With the final round of fixtures finishing in the Premier League, English top-flight football bids goodbye to 2023. With a new year, teams hope to start with a refreshed mentality and eventually aim to have the best possible finish to the season.
For the current season, Liverpool stays top of the Premier League table, and Jurgen Klopp’s men look fine-tuned. However, staying at the league’s summit at the end of the year can hardly be a metric for judging where the team will finish at the end of the season.
In this article, Sportstar looks at teams that finished top of the Premier League table for the last 10 calendar years and their eventual league position at the end of the season.
2022-23 season - Table topper: Arsenal, Title winner: Manchester City
Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side looked like they had finally cracked the code last season. At the end of 2022, the Gunners finished top of the table and looked on course to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2003, but eventually lost the title race to Manchester City, which, at the end of December, was second with 36 points - even behind Arsenal.
2021-22 season - Table topper: Manchester City, Title winner: Manchester City
Manchester City topped the Premier League table at the end of December 2021 with 50 points. Chelsea was second with 42 points and Liverpool third with 41. Given Man City’s dominance, it seemed like a straightforward win for Pep Guardiola’s men, but the second half of the league threw several twists and turns.
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While City did manage to win the league with 93 points, the title race went down to the wire, with Liverpool finishing runner-up with just a point less.
2020-21 season - Table topper: Liverpool, Title winner: Manchester City
The 2020-21 season saw one of the most remarkable comebacks in Premier League history. Manchester City eventually won the league with 86 points, but at the end of December 2020, Guardiola’s men were eighth in the table, having won seven, drawn five and lost two in 14 outings.
Liverpool, which finished 2020 on top, eventually finished third with 69 points.
2019-20 season - Table topper: Liverpool, Title winner: Liverpool
Marred by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 Premier League season was like no other, with football halted for over three months.
In the pandemic hit-season, Liverpool fans found a reason to rejoice after the Reds had a dominating campaign.
Fabinho of Liverpool leads the celebrations holding the trophy aloft as they celebrate winning the Title during the presentation ceremony of the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield on July 22, 2020, in Liverpool, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Having finished December 2019 on top, it eventually won the Premier League title with 99 points, 18 more than second-placed Man City. Liverpool was crowned champion for the first time since 1990.
2018-19 season - Table topper: Liverpool, Title winner: Liverpool
Liverpool was top of the Premier League standings after December 2018 with 54 points, enjoying a seven-point lead over second-placed Manchester City.
While Klopp had hoped to clinch his first league title with the Reds, it was not to be, as the second half of the season saw the title race go down to the wire. Liverpool eventually finished second in the table (97 points) and lost the title to champion Manchester City by just a point.
2017-18 season - Table topper: Manchester City, Title winner: Manchester City
There was never any doubt that Manchester City would win the league throughout the season. There were no last-minute twists or surprises. Guardiola’s men were top of the table after December 2017 and eventually clinched the league with 100 points.
With this, City set an English top-flight record for most points in a single season.
Vincent Kompany of Manchester City lifts the Premier League Trophy during the Manchester City Trophy Parade in Manchester city centre on May 14, 2018 in Manchester, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
2016-17 season - Table topper: Chelsea, Title winner: Chelsea
The 2016-17 season belonged to Chelsea under the tutelage of the newly-appointed manager Antonio Conte.
Finishing December 2016 at the top of the table with 49 points, the Blues finished the season on top with 93 points to clinch the Premier League.
2015-16 season - Table topper: Arsenal, Title winner: Leicester City
It was the season of fairytales in the Premier League. When the season started, Leicester City had odds of 5000-1 to win its first league title in its 132-year history.
However, at the end of the season, the Foxes had defied the odds to win the Premier League title with 81 points by a handsome margin.
There were always signs that Leicester was having a good season under then-manager Claudio Ranieri. It finished December 2015 in second place with 39 points - equal to table-topper Arsenal.
2014-15 season - Table topper: Chelsea, Title winner: Chelsea
Chelsea reigned supreme in the 2014-15 Premier League season.
Finishing December 2014 at the top of the table with 46 points, Jose Mourinho guided the Blues to the Premier League title at the end of the season with 87 points.
2013-14 season - Table topper: Arsenal, Title winner: Manchester City
At the end of December 2013, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal finished top of the table with a slender one-point lead over Manchester City.
However, Wenger’s men could not hold on to the momentum in the second half of the season and finished fourth in the table, while Man City won the league title with 86 points.
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