The Premier League is one of the most talked about and telecast football tournaments in the world. It has a huge fan base, solely due to the fact that most of the football superstars come from Europe. The 22nd season of the Premier League, which was then known as the Barclays Premier League started on the 17th of August 2013 and concluded on 11th of May 2014.
This is one of those rare seasons where a team which looked set to win the title lost on the final day. Liverpool ended up losing and drawing it's last two matches, while Manchester City won its last five encounters to finish on 86 points and take their second Premier League title.
A total of 380 fixtures were decided for the season. This was one season where the first position kept changing, as many as 25 times. Such was the competition among all the top tier teams that the title race was alive till the very last week. In fact, it was the last day where Manchester City moved ahead of Liverpool's 84 points by winning 2-0 against West Ham United.
| Position | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | 86 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 38 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 84 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 82 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 79 |
| 5 | Everton | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 72 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 69 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 64 |
| 8 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 56 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 50 |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 38 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 49 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 45 |
| 12 | Swansea City | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 42 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 40 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 38 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 38 |
| 16 | Hull City | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 37 |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 36 |
| 18 | Norwich | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 33 |
| 19 | Fulham | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 32 |
| 20 | Cardiff City | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 30 |
Winners- Manchester City
The 2013/14 season of the Premier League probably had the craziest title race ever. It was that kind of a remarkable season which proved that quality football has no alternative when it comes to winning, especially in crunch situations.
Manchester City showed their class when it mattered the most. However, their scoring prowess was at its best. They were the fastest to score 100 competitive goals in all competitions and the first to complete the feat before January. They eventually ended up with 156, which became a record in itself, beating 143 goals set by Manchester United way back in 1956/57.
A total of 102 goals in the Premier League is something which only a few teams can dream about. And Manchester City almost did it with ease.
Top scorers-
Yaya Toure- 20
Sergio Aguero-17
Edin Dzeko- 16
Alvaro Negredo- 9
Samir Nasri, David Silva- 7
Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure were probably the best players on display for the men in sky blue. Their supreme class was seen at probably every match and it was the right mixture of class and experience that helped them get the silverware for their second time. In fact, Toure made it to the PFA Team of the Year along with captain Vincent Kompany and the midfielder also won many other African trophies. Aguero won the Player if the Month in October.
Managed by Manuel Pellegrini in his very first season, City were on top for only 15 days in the season. However, they made all those 15 days count. Liverpool, who were 5 points clear at the top of the table with three matches remaining, looked set to have their hands on the title for the very first time. However, they messed up badly in the last stages and this dented their hopes.
Manchester City perfectly made use of this situation and upped their game. They beat Aston Villa 4-0 at a rain soaked Etihad Stadium and climbed to the top. A 2-0 win in their final match get their second title win in three years.
Runners up- Liverpool
Liverpool would probably believe that this was their best chance to win the Premier League. Their 22nd season at the PL could have been their most memorable one, if not for some costly mistakes right at the end of the season. Finishing just two points behind would have hurt them big time, but still it was a great season for the men in red.
They scored 101 goals, the highest number of goals scored by a Premier League runner up and the fourth highest ever scored by a club. They recorded their highest number of goals in any season. They exceeded expectations, achieving their preseason aim of qualifying for the Champions League very early.
Top scorers
Luis Suarez- 31
Daniel Sturridge- 21
Steven Gerrard- 13
Raheem Sterling- 9
Martin Skrtel- 7
Philippe Coutinho- 5
Luis Suarez had a phenomenal season for the Reds. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 31 goals, winning the Premier League Golden Boot as well as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year. He was ably helped by captain Steven Gerrard, who finished as the leading assist maker with 13 assists.
Along with Gerrard, fellow national mates Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling also had decent enough seasons, complimenting well with 21 and 9 goals respectively.
It was the lethal SAS strike force of Suarez and Sturridge who scored one goal after other and kept giving them the edge against other top flight teams. Such was their dominance that they won 11 consecutive matches on the trot. However, fate had other plans.
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea proved the better team at Anfield, knocking the Reds 2-0 and denting their hopes. The final blow on their title hopes came against Crystal Palace. Tony Pulis pulled his side out of nowhere and converted their 3-0 deficit to 3-3 in just 12 minutes. This was the final nail in their coffin and they knew that the title was all but over.
Other teams-
Arsenal was one team who had a huge chance of winning the title early on. Many football pundits had set their eyes in Arsenal as a probable title holders along with Manchester City. Till the first 15 weeks, they were well ahead of teams like Chelsea and Man City. After their opening day loss to Aston Villa, they went on to win 11 of their next 13 matches. However their dominance soon started to fade and they finished at the fourth position with 79 points.
Chelsea had a good enough season, but couldn't make their way to the top. Jose Mourinho tried his luck for the silverware the second time, but they were pipped by top performances from the top two. They however achieved the most number of clean sheets-18. It was Petr Cech who was the standout performer along with Eden Hazard, who made it to the Team of the year and also took the Young Player of the Year honour.
Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United finished 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. They had a decent season, buy couldn't quite make the cut for the top four owing to poor performances in the mid season matches.
Sunderland were the surprise performers if the season, staring at bottom but eventually finishing 14th. Their great escape started with a draw against Man City, followed by four wins. Their victories against Man United and Chelsea were quite remarkable, given the fact that they were both away fixtures.
Norwich City, Fulham and Cardiff City were the wooden spoon recipients of the season, finishing 18th, 19th and 20th respectively and getting relegated.
Awards
PFA Team of the year
| Player | Club |
| Petr Cech ( GK) | Chelsea |
| Seamus Coleman | Everton |
| Gary Cahill | Chelsea |
| Vincent Kompany | Manchester City |
| Luke Shaw | Southampton |
| Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea |
| Yaya Toure | Manchester City |
| Adam Lallana | Southampton |
| Luis Suarez | Liverpool |
| Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool |
The team of the year had as many as three Liverpool players, which showed how good they were the entire season. Players from other teams like Chelsea and Southampton also made it the team, while champions Manchester City had Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany.
Overall, this was one of those seasons where a lot of drama unfolded. The title position kept changing every week and it kept the fans on the edge of their seats. It was a fun-filled season for both the players and the football fanatics.
