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The Premier League is unarguably the most popular league in the world. Although the refereeing and overall quality of play trail some of its major counterparts, that takes nothing away from its massive appeal which sees millions tune in every year.
Having existed for exactly 104 years as the English First division, the football league in England saw a massive overhaul in February 1992. There was a break-away that saw 22 clubs in the First Division form an independent league, called the Premier League.
Since the league started awarding three points for a win at the start of the 1994/1995 season, nine clubs have gone on to reach or surpass the 90-point mark. Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson became the first side to attain the milestone in 2000, a year after their historic treble win.
Here, in ascending order, we shall be ranking all the Premier League sides to have reached or surpassed the 90-point mark in a season.
#9 Manchester United - 2008/09 (90 points)
The team of 1999 might be Manchester United's standard-bearers in terms of their unique feat of winning a treble. However, in the eyes of many, the three-peat winning side of 2008-2009 was more exciting and complete. With a fearsome forward line of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, United tore down opposition defences to shreds time and again.
Ronaldo ended as the club's highest goalscorer at the end of that season with 18 goals in the league and 26 in all competitions before leaving for Real Madrid in a world-record deal. The Red Devils also added the League Cup to their trophy cabinet, although they narrowly fell short in their quest to retain the Champions League.
#8 Arsenal - 2003-04 (90 points)
This season saw Arsenal cement their legacy by becoming the first and to date only side to finish a Premier League campaign undefeated. This was a feat that was last achieved over a century ago.
Led by the tactically savvy Arsene Wenger on the bench and the unplayable Thierry Henry on the field, Arsenal were undoubtedly the premier side in the land. With a supporting cast including other great players like Robert Pires, Kanu Nwankwo, Kolo Toure, and Freddie Ljungberg, the Gunners ended the Premier League season as champions and remained undefeated.
Their season record read 26 wins and 12 draws from 38 games which saw them garner 90 points. The Gunners' French superstar Thierry Henry scored 30 of their 73 goals to win the Golden Boot and PFA Player of the Year.
#7 Chelsea - 2005-06 (91 points)
The landscape of the Premier League was changed forever following the purchase of Chelsea by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2003. And just a year later, the self-proclaimed 'Special One' would guide them to a first league title in five decades, breaking several records on the way.
A season later, they retained their title, albeit in less dominant circumstances. But their total of 91 points was still remarkable in its own right.
They lost five and drew four of their 38 matches, finishing eight points ahead of second-placed Manchester United. Current Blues manager Frank Lampard ended the season as the club's top scorer with 16 goals in the league and 20 in all competitions.
#6 Manchester United - 1999/00 (91 points)
Following on from their treble-winning campaign in 1999, Manchester United made history as the first side to garner 90 points in a Premier League season. They also finished a record-breaking 18 points ahead of Arsenal (a record that stands to this day).
Furthermore, their 97 goals scored were the highest in the Premier League history to that point, of which legendary forward Dwight Yorke scored 20. The Red Devils' biggest win of the season came in a 7-1 hammering of West Ham United at Old Trafford.
#5 Chelsea - 2016/17 (93 points)
Chelsea started the 2016/2017 season ordinarily enough, winning just three of their first six league matches. But it was at half-time of a harrowing 3-0 defeat to Arsenal that manager Antonio Conte set the template for what was to follow for the rest of the season.
The Italian had made a name for himself with Juventus and the Italian national team. His unique three-at-the-back system revolutionised the game. However, a distinct distrust of the system owing to its massive failures in the past led to Conte adopting a more traditional 4-3-3 system at Stamford Bridge initially.
However, he ditched this during half-time at the Emirates and they returned to the field in a 3-4-3 formation. And, this was to be the start of a glorious run that saw the Blues keep six consecutive clean sheets. The highlight of this run was a 4-0 thrashing of former manager Jose Mourinho.
They became the first side to win 13 consecutive matches in a single Premier League season and ended the campaign with 93 points. Spanish striker Diego Costa was the club's highest goalscorer with 20 league goals.
Former Nigerian international Victor Moses was the breakout star of the campaign, taking to his converted wing-back role like a fish to water. Ultimately, the successful implementation of Conte's system had far-reaching consequences. In the next two years, we saw 13 of the 20 Premier League sides trying out the system. Gareth Southgate's England also got to the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup using this formation.
#4 Chelsea 2004-05 (93 points)
Arsenal raised the bar with their unbeaten campaign in 2004. And although they could not quite match that feat, Chelsea were arguably more dominant in the manner in which they dethroned the Invincibles.
A spending spree saw future legends like Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, and Ricardo Carvalho all come in to merge with the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry. This resulted in Chelsea totally blitzing their way to a first Premier League title. In many ways, this title win set the foundation for all their future successes.
The Blues lost just one game all season, finishing 12 points ahead of the defending champions. Their 95 points was the highest point total at that point. Additionally, several records were also set including for most away wins in a season (15), most clean sheets (25), fewest goals conceded away (9), most wins in a season (29), and fewest goals conceded (15).
#3 Liverpool - 2018-19 (97 points)
The only side on this list not to end the campaign as champions, Liverpool were almost unplayable in the 2018-19 season. This was evidenced by the fact that they lost just one match the entire season. Additionally, their point total of 97 points would have been enough to win the league title in all but two of the 28 Premier League seasons to date.
They matched City stride for stride in what was an enthralling title race that went down to the wire on the final day. The Reds' only undoing came in their only loss of the season at the hands of their main rivals for the title.
Mohamed Salah followed up on his breathtaking debut campaign to retain the Golden Boot. However, he had to share the honours with teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal hitman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
#2 Manchester City - 2018-19 (98 points)
Liverpool's doggedness ensured that Manchester City did not blitz their way to retaining the league title. However, the Mancunians were still several notches ahead of the rest of the competition en route successfully defending their title.
Sergio Aguero led the way in front of goal with 21 Premier League goals. Although star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne was injured for most of the season, Portuguese star Bernardo Silva stepped up significantly in his absence.
They became the first side to win a domestic treble in England, winning the league, FA Cup, and League Cup. Their hope for a maiden Champions League, though, was ended at the quarter-final stage by Tottenham Hotspur in controversial circumstances.
#1 Manchester City 2017/18 (100 points)
Although Arsenal might lead the way by virtue of their unbeaten campaign, Manchester City are standard-bearers in terms of points total. the Cityzens became the first English side to reach the magical 100-point mark in 2018.
City were utterly dominant under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola. Most of this was down to Belgian maestro Kevin De Bruyne. The former Chelsea star put in incredible performances in several games throughout the season, pulling the strings from the middle in what was a breathtaking campaign.
They were engaged in a one-team race for the title and ended the campaign in enthralling fashion. A last-gasp goal by Gabriel Jesus on the final day secured the win to give them 100 points - a perfect representation of what was an incredible season for the Sky Blues.
Several other records were set in the campaign, including most away points in a season (50), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18).
Also Read: All Premier League top scorers by season
