And breathe... Although the Premier League title race was done and dusted with two games to spare while the relegation scenario did not see a nail-biting final day, the only thing up for grabs on the final day of the season were top four spots.
Along the way, from August 2016 to May 2017, we saw 380 matches of varying degrees of quality and Chelsea were deservedly crowned champions with a team that cantered to the title in Antonio Conte’s debut season. Records were set, milestones were reached and the season threw up some incredible stats that were devoured by fans and pundits alike.
We take a look at 10 of the most insane stats from this season.
1) Arsenal won 75 points and still finished fifth – highest tally in PL history to miss out on Champions League
Just how competitive the Premier League was this season was proved by the battle for the top four spots in the table. With Champions League qualification on the line, as many as seven clubs were in the running at one point this season.
Everton soon fell away and discovered their own lonely island in seventh place while Manchester United consolidated sixth place, looking to qualify by winning the Europa League. The final day saw Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal fight for third and fourth place.
City won comfortably as did Arsenal despite going down to 10 men. Liverpool had a hiccup and at half-time Arsenal were effectively fourth. But Jurgen Klopp’s side eventually beat the already-relegated Middlesbrough side to seal fourth spot.
It broke Arsene Wenger’s streak of qualifying for the Champions League every season since he took over and the club become the last of the English elite to dip their feet in the Europa League.
Last year the Gunners finished second with 71 points. This year, even 75 points weren’t enough!
2) 100 different players have scored for Manchester United in the Premier League
In 25 seasons of the Premier League (ever since it was founded in 1992), Manchester United are one of six clubs who have played each season in the top flight. With 13 titles to their name, they hold the record for most league titles. They also hold the record for most goals scored (1856).
When Jose Mourinho named the lineup for the final game of the season, only die-hard United fans probably knew who the players were. Four players – Kieran O'Hara, Josh Harrop, Angel Gomes and Zak Dearnley made their made their first team debuts with the senior squad.
“Who’s Josh Harrop?” people asked. They soon found out when he scored in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, thereby becoming the 100th different player to score for Manchester United in the Premier League (excluding own goals).
3) When James Milner scores, his team never lose
When Liverpool signed James Milner for free in the summer of 2015, they got a whole lot more than they bargained for. They got a player with plenty of Premier League experience and a level head on some very broad shoulders.
Milner’s versatility and tireless running saw Klopp stick him in a left-back role when Alberto Moreno failed to impress. The Englishman thrived and got the job done, even lending a hand in attack whenever required.
The captain’s armband wasn’t his only major responsibility – Milner was also in charge of penalty duties. And when he scores, the team never lose. The 31-year-old has scored 48 goals in the league.
His record when he scores? Won 37, Drawn 10, Lost 0!
4) Cesar Azpilicueta played every single minute of the league campaign
The Premier League is one of the most punishing leagues in Europe. England has three domestic trophies to fight for and squad rotation is key to a player’s fitness in a league where the idea of a winter break is scoffed at.
In most cases, it is goalkeepers who usually play every minute of all 38 games in a season – a minimum of 3420 minutes (excluding injury time). But a select few defenders have also accomplished this feat.
Cesar Azpilicueta now joins the elite list of outfield players to have played every minute of a league campaign. Even with the title assured, Conte still chose to play the reliable Spaniard who has played at right-back, left-back and a centre-back in a back-three.
The other players to do the same: Gary Pallister (Manchester United – 1992/93), John Terry (Chelsea – 2014/15) and Wes Morgan (Leicester City – 2015/16).
5) This is the first time Pep Guardiola has finished trophyless AND outside the top two
Ever since his breakthrough season with Barcelona where he won the treble (which became a sextuple), Pep Guardiola and success have gone hand-in-hand. Be it at Barcelona or Bayern Munich, the Catalan boss has won at least one major trophy every season – be it La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the Bundesliga title or the DFB-Pokal.
In both stints, he lost the league title only once to Real Madrid in 2011/12 (though he did win the Copa del Rey that season). With Bayern, the Bundesliga title was pretty much assured every season with the squad he had at his disposal.
Manchester City has proved to be a different challenge, however. Although he started the league campaign with commanding performances to lead the table for the first 10 weeks, the Sky Blues soon fell away. They were also knocked out of the Champions League (AS Monaco) and FA Cup (Arsenal).
As a result, Guardiola ends the season empty-handed for the first time ever.
6) Tottenham’s goal difference of +60 wasn’t enough to win the title
Most goals scored this season: Tottenham – 86 goals
Least goals conceded this season: Tottenham – 26 goals
The Goal Difference of +60 is the highest for a side that didn’t win the title.
Mauricio Pochettino has had the best team over the past two seasons combined but has fallen short in both campaigns. The Spurs have played some scintillating football with as many as three players scoring 20+ goals in all competitions (Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min).
But in spite of the jaw-dropping numbers, they simply didn’t make them count when it mattered most in the title race. Besides, their 9-match winning run in the second half of the season was no match for Chelsea’s 13-match winning run.
7) No team has drawn more home games in a season than Manchester United at Old Trafford
Jose Mourinho may have had a 25-match unbeaten run with the Red Devils but it was one of the worst unbeaten runs in Premier League history (13W and 12D). After slipping out of the top four following consecutive losses in the Manchester Derby and against Watford, United never recovered.
With Europa League and League Cup commitments making Mourinho’s schedule a nightmare from hell, United’s squad were unable to cope towards the final third of the season. The last six games saw them win only once (on the final day).
Old Trafford was a fortress when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge but teams have now been able to travel to the Premier League’s biggest stadium and come away with points. In all, Mourinho’s side drew 10 times at home – drawing to weaker teams such as Stoke, Burnley, West Ham, Hull, Bournemouth, West Brom and Swansea.
8) Mesut Ozil created 12 chances in one game – highest since stats were collected
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil is a player that has polarised opinions since his move to the Premier League. While his world-class quality on the ball was never in doubt, it was his ability (or lack thereof) to affect the outcome of a game on a consistent basis that became a major talking point among fans and pundits alike.
Not many players have created as many chances as Ozil in Europe over the past few seasons. The only players in the same bracket are Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas. After a season where he had 19 assists, he could only accumulate nine assists this term.
But the home game against Sunderland saw him create an astonishing 12 chances for his teammates. To put things in perspective, he and Christian Eriksen lead the league for chances created per game (3) this season.
If not for the heroics of Jordan Pickford in the Sunderland goal, Arsenal could have easily scored more than two.
9) Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane join an elite list
The race for the Golden Boot has captivated football fans since time immemorial and the race for this season’s award went down to the final day of the season. Ultimately, it was Harry Kane who walked away with the prize yet again following his 29-goal haul.
Sergio Aguero, who has won the Golden Boot before also managed to hit the 20-goal mark this season (five strikers in all including Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, and Diego Costa). In doing so, Aguero and Kane have now scored at least 20 goals in three consecutive seasons.
Kane: 21 goals (2014/15), 25 goals (2015/16), and 29 goals (2016/17) – Total: 75 goals
Aguero: 26 goals (2014/15), 24 goals (2015/16), and 20 goals (2016/17) – Total: 70 goals
They now join the likes of Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, and Ruud van Nistelrooy who achieved the same in their careers.
10) Chelsea beat 12 teams home AND away this season
Antonio Conte deserves a lot of credit for the way he turned around Chelsea’s fortunes this season. Following losses to Liverpool and Arsenal early in the season, the Blues had slipped to eighth in the table.
Then came the 3-4-3 revolution that saw John Terry benched and new wing-back roles for Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses. The strategy worked and the Blues never looked back. They topped the table back in the first week of November and never relinquished top spot again.
In all, they won home and away against 12 different teams. The only teams they did not beat twice were Arsenal (1W 1L), Liverpool (1D 1L), Tottenham (1W 1L), Crystal Palace (1W 1L), Manchester United (1W 1L), Swansea (1W 1D) and Burnley (1W 1D).
Every other team was beaten twice by Conte’s title-winning side – thereby equalling Chelsea’s record in 2004/05 and Manchester United’s record in 2006/07.
Also read: How much prize money did each Premier League team win this season?
