers failed to win to clinch the title. In the end, Rangers achieved this comfortably, courtesy of a 3–0 victory with goals scored by Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and the league's top goalscorer, Kris Boyd, clinching their first title in 4 years. Meanwhile, Celtic drew Hearts 0-0.