Top 10 Premier League Teams of All Time
This debate has raged on for many years now but with the recent excellence of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, we thought we’d take a look at some of the greatest Premier League sides and pick out our top 10.
10) Liverpool 2018/19
The only team on this list to have not a won a title at the end of the season hence why they’re ranked at ten. However, its hard to deny the excellence of this team. Klopp’s men amassed a whopping 97 points, the highest tally to have not won a title and the fourth highest tally ever.
The Reds were an inch and a John Stones clearance away from going unbeaten the whole season which probably would have placed them top of this list but ended up one point shy of Man City on the final day.
Liverpool did secure their 6th Champions League/European Cup at the end of the season but unfortunately we’re only counting Premier League achievements.
9) Manchester United 1999/00
The United team of 1998/99 is probably more revered than this one because of their historic treble win but this side had a far more accomplished league campaign. They won 6 more games than the previous year, getting 12 more points and scoring 17 more goals.
The season before, the Red Devils had required a final day comeback to clinch the title by a point but they won the 99/00 title by a staggering 18 points. Oh and they had a midfield of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs. Not too shabby.
8) Leicester City 15/16
Far from the most accomplished team on this list in terms of points and goals scored and conceded but what this Leicester team achieved goes far beyond the record books. The Foxes defied their 5000-1 bookmakers odds to win the league with a starting eleven that cost a combined £29 million.
And to think Man United paid £80 million for Harry Maguire alone. Some people might say that the big clubs were off it and they might be right but what Leicester did will probably never be repeated so they belong on this list.
7) Chelsea 16/17
The Blues may be pushing hard to win the league again this season but the last time they won it was rather impressive. In Antonio Conte’s first season as manager they managed to pick up 93 points, which at the time was the second highest points tally ever (behind another Chelsea team).
The diminutive Italian brought the now overly popular 3-4-3 to the Premier League and racked up 12 straight wins and 6 consecutive clean sheets to seal Chelsea’s 5th EPL crown. Impressive.
6) Manchester United 2008/09
Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly the greatest ever Premier League manager and probably the best to ever do it full stop. It may surprise you then that this is his and Man United’s highest entry on this list but boy is it a cracker.
Despite being beaten home and away by Liverpool that season, including an infamous 1-4 drubbing at Old Trafford, United beat Rafa Benitez’s Reds to the title with a haul of 90 points. A Red Devils team that included Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov and Nemanja Vidic to name a few, they would go on to win the Champions League that summer.
Perhaps most impressively though they put together a run of 14 clean sheets between November and February.
5) Chelsea 2004/05
Ah, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. The Special One was in fine form and full of swagger during the 04/05 campaign as the Blues toppled the Arsenal invincibles team with a remarkable season.
Jose’s boys racked up 95 points (a record at the time) only losing one game throughout the campaign on their way to the first of back to back titles.
However, this Chelsea team is perhaps best immortalised by one statistic in particular. The West Londoners only conceded 15 goals that season, a record which still stands today and may do for a very long time.
4) Manchester City 2018/19
City clinched back to back titles with their success in 18/19 in what is possibly the greatest title race of the Premier League era. There may be some City fans who would argue for the 2011/12 campaign considering the iconic Sergio Aguero goal but in terms of sheer quality it can’t top 18/19.
Liverpool pushed Man City all the way to the final day but a 14 game winning streak and a Vincent Kompany piledriver was too much for the Reds as Pep’s men equalled their record tally of 32 wins from the previous season.
3) Liverpool 2019/20
The only Premier League winning Liverpool side to date was an absolute cracker. Klopp’s ‘heavy metal football’ had come close to toppling Man City a season earlier but nothing could stop the Reds in 2019/20.
They went 27 games unbeaten to start the season winning all but one of those, before eventually losing 3-0 to Watford in late February. There was a little bit of a drop off after they returned from the pandemic break but Klopp’s men eventually amassed 99 points, equalling City’s record of 32 wins and lifted the trophy on 96 points, a fitting tribute to Hillsb0rough.
2) Arsenal 2003/04
The invincibles. Arsenal fans may walk around shouting about the 03/04 season but they have very good reason. Arsene Wenger’s finest team containing the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira were magnificent.
Preston may have gone a whole season unbeaten way back when but Arsenal are still the only side to have done it in the Premier League era. 90 points and no defeats, speaks for itself really.
1) Manchester City 2017/18
It was a close one with the invincibles but this City team holds almost every record for a single season. The Centurions are the only team to get 100 points and they also scored a record 106 goals, had a record goal difference of 79 and won a record 32 games.
City eclipsed the 100 point mark with a historic late Gabriel Jesus goal against Southampton on the final day. For the benefit of the Arsenal fans, Pep’s men did lose twice throughout the season, away at Anfield and at home to Man United after losing a 2-0 lead but ultimately this City side were just too good not to put first.