The best points totals in Premier League history

The Premier League has become the greatest league in world football over recent years thanks to the influx of star players, brilliant managers and the fantastic support that all 20 sides receive.

It makes sense then that the best league in the world also produces some of the best teams, and with the best teams come the highest points totals.

With that in mind, we here at Football FanCast have looked back at the highest points tallies in Premier League history to see which teams can indeed be considered among the very best to have ever played in the competition. In the event of a tie, we’ve used games played and goals scored as tie-breakers. Here’s how it all breaks down:

12

Chelsea 2005/06

91 points

Kicking things off, we have the 2005/06 Chelsea side, who, under Portuguese mastermind Jose Mourinho, managed to lift the Premier League title for a second consecutive season, all while racking up an impressive points total of 91.

It was a brilliant way to celebrate the club’s centenary season, and while they failed to add any more cups to their trophy cabinet, they dominated the league.

Manchester United were the Blues’ closest challengers, and despite beating them 1-0 at Old Trafford early on in the campaign, they ended up finishing eight points behind them. But having only scored 72 times along the way, Chelsea were the most goal-shy of the other teams to accrue this many points in a season.

11

Manchester City 2023/24

91 points

Man City secured a record-breaking fourth consecutive league title by breaking the 90-point barrier. While they fell just short of Manchester United’s 1999/00 tally of 97 goals (see below), 96 isn’t too shabby. And with Arsenal pushing them all the way, every last goal was crucial.

It has been customary for Pep Guardiola’s City side to go on a mammoth run in the second half of campaigns, and that’s exactly what they did here – going unbeaten since early December and winning each of their last nine games to keep the impressive Gunners at bay as they did the previous year.

10

Manchester United 1999/00

91 points

Manchester United were just coming out of their era-defining treble-winning season, so they’d likely have been forgiven had their levels dropped ever so slightly. Well, maybe with any other manager, that is.

Sir Alex Ferguson lit a fire under his men as they flew out of the blocks from that first whistle and never stopped.

They finished the campaign 18 points ahead of nearest rivals Arsenal, and while they failed to lift any other domestic trophies that year, they did win the Intercontinental Cup.

9

Manchester United 1993/94

92 points

We’re sticking with the red side of Manchester for a moment, and while their triumph in the 1999/00 season was incredibly impressive, their 1993/94 Premier League campaign might have been even better.

The team had just won their first league title in 26 years, so there was a question as to whether this team had the mentality to go again and defend their title – and they did.

This defence was, of course, helped by the arrival of a young Irish midfielder by the name of Roy Keane in the summer break.

Once the whistle had gone in the final game of the season, United were eight points clear of Blackburn Rovers in second place and would then go on to beat Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final to secure a historic double.

8

Liverpool 2021/22

92 points

Now, this is an interesting one, as the 2021/22 Liverpool side was a genuinely fantastic team and one that managed to accrue 92 points in a 38-game season – United played 42 in 1993/94 – and yet, they are the first side on this list that ended their season as Premier League runners-up.

Yes, the Reds’ side that managed 28 wins, six draws, just two defeats, and 92 points did not end the season as champions, all thanks to a certain Sky Blue team we’ll get onto later on.

However, coming in second place does not mean that the team aren’t worth talking about, as Jürgen Klopp’s side were fantastic in this campaign and were, even in May, on for an unprecedented quadruple.

In the end, they finished the campaign as FA Cup and League Cup winners, which should be considered a good season by anyone’s standards.

7

Chelsea 2016/17

93 points

We’re back with the Blues for our next entry, and to say their 2016/17 title win was quite the surprise would be an understatement.

Chelsea were tipped for a title challenge the season prior when they were under the management of managerial legend José Mourinho, but a string of poor results saw him lose his job in December 2015, with Guus Hiddink brought in on an interim basis.

Unfortunately, this did little to steady the ship and come the end of the season, Chelsea found themselves all the way down in tenth place and with no silverware to their name, so when Antonio Conte was tasked with improving the team’s fortunes the following season, there was very little expectation from the fans.

These low expectations were lowered yet further when Chelsea lost two and drew one of their opening six games of the season, only for Conte to galvanise his team and lead them on an impressive 13-game winning streak.

The Blues eventually won the league by a seven-point margin ahead of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which probably made it all the sweeter for the fans.

6

Manchester City 2021/22

93 points

Okay, so we have already covered the brilliant 2021/22 Liverpool side that couldn’t quite win the league despite amassing 92 points, and now we have reached the reason why.

The 2021/22 Manchester City side might not be the very best City side we have seen over the last decade, but they come mighty close.

It took them a little while to kick into full swing, losing two and drawing two of their first ten league games, but following on from that tenth game, they would only lose once more all season, while drawing four and winning another 23.

They also gave us one of the best final days of the season ever, with an exhilarating comeback win against Aston Villa to seal the title.

5

Chelsea 2004/05

95 points

We’ve reached our third and final Chelsea entry on the list, and we reckon it remains their most impressive Premier League triumph of all time – it helps that it was their first.

It was the Special One’s first season in charge of the Blues, and to say he exceeded the expectations placed upon him would be a colossal understatement.

The team would win the League Cup, reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and utterly dominate a Premier League that until that point, had been shared between Arsenal and Manchester United for close to a decade.

However, perhaps more impressive than anything else is that they won the league while conceding just 15 goals – 0.39 goals per game – a record that still stands today.

4

Liverpool 2018/19

97 points

We have reached our second Liverpool entry on this list, and unfortunately for Reds fans, it is another case of a team placing on this list and somehow not coming away from the season as champions.

Klopp’s 2018/19 Liverpool side were mesmerising to watch in league and cup, racking up 30 wins, seven draws and one defeat, alongside a positive goal difference of 67 and 97 points to boot. However, it still wasn’t enough, and as it was three years later, Man City were the ones who just about pipped them to the title.

That said, they ended the season as champions of Europe after beating Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid, so it’s still a campaign that fans can look back fondly on.

3

Manchester City 2018/19

98 points

Manchester City’s second entry on this list, and once again, it comes at the expense of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

The Citizens had an impressive start to the season, with 13 wins and two draws from their first 15 games, but three losses in their next four left them lagging behind the Reds on Christmas Day.

However, as City have now grown accustomed to doing, they went on a 14-game win streak in the final part of the season to win their second title on the bounce.

The final game against Brighton & Hove Albion did require a comeback after a 27th-minute Glenn Murray goal, but the score ended 4-1 in favour of the Sky Blues.

2

Liverpool 2019/20

99 points

It truly is that third time’s the charm for Liverpool, as their latest entry on this list finally sees them post an unbelievable points total and a Premier League title triumph, and with 99 points to their name, it would have been quite difficult, even with City to consider, not to have won the title.

Where they had been neck and neck with City in their previous campaign, the Reds utterly dominated the competition in the 2019/20 season, ending the year 18 points clear of Pep’s men in blue.

The team won 32 games, drew three, and lost three, but in the cruellest of twists, the pandemic meant that fans couldn’t see their team finally lift the trophy at the end of the season.

That said, with how they are playing this year, they might just get that chance before too long.

1

Manchester City 2017/18

100 points

Here we are – the team with the highest points total in Premier League history, and really, who else was it going to be?

Pep Guardiola has built a ruthless winning machine at Manchester City over the years, and while his treble-winning side of the 2022/23 season might be his crowning achievement, the 2017/18 Centurions side arguably remains the best team he has managed.

They may not have any European glory to their names, but that side, with Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, and so many more talents, they were genuinely unbelievable and practically unstoppable.

They would lose just two games all season, drawing four more and winning the remaining 32.

However, they would have missed out on the title of Centurions were it not for Gabriel Jesus, as the Brazilian gave them a 1-0 lead against Southampton in the 94th minute in their final game to seal the 100th point.

Will City’s 100-point tally ever be beaten?