AND so, the 31^st Premier League season has drawn to a close. A season that has seen a record number of goals scored in a 20-team league, all three newly promoted teams staying up, the relegation of a former title-winning team, the return of Messrs Hodgson and Allardyce with differing fortunes, Newcastle and Aston Villa back in European football and Brighton for the first time, Chelsea in the bottom half and a striker outscoring two teams and breaking numerous Premier League records. But, to paraphrase Gary Lineker’s famous quote about the German national team, 20 teams chase the Premier League title and, at the end, Manchester City are crowned champions.

The top-four and title race

Arsenal led the table for 248 days in the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, a record for a side who didn’t then go on and win the title in English top-flight history, breaking Leeds United’s record from 1970-71 by one day. The Gunners were on top on Christmas Day before finishing second, the fifth consecutive time they’d led the way on December 25^th and not won the league (also 1986-87, 1989-90, 2002-03 and 2007-08). After leading for just 15 days between August and April, Manchester City led for all but one day in May to lift the title, their third in a row and the 11^th in 14 top-flight seasons in management for Pep Guardiola. The 42 days they spent top were the fewest by a team to win the Premier League since City themselves spent 15 days top in 2013-14. City’s form in 2023 – which saw them pick up 12 more points than Arsenal (53 v 41) – took them to a seventh Premier League title. There’s also the small matter of Erling Haaland, whose 36 goals were a record in a Premier League season.

In the other Champions League places, Manchester United returned to the top-four under new manager Erik ten Hag, while Newcastle United enjoyed their highest finish since 2002-03 under Sir Bobby Robson. Man Utd were one of only three teams to lose their first two games, along with Everton and West Ham, but recovered to finish third, the highest finish by a side to lose their first two Premier League games since Newcastle in 1993-94 (also third). Speaking of the Magpies, no side lost fewer Premier League games (5) or conceded fewer goals (33) than they did in the 2022-23 campaign, enjoying a 17-game unbeaten run between August and February, either side of defeats to Liverpool. They also scored 68 goals, a full 24 more than in the previous season.

Liverpool to Everton (about a mile, also 5^th to 17^th in the table)

Liverpool finished fifth, their lowest position in a full season under Jürgen Klopp, despite a joint-biggest Premier League win in August, defeating Bournemouth 9-0. In sixth, Brighton earned a European spot for the first time; despite losing manager Graham Potter in September, new manager Roberto De Zerbi and his excellent style of football (the Seagulls were second for average possession and successful passes from October onwards) proved to be one of the best appointments of the season. Another excellent managerial appointment inspired Aston Villa to finish seventh, with Unai Emery winning the fifth-most points in the league after taking over, despite sitting 17^th prior to his first game in charge. Spurs finished in their lowest position since 2008-09 in eighth, despite the 30 goals of striker Harry Kane, becoming only the second side to both score and concede 60 goals in a season,  along with Spurs themselves in 2007-08. Brentford improved four places from 2021-22 to finish 9^th, losing half the number of games from last season (9) and ending the season with five wins in six games, the most of any side. Completing the top-half were Fulham, winning just two fewer points (52) than in their previous two Premier League seasons combined (54).

In the bottom half, Crystal Palace’s season improved with the return of 75-year-old Roy Hodgson, with only six teams winning more points from April onwards. Chelsea ended in 12^th, a drop of nine places from last season and their lowest position since 1993-94, scoring exactly half the number of goals as last season (38 vs 76) and winning 30 fewer points. Wolves were the league’s lowest scorers with 31 but finished 13^th, the highest spot by the lowest scorers since Leeds in 1996-97 (28 goals, 11^th). Dropping seven places from last season to 14^th, West Ham have won more games in Europe (13) than the league (11) this season, and the success of 2022-23 will hinge on their Conference League final next week. Bournemouth won just four of their first 22 games – including a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool in August – then won seven of the next 12 to avoid relegation. Nottingham Forest won 79% of their points in home games (30/38), the highest ratio of any side, in their first top-flight season this century. Everton spent 83 days in the relegation zone, their most since 1994-95, but scraped to safety with just eight wins, the fewest by a non-relegated side since Southampton won seven in 2017-18.

Championship bound

Leicester City are the second team to have won the Premier League and then later be relegated, along with Blackburn Rovers. They were the highest scoring (51) relegated team since Blackpool in 2010-11, who scored 55. Leeds United won seven points in their first three games but went down, only the third side to do so, and saw four different managers take charge in 2022-23, ending with Sam Allardyce, now relegated in his last two campaigns (also West Brom in 2020-21). The Whites also broke their own record for goals conceded in a month in Premier League history, letting in 23 in April. After 11 consecutive top-flight seasons, Southampton were relegated, losing 25 games, their most in a league season in their history, while six wins were their fewest since 2004-05 in their last Premier League relegation season.

Roll on 2023-24…