The Best Winning Starts in Premier League History—And How They Ended

Manchester City were feeling pretty good about themselves entering the 2023–24 campaign, with Rodri’s strike in Istanbul ensuring they completed a historic treble the season prior.

And City’s midfield enforcer ensured their winning run stretched beyond two matches at the start of the fresh campaign, striking late at the newly promoted Sheffield United to secure a 2–1 victory at Bramall Lane.

Pep Guardiola‘s side defeated Burnley and Newcastle United without conceding, then trounced Fulham and eased past West Ham United before a Rodri red card forced them to work for a sixth consecutive victory.

They were stunned by Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 7, and subsequently beaten by primary challengers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium the following week. The Gunners would once again make a strong push for the title, but City embarked on a staggering 23-match unbeaten run, including 11 straight victories to wrap up the season, to lift a fourth-consecutive title.

This was the season when Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool truly emerged.

The summer arrivals of Alisson and Fabinho proved transformative, as the Reds swiftly evolved into fierce title contenders after a fourth-place finish in 2017–18.

The tone was set with six straight wins to start the season, as Liverpool downed West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion without conceding. Victory at Tottenham Hotspur (when Spurs were not an incompetent force) was a statement triumph, and although their winning start was halted by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Reds wouldn’t taste defeat until Jan. 3.

Unfortunately, the 2–1 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium would prove decisive, as Klopp’s side cruelly missed out on the title despite amassing a whopping 97 points.

Guardiola’s dominant tenure in Manchester started with six Premier League wins on the bounce, although there was a prevailing sense that the Spaniard’s side would soon get figured out.

Their winning run included just one clean sheet despite a tame fixture list, and a 2–0 defeat at Spurs was one that certainly felt as if it was coming.

It was ultimately a disappointing debut season for Guardiola on English soil, with his porous City outfit so often exposed on the counter attack. They slipped to as low as fifth in January, but recovered to finish third and qualify for the Champions League.

Then came the ‘Centurions.’

After a couple of years of managerial flux, Roman Abramovich turned to Carlo Ancelotti, with the Italian enjoying his first taste of English soccer after collecting a bucketload of silverware in his homeland.

Ancelotti rolled with pretty much the same roster that had come within a whisker of the Champions League final the previous season, and Chelsea’s experienced squad got off to a flyer at the start of the new manager’s tenure.

Didier Drogba’s cross-cum-shot ensured the Blues were victorious on the opening weekend against Hull City, and their six-game winning run was capped by a familiar beatdown of Spurs at the Bridge.

Two defeats followed in their next three outings, and they slipped to third after drawing to Blackburn Rovers in March. However, seven wins from their next eight, including a 2–1 win at Old Trafford, meant they edged Manchester United to the title by a single point.

Kevin Keegan’s “Entertainers” were born.

Newcastle United’s infamous title collapse would arrive the following season, but their start to 1994–95 offered a glimpse into the near-future.

The Magpies scored 22 times in their opening six victories, keeping just the one clean sheet. The masses were dazzled, and the Toon Army believed.

It wouldn’t last, even if their unbeaten start to the campaign extended until Gameweek 12. They endured a wretched festive period, winning just one of their 11 outings between Nov. 7 and Jan. 21.

A poor end to the season meant Newcastle finished sixth.

It was a summer overhaul at the Etihad Stadium, as the Premier League’s supreme force over the past decade bade farewell to the mastermind of their dominance, Guardiola, as well as multiple imperative stalwarts.

Guardiola’s former assistant Enzo Maresca was given the unenviable task of filling his boots, but the Italian looks set to continue the trend of Guardiola successors thriving.

Man City are 100% through seven games, having played the previous two with the darkest of clouds lingering overhead. This all may count for nought after an independent commission found them guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.

Still, their on-field work has undeniably been impressive. City’s perfect start so far includes victories at Man Utd and Liverpool, as well as high-scoring wins over Sunderland and Ipswich Town.

A fifth conquest of the continent made up for their harsh second-place finish in the 2018–19 Premier League, and Klopp’s Reds entered 2019–20 with a single mission in mind.

Liverpool were rampant from the outset, winning eight straight. They weren’t behind in a match until Gameweek 5, and although a Daniel James-inspired Manchester United took two points off them to end their 100% start, it’d be the only blemish on their Premier League record until Feb. 29.

Klopp’s side ascended to the division’s summit on Gameweek 2, and they refused to relinquish that position. They were unrelenting and the runaway champions. Soccer was brought to a halt in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and their crowning wouldn‘t arrive until the summer as a result.

A spotty conclusion to the campaign meant they didn’t breach the 100-point threshold, yet this was still one of the most dominant title triumphs in the competition’s history.

Maresca’s City are two wins away from equaling Chelsea’s record.

Liverpool threatened to match the Blues‘ perfect nine-game stretch to start their title defense in 2005–06. José Mourinho’s side romped to the trophy during the “Special One’s” debut season in west London, and very few projected Chelsea to relinquish their crown.

Those predictions were vindicated by their supreme start, which included victories over London rivals Arsenal and Spurs. Frank Lampard’s double against Aston Villa helped Chelsea to their seventh-straight win to set a new Premier League record, and they’d then thrash Liverpool at Anfield and Bolton Wanderers on home soil to reach nine.

A draw at Everton meant Mourinho’s side couldn’t quite reach the all-time top-flight record of 11 wins set by Spurs in 1960–61. Still, Chelsea would go back-to-back, with Mourinho’s second title wrapped up by virtue of a 3–0 win over Man Utd in April.

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