The 25 best teams in Premier League history

In the first-ever Premier League season, Manchester United won the league in a walk. Now, this was in a 42-game season, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s team had 84 points, and nobody else had more than 74. It was a plus-36, and nobody else was higher than plus-22. United allowed under one goal per game. By no means was this the best team in Premier League history, but they were excellent, and this was the first-ever season so we wanted to include this side.

There’s going to be a lot of Manchester United on this list. This was a closer competition, but Man U picked things up and had 92 points and a plus-42 goal differential. The club only lost four games all season with player of the season Eric Cantona leading the way.

There are a few years of a break here, but we’re back to Manchester United. This year, the club only lost three games, winning 28 of its 38 fixtures. Arsenal was a distant second. It had 73 points and a plus-30 goal differential. United finished at 91 and plus-52.

As the millennium turned, Man United was back once more. It had 10 more points, and four more wins, than any club, and they were plus-48 as well. Nobody else was better than plus-32. However, fret not. This is not just a list of Manchester United seasons.

Arsenal, led by Thierry Henry’s 24 goals, rose to the top of the league. Both Liverpool and Manchester United had very good seasons, but neither was on Arsenal’s level. Though Arsenal’s plus-43 goal differential was only one better than what United did, it finished on 87 points, and Liverpool was second at 80. The Gunners only lost three games.

Manchester United went on a run down the stretch of the 2002-03 season to win another title. Led by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes, United picked up 83 points and had a plus-40 goal differential. Another strong season for Alex Ferguson’s crew.

Here’s our first instance of two teams from the same season, because you need not win it all to be one of the best Premier League sides. Arsenal was leading the league late in the season, but then Manchester United surged to the title. The Gunners finished on 78 points, but with a plus-43 goal differential. Basically, Arsenal had one more loss and one more draw, and that is all it took.

The Gunners were not messing around down the stretch in 2003-04. You likely know this was the “Invincibles” season. Arsenal is, to date, the only Premier League team to go undefeated all season. Now, the Gunners had 12 draws. This wasn’t the best side in Premier League history. But, of course, if you go 38 games without a loss, of course you belong on this list.

Chelsea has now entered the picture. Bolstered by an influx of money and the hiring of Jose Mourinho in the offseason, the Blues had 95 points. That was, at the time, the Premier League record.

Now, Arsenal didn’t finish close to Chelsea, but that just speaks to how remarkable Chelsea was this season. The Gunners had 83 points, which would have won the league on many occasions. More to the point, Arsenal finished plus-51. Finishing with over 80 points and a goal differential over plus-50? Yeah, that’s a great season.

As defending champs, Chelsea won 14 of its first 16 games and didn’t look back. The Blues won another title with a roster featuring legends like Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, and got over the 90-point and plus-50-goal thresholds again.

Man U had a young Cristiano Ronaldo and a young Wayne Rooney. It’s not surprising it got back to the top of the table in 2006-07. The 89 points United managed was impressive, and six better than Chelsea. However, the club ran through the competition. The team was a remarkable plus-56, one of the best goal differentials for a Premier League side.

This was a really polarized season. Three teams had over 80 points, but six had under 40, and Derby County was one of the worst Premier League teams in history. United actually lost more games than Arsenal and Chelsea, but it had 27 wins and 87 points, and it was also a whopping plus-58.

Another season, another Manchester United title. Look at the PFA’s Team of the Year and you can see how loaded this side was. It was a 90-point campaign for Man U, and its plus-44 goal differential was solid.

The Liverpool side from the same season, though, is one of the best runners-up in Premier League history. The Reds only lost twice! Liverpool’s problem was drawing 11 games. Still, it had 86 plus and a plus-50 goal differential, decidedly better than what Manchester United did. Of course, they don’t give you trophies for that.

Chelsea entertained fans en route to winning the title. It wasn’t a coronation, as the Blues finished on 86 points and Manchester United was breathing down their necks all season. However, Chelsea set a record with a whopping 103 goals. It had an amazing plus-71 goal differential. Had it slipped up and missed out on the title, this would have been the best runner-up in Premier League history.

Bonus points for style? Manchester City won its first Premier League title on the last day of the season thanks to the iconic goal scored by Sergio Aguero. Thanks to that goal, City finished on 89 points, and also with a plus-64 goal differential.

City’s in-town rivals United deserve a spot on this list as well. Manchester United too finished with 89 points. It lost the title on goal differential. That being said, Man U still had a plus-56 goal differential, which is far off of what Man City did, but impressive.

Chelsea turned heads when it scored 100 goals in a season. In 2016-17 it turned heads by winning 30 games. That’s 30 out of 38! It’s rare for a Premier League side to win 30 games. Thanks to five losses, Chelsea finished on 93 points, but those 30 wins were incredibly impressive.

A plus-60 goal differential is remarkable. Spurs scored 86 goals and only allowed 26 this season, both best in the Premier League. The results for Spurs were just slightly worse than Chelsea, as Spurs finished on 86 points. Spurs missed on its best chance to win a Premier League title with its best side in Premier League history.

We think we have found the best side in Premier League history. Pep Guardiola’s team was a force to be reckoned with. Featuring five members of the PFA’s Team of the Year, City broke records left and right. It scored 106 goals. It had a plus-79 goal differential. Oh, and Man City finished on 100 points. Yes, for the first time, a Premier League team managed 100 points, with City winning 32 games, drawing four, and losing two.

The next year, City almost did it again. Flipping draws and losses around but winning 32 games again, the club finished on 98 points. It scored a mere 95 goals. In a season where two teams finished under 30 points, City put up some big numbers…and needed every goal and every win.

This Liverpool side is, unequivocally, the best runner-up in Premier League history. Winning the Premier League on 90 points is great, right? Well Liverpool finished second on 97 points. Yes, 97. The Reds were runners up with a point total most league winners don’t even sniff. Liverpool only lost a single game all season! To not win the title felt almost unfair. Almost.

The COVID-19 pandemic both nixed Liverpool’s coronation and kept it from challenging City’s 2017-18 records. It came out of the gates on fire and would get to 99 points, though the plus-52 goal differential was second to City’s plus-67 (it “only” had 81 points, so not on this list). If not for COVID messing up the rhythm of the season, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team would have gotten to 100 points.

This is the last season represented on this list. Step it up, Premier League clubs! We’ll spoil it by saying City and Liverpool were even more neck-and-neck this season in terms of quality. It was City, though, that won the title with 93 points.

Liverpool had top goal scorer Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane was right behind him. The Reds scored 94 goals to City’s 99. It had a plus-68 goal differential to City’s plus-73. And, yes, Liverpool finished on 92 points. These were two great sides, but only one of them could win it all.