Arsenal is the only team to win the Premier League without losing a game throughout the season, but other teams have come close.
When you hear the words “unbeaten” and “Premier League,” you might think of Arsenal’s miraculous title-winning season in 2003-04.
That year, the Gunners went a whole season without losing a match, securing the Premier League title in style.
They are the only team to win the English Premier League without losing a game – hence the nickname ‘Invincibles’ – and while their run is still the longest, others have gone close to equal it.
What is the Premier League’s longest unbeaten streak?
Arsenal holds the record for the longest unbroken Premier League streak with 49 games in 2003-04 under Arsene Wenger.
Other managers have attempted to put together their own Invincibles season, but they have all failed.
Expectations were high for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City club in 2017-18, who appeared to be steamrolling just about everyone until they went to Liverpool in January and lost 4-3, destroying their hopes of going undefeated (they had a streak of 30 games). City won the league with 100 points that season, although not without two defeats (against Liverpool and Manchester United) on their record.
Chelsea went 40 games without losing under Jose Mourinho from October 2005 to October 2006, whereas Arsenal went 30 games without losing from October 2002 to October 2003.
Following their victory over Crystal Palace in November 2019, Liverpool became only the fourth club in Premier League history to go 30 games without losing, a run that began after their loss to Manchester City in January 2019.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s side’s unbeaten run came to an end on February 29, 2020, when they were defeated 3-0 by relegation rivals Watford.
Date of run | Team | Matches unbeaten |
---|---|---|
May 2003 – October 2004 | Arsenal | 49 |
January 2019 – February 2020 | Liverpool | 44 |
October 2004 – October 2005 | Chelsea | 40 |
December 2001 – October 2002 | Arsenal | 30 |
April 2017 – January 2018 | Manchester City | 30 |
December 2007 – October 2008 | Chelsea | 29 |
December 1998 – October 1999 | Manchester United | 29 |
April 2010 – February 2011 | Manchester United | 29 |
October 2016 – April 2017 | Manchester United | 25 |
February 1995 – November 1995 | Nottingham Forest | 25 |
What is the Premier League’s longest unbroken home run?
It should come as no surprise that Jose Mourinho is at the top of the Premier League rankings when it comes to turning a house into a fortress.
The Portuguese built his reputation on the most solid of foundations, with stability in the back allowing players further up the field to thrive.
During his stint as Chelsea manager, few visitors to Stamford Bridge found a solution to the Blues’ numerous problems.
The west London heavyweights went 86 games without losing on their home backyard between March 2004 and October 2008.
Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari were the four managers in charge during that remarkable run, with Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ the last team to beat Chelsea before a Xabi Alonso winner for Liverpool finally brought the Blues back down to earth.
Between April 2017 and January 2021, Liverpool had a 68-game unbeaten streak on Merseyside, which includes a Premier League title success.
Sir Alex Ferguson has two entries from his renowned tenure as Manchester United manager, while a title-winning era for Manchester City also reaches the top five of longest undefeated home runs.
Date of run | Team | Matches unbeaten |
---|---|---|
February 2004 – October 2008 | Chelsea | 86 |
April 2017 – January 2021 | Liverpool | 68 |
December 2010 – December 2012 | Manchester City | 37 |
December 1998 – December 2000 | Manchester United | 36 |
December 1994 – November 1996 | Manchester United | 35 |
What is the Premier League’s longest unbeaten away streak?
Given how inconsistent Manchester United has been since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, they can take comfort in the fact that they have the Premier League’s longest unbeaten away streak.
Of course, they’d trade that record in a hurry for a long-awaited trophy, but positives must be accepted in any form at Old Trafford.
Between February 2020 and October 2021, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Red Devils’ 1999 Treble winner, led his side through 29 games on the road without conceding a goal.
That streak came to an end with a 4-2 defeat at Leicester, and Solskjaer was fired by the end of November.
Between April 2003 and October 2004 – when Wayne Rooney halted Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in the Premier League – the famed ‘Invincibles’ went 27 games without suffering from any type of travel sickness.
Arsenal also lasted the full 2001-02 season without losing on the road, while Liverpool went 13 months without losing on the road while seeking their first Premier League title, and Chelsea went 20 games in their first post-Mourinho period.
Date of run | Team | Matches unbeaten |
---|---|---|
February 2020 – October 2021 | Manchester United | 29 |
April 2003 – October 2004 | Arsenal | 27 |
August 2001 – September 2002 | Arsenal | 23 |
January 2019 – February 2020 | Liverpool | 21 |
December 2007 – January 2009 | Chelsea | 20 |