7 greatest sides in the history of the Premier League. Here at SportsRush we will present to you the 7 sides that took English football by storm.
Since its inception in 1992, the Premier League has been England’s top tier football league. Despite strong competition from various other football leagues in Europe, the Premier League remains the most watched competition in the world.
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A major reason behind that is due to level of competition in the league and the various outstanding teams that have featured in it such as the Liverpool side this season.
Despite the few losses in the weeks before the season was suspended, Liverpool played such a dominating brand of football that they were compared to some of the greatest sides ever.
Today we will look at the 7 of such greatest sides in the history of the Premier League. We will look at their overall achievement in the season with a major focus in the league.
The 2019/20 Liverpool side will not make the list because the season is yet to be completed.
Honourable mentions
Manchester United 2011/12
89 points without winning the league? This was the highest points earned by a side until then to not win the league. In fact, the league was so closely fought that they became the first side to lose the Premier League on goal difference.
Liverpool 2018/19
Forget 89. Liverpool lost only once in the entire league and accumulated a total of 97 points. Despite this, they still came second in the league! They succumbed to City, the only side they lost to, who went on to win the league with a total of 98 points.
Manchester City 2011/12
The winners of the 2011/12 season, City participated in one of the most exciting premier league seasons. United were determined to add yet another Premier League title, but City displayed immense resilience to win their first.
7 greatest sides in the history of the Premier League
7) Leicester City 2015/16
The 2015/16 season did not see any records tumble or statisticians throwing numbers like they have in the last 3 seasons. However, what we did witness was undoubtedly one of, if not, the greatest underdog story in football.
Leicester City had just recently been promoted to the Premier League. This was only their 2nd consecutive season in the top flight.
They were almost relegated in the season before staging an incredible comeback just to somehow remain in the league. The foxes returned with renewed ambitions and made severable notable purchases including that of N’Golo Kante.
However, bookies still listed them as a 5,000-to-1 to emerge as champions. To present how impossible Leicester winning the title seemed, here’s an interesting fact. Bookies at the time, had set at 1,000 to 1, the probability of Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, revealing that he was a virgin.
In fact, their manager Claudio Ranieri set their aim at just 40 points for the season.
No club that had finished lower than 3rd the previous season had ever won the Premier League and with the increasing financial might of the traditional sides, not many saw what was to come.
However, the foxes managed to beat all odds and come May, they went clear at the top. Their first ever Premier League title. A hope to millions around the world that once in a while heart and effort can triumph all.
6) Manchester United 1998/99
In terms of how the campaign went, this is arguably the greatest English side ever. Manchester United had just gone a season without winning any titles. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the side went on to script the perfect campaign immediately after.
The Red Devils went the entire campaign losing only 5 times including a one-off Charity Shield fixture. They lost 3 other times in the Premier League and once in the League cup to eventual champions Tottenham.
The greatest aspect of that season was how United never looked like the best side yet showed extreme resolve to win it all. They pipped Arsenal by a solitary point with 79 to clinch the Premier League.
They managed to overcome Arsenal once again in the semi-final replay of the FA Cup to reach the final where they won the cup fairly easily.
Their never die attitude was at display once again in the champions league where they managed to remain unbeaten despite being placed in the group of death alongside Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
United beat Italy and Juventus to reach the final against Bayern Munich.
They were without Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, their midfield mainstay for the all important match. Their absence showed on the field as United trailed by a goal until the 90th minute before scoring twice in extra time to complete the treble.
They became the first and only English side to accomplish the feat and fittingly so, on Sir Matt Busby’s 90th birthday.
The only reason they are not ranked higher is because this list has been created with a larger emphasis on the domestic league instead.
5) Chelsea 04/05
This was Jose Mourinho’s debut season in the Premier League. The ‘Special one’ made sure it was a memorable one. Bolstered by their free spending owner, Roman Abramovich, huge signings such as Petr Cech, Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba were made.
Under Mourinho, the side went on to establish an impenetrable backline; One that saw them withstand assault from any side in the league. With the defence secure, the forward moving players had the luxury to allow themselves to make the most of any attacking opportunity they received without having to worry about the back.
The club went on to establish several records in the league including most away wins in season, most clean sheets kept, fewest goals conceded in a season and most wins in a season. The most notable of their achievements was 95 points in the Premier League, a record among others, that stood for over a decade.
Chelsea almost went the entire season unbeaten. However, a loss to Manchester City kept them away from doing so. Regardless, this was an amazing season that helped push Chelsea to the top and establish them as one of the top sides in the world.
Despite their lack of trophies outside the Premier League, the manner in which they dominated the league and what it would do for the club in the years since, sees them take the 5th spot in this list.
4) Manchester City 2018/19
Liverpool bulldozed their way to Champions League glory and could have won their first Premier League title if not for Pep Guardiola’s men who became the first team to sweep all four of England’s primary football trophies in the same season; namely, the Premier League. The FA Cup, the EFL cup and the Community Shield.
The Reds are considered the best in the world right now and this season is seen by many as their rise and yet the one team they fell short off was Manchester City.
Despite Liverpool fiercely at their heels all season, Guardiola did not play defensive football to avoid defeat out of panic. Instead, he sent his men to the field to play a very attacking brand of football regardless of the competition. The side would go on record the most goals scored in all competitions in a season for a top flight English club.
They had to win their final 14 consecutive league games to hold off the challenge of Liverpool; who themselves had ended their season with 9 consecutive wins. In the end, Manchester City finished at 98 points; just a single point ahead of the Reds. However, that was enough to secure their second consecutive and 4th Premier League title in total.
3) Manchester City 2017/18
What can be better than 98 points in the league?
Try 100 points and 106 goals!
Manchester City in 2017/18 were a beast who completely destroyed the league. The groundwork for the massacre was laid in the transfer season. Heavy investment in the club saw the likes of Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Kyle Walker join the side. Aymeric Laporte was added in the winter.
It would take until January for Pep Guardiola’s side to endure their first loss. However, by the end of the season none of that mattered. English football would never be the same and the blue side of Manchester was to be blamed for it.
Manchester City broke several records such as most points (100), most away points (50), most points ahead of second (19), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18).
The team also equalled the record for the earliest Premier League title win (5 games to spare). They beat every other team in the league throughout the season, and recorded the most consecutive away wins (11).
Apart from the Premier League, the side also won the EFL Cup.
They were surprisingly knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic.
The side looked prime to make the distance in the Champions league. However, they were knocked out by Liverpool in the quarter-finals. This would sow the seeds for a rivalry between the two clubs in the coming seasons.
2) Manchester United 07/08
Unlike the other sides on the list, this United side did not register any new records. However, in terms of the calibre of players and the quality on the field, it’s hard to name a greater side than the one that took the field for Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007/08.
This Manchester United side featured legendary players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand with the likes of Nani and Ryan Giggs in the list of substitutes.
The Red Devils had a slow start in the league drawing their first two games and losing the third. However, they then went on a remarkable run that saw them thwart opposition from free spending Chelsea and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
United ended the season with 87 points; 2 above Chelsea and 4 above Arsenal to lift their 10th Premier League title.
They would go on to add yet another Champions League title to their trophy cabinet after beating Chelsea on penalties in the Champions league final. Much like the 98/99 campaign, United went through their entire European campaign without a single loss.
1) Arsenal 03/04
The greatest side to have ever taken the field in the Premier league is none other than the Arsenal team that went the entire 2003/04 season unbeaten. A truly majestic side, Arsene Wenger led the club to Premier league glory, the likes of which never took place before or even after.
Apart from the fact, that the club managed to win the league unbeaten, nothing else stands out in this campaign. They did not win any other trophy. They did not score the most goals or register the highest points. However, the Gunners did one thing that no other on this list has done.
Not have an off day.
Despite their absolute dominance, every team on this list had their bad days. Arsenal did not succumb to carelessness or lapse of concentration. In fact, Arsene Wenger had already proclaimed his desire to go a season unbeaten just a season before the legendary campaign.
‘It’s not impossible as A.C. Milan once did it but I can’t see why it’s so shocking to say it. Do you think Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea don’t dream that as well? They’re exactly the same. They just don’t say it because they’re scared to look ridiculous, but nobody is ridiculous in this job as we know anything can happen’ Arsene Wenger said in the 2002/03 campaign.
His side lost to Everton a month after and the Frenchman was ridiculed by many. However, once Wenger stabilised his side by tying important figures in the side to long contracts, Arsene dared to do the impossible in the season after.
Led by 39 goals in 51 games by Thierry Henry in all competitions that season, Arsenal embarked in a campaign that saw them acquire the nickname “The Invincibles.”
They registered 90 points off their 38 games with 26 wins and 12 draws. They were awarded a golden Premier League trophy; a feat that has never been achieved in the Premier League since. In the end, it was Arsene Wenger who had the last laugh.
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