2017–18 Premier League
Football season in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2017–18 Premier League was the 26th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 119th season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 11 August 2017 and concluded on 13 May 2018. Fixtures for the 2017–18 season were announced on 14 June 2017.[3] Chelsea were the defending champions, while Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town entered as the promoted teams from the 2016–17 EFL Championship.
3rd Premier League title
5th English title
| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 August 2017 – 13 May 2018 |
| Champions | Manchester City 3rd Premier League title 5th English title |
| Relegated | |
| Champions League |
|
| Europa League | |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,018 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Mohamed Salah (32 goals)[1] |
| Best goalkeeper | David de Gea (18 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Manchester City 5–0 Liverpool (9 September 2017) Manchester City 5–0 Crystal Palace (23 September 2017) Manchester City 7–2 Stoke City (14 October 2017) Arsenal 5–0 Huddersfield Town (29 November 2017) Liverpool 5–0 Swansea City (26 December 2017) Chelsea 5–0 Stoke City (30 December 2017) Liverpool 5–0 Watford (17 March 2018) Manchester City 5–0 Swansea City (22 April 2018) Crystal Palace 5–0 Leicester City (28 April 2018) Arsenal 5–0 Burnley (6 May 2018) |
| Biggest away win | Watford 0–6 Manchester City (16 September 2017) |
| Highest scoring | Manchester City 7–2 Stoke City (14 October 2017) Tottenham Hotspur 5–4 Leicester City (13 May 2018) |
| Longest winning run | 18 matches Manchester City |
| Longest unbeaten run | 22 matches Manchester City |
| Longest winless run | 20 matches West Bromwich Albion |
| Longest losing run | 8 matches West Bromwich Albion |
| Highest attendance | 83,222[2] Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Arsenal (10 February 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 10,242[2] Bournemouth 2–1 West Bromwich Albion (17 March 2018) |
| Total attendance | 14,505,909[2] |
| Average attendance | 38,274[2] |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
Manchester City won their third Premier League title, and fifth English top-flight title overall, with five games to spare.[4] The team broke numerous Premier League records over the course of the season, including: most points (100), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), most consecutive league wins (18), highest goal difference (+79), fewest minutes behind in matches (153 minutes) and biggest winning points margin (19).[5][6] All three promoted clubs avoided relegation for the first time since the 2011–12 campaign, and for only the third time in Premier League history.
Overview
Sleeve sponsorship
From this season on, club strips could feature sleeve sponsorship, whereby sponsors' logos would appear on the left sleeve of the strip in lieu of the Premier League patch.[7][8][9]
Deception by simulation
From this season on, a three-man panel consisting of a former player, a former manager and a former match official would independently review video evidence on the Monday after games. Any player whom the three-man panel unanimously decided had caused an opponent to be sent off or had won a penalty as a result of deceiving the referee by simulation would be charged by the Football Association with "Successful Deception of a Match Official" which carried a penalty of suspension for two matches. Everton striker Oumar Niasse became the first Premier League player to be punished under the new rule.[10]
Summary
Manchester City were confirmed as Premier League champions following Manchester United's 0–1 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion in the 33rd round of the league.[11] Manchester City had started the Premier League season with an away win over Brighton & Hove Albion in August. After a draw against Everton, Manchester City won eighteen games in a row. During this time they secured first position and held it for the remainder of the season. On 7 April, Manchester City hosted Manchester United in the local derby, in which a win would have secured their position as champions. United came back from 2–0 down at half-time to win 3–2 and deny their rivals the title; however, the following week they lost to bottom club West Bromwich Albion, a result which, coupled with Manchester City's victory over Tottenham Hotspur, ensured an unassailable lead with five games left.[12]
During the campaign Manchester City broke and set several new club and English football records. They established national records in consecutive away (11) and overall (20) victories in all competitions; set a new English record for consecutive league wins (18); equalled the Premier League record for consecutive away league wins (11) and set club records by achieving 28 consecutive games unbeaten in all competitions; 30 consecutive games unbeaten in the league; 20 consecutive home wins in all competitions; and winning 14 away games in a season.[13][14][15][16] They won their fifth English league title, and completed their second league and League Cup double in four years.
Defending champions Chelsea started the season badly, losing their opening game to Burnley 2–3; the first time the holders were defeated at home in their first match. A win at one of the title favourites, Tottenham, in their second game seemed to get their defence back on track, but results in September, including losing 0–1 to Manchester City, left them six points behind the leaders in fourth place. They failed to show the consistency of the previous season, and finished in fifth place, leading to Antonio Conte's dismissal as manager a year after leading them to the title.
Manchester United started the season strongly winning their first three games without conceding a goal and led the table until mid-September. They finished in 2nd, their highest finish and points total (81) since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Liverpool finished fourth for a second consecutive season, buoyed by the signing of Mohamed Salah; his 32 goals broke a Premier League record for most goals scored in a 38-game season, beating the 31 achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan Shearer and Luis Suarez.
Arsenal had a poor season, finishing sixth overall. Long-serving manager Arsène Wenger announced his departure from the club on 20 April 2018.[17] Their final home game was an emphatic 5–0 defeat of Burnley which guaranteed qualification to the group stage of the Europa League.[18]
Despite the defeat, Burnley finished in seventh place, their best finish in English football since 1973–74. This meant they would be entered into the second qualifying round of the Europa League, their first competitive European football campaign in 50 years.[19] Their strong finish led to manager Sean Dyche and defender James Tarkowski being nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season and Premier League Player of the Season awards respectively.[20]
Stoke City were the first team to be relegated to the EFL Championship when they lost 1–2 to Crystal Palace in their penultimate game. Although Stoke were only three points from safety with one game remaining, fellow strugglers Swansea and Southampton still had to play each other, meaning that Stoke would be unable to catch both of those teams and finish fourth from bottom.[21] The game between Swansea and Southampton ended in a 1–0 away win for Southampton, which also meant that despite a five-game unbeaten run, West Bromwich Albion became the second team to be relegated to the Championship on 8 May 2018.[22] Following their 1–2 defeat at the hands of Stoke on the final matchday, Swansea City were also relegated.[23] This meant that all three promoted teams, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, survived relegation for the first time since the 2011–12 campaign.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, returning to the top flight after an absence of one, thirty-four and forty-five years respectively. This was also both Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Hull City, Middlesbrough (both teams relegated to the Championship after a season's presence) and Sunderland (relegated after ten years in the top flight).
Stadiums and locations
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Source:[24]
- Tottenham Hotspur played their home games at Wembley due to the rebuilding of their own stadium at White Hart Lane.
Personnel and kits
- Additionally, referee kits were made by Nike, sponsored by EA Sports, and Nike had a new match ball, the Ordem V Premier League.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure |
Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford | Mutual consent | 21 May 2017[96] | Pre-season | 27 May 2017[97] | ||
| Crystal Palace | Resigned | 23 May 2017[98] | 26 June 2017[99] | |||
| Southampton | Sacked | 14 June 2017[100] | 23 June 2017[101] | |||
| Crystal Palace | 11 September 2017[102] | 19th | 12 September 2017[103] | |||
| Leicester City | 17 October 2017[104] | 18th | 25 October 2017[105] | |||
| Everton | 23 October 2017[106] | 30 November 2017[107] | ||||
| West Ham United | 6 November 2017[108] | 7 November 2017[109] | ||||
| West Bromwich Albion | 20 November 2017[110] | 17th | 29 November 2017[111] | |||
| Swansea City | 20 December 2017[112] | 20th | 28 December 2017[113] | |||
| Stoke City | 6 January 2018[114] | 18th | 15 January 2018[115] | |||
| Watford | 21 January 2018[116] | 10th | 21 January 2018[117] | |||
| Southampton | 12 March 2018[118] | 17th | 14 March 2018[119] | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | Mutual consent | 2 April 2018[120] | 20th | 2 April 2018[120] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City (C) | 38 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 106 | 27 | +79 | 100 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 68 | 28 | +40 | 81 | |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 74 | 36 | +38 | 77 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 84 | 38 | +46 | 75 | |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 62 | 38 | +24 | 70 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] |
| 6 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 74 | 51 | +23 | 63 | |
| 7 | Burnley | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 8 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 44 | 58 | −14 | 49 | |
| 9 | Leicester City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 47 | |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 44 | |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 44 | |
| 12 | Bournemouth | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 44 | |
| 13 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 48 | 68 | −20 | 42 | |
| 14 | Watford | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 41 | |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 40 | |
| 16 | Huddersfield Town | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 37 | |
| 17 | Southampton | 38 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 36 | |
| 18 | Swansea City (R) | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 28 | 56 | −28 | 33 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 19 | Stoke City (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 35 | 68 | −33 | 33 | |
| 20 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 56 | −25 | 31 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[121]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Since the winners of the 2017–18 FA Cup (Chelsea) and the winners of the 2017–18 EFL Cup (Manchester City) both qualified for European competition based on their league positions, the berths awarded to the 5th-placed team (Europa League group stage) and the League Cup winners (Europa League second qualifying round) were passed down the league.
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 32 | |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | |
| 3 | Manchester City | 21 | |
| 4 | Leicester City | 20 | |
| 5 | Manchester City | 18 | |
| 6 | Manchester United | 16 | |
| 7 | Liverpool | 15 | |
| 8 | Arsenal | 14 | |
| 9 | Manchester City | 13 | |
| 10 | Chelsea | 12 | |
| Leicester City | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | Watford | 6–0 (A) | 16 September 2017 | [122] | |
| Chelsea | Stoke City | 4–0 (A) | 23 September 2017 | [123] | |
| Bournemouth | Huddersfield Town | 4–0 (H) | 18 November 2017 | [124] | |
| Everton | West Ham United | 4–0 (H) | 29 November 2017 | [125] | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Burnley | 3–0 (A) | 23 December 2017 | [126] | |
| Southampton | 5–2 (H) | 26 December 2017 | [127] | ||
| Manchester City | Newcastle United | 3–1 (H) | 20 January 2018 | [128] | |
| Arsenal | Everton | 5–1 (H) | 3 February 2018 | [129] | |
| Manchester City | Leicester City | 5–1 (H) | 10 February 2018 | [130] | |
| Liverpool | Watford | 5–0 (H) | 17 March 2018 | [131] |
- Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team
Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[132] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 18 | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 | |
| 3 | Chelsea | 15 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | |||
| 5 | Arsenal | 11 | |
| Burnley | |||
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 10 | |
| Liverpool | |||
| Huddersfield Town | |||
| Everton | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion |
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 11[133]
Oriol Romeu (Southampton)
- Most red cards: 2[134]
Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)
Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United)
Club
- Most yellow cards: 73[135]
- West Bromwich Albion
- West Ham United
- Most red cards: 5[136]
- Leicester City
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | References | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August | Huddersfield Town | Liverpool | Bournemouth | [137][138][139] | |||
| September | Manchester City | Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United | [140][141][142] | |||
| October | Manchester City | Southampton | [143][144][145] | ||||
| November | Liverpool | Everton | [146][147][148] | ||||
| December | Tottenham Hotspur | Bournemouth | [149][150][151] | ||||
| January | Bournemouth | Manchester City | Chelsea | [152][153][154] | |||
| February | Brighton & Hove Albion | Liverpool | Tottenham Hotspur | [155][156][157] | |||
| March | Burnley | Leicester City | [158][159][160] | ||||
| April | West Bromwich Albion | Crystal Palace | Tottenham Hotspur | [161][162][163] | |||
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League Manager of the Season | Manchester City | |
| Premier League Player of the Season | Liverpool | |
| Premier League Goal of the Season | Southampton | |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Liverpool | |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Manchester City | |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Liverpool | |
| PFA Fans' Player of the Year | Liverpool |
| PFA Team of the Year[171] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||
| Defence | ||||||||||||
| Midfield | ||||||||||||
| Attack | ||||||||||||
Attendances
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 1,424,538 | 75,118 | 74,726 | 74,976 | −0.4% |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1,291,103 | 83,222 | 50,034 | 67,953 | +114.8% |
| 3 | Arsenal | 1,127,133 | 59,547 | 58,420 | 59,323 | −1.1% |
| 4 | West Ham United | 1,080,808 | 56,988 | 56,197 | 56,885 | −0.2% |
| 5 | Manchester City | 1,022,434 | 54,452 | 53,241 | 53,812 | −0.4% |
| 6 | Liverpool | 1,007,931 | 53,287 | 50,752 | 53,049 | +0.1% |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 987,844 | 52,311 | 50,174 | 51,992 | +1.7%1 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 784,353 | 41,616 | 38,910 | 41,282 | −0.5% |
| 9 | Everton | 737,143 | 39,221 | 37,580 | 38,797 | −1.3% |
| 10 | Leicester City | 600,083 | 32,202 | 30,203 | 31,583 | −1.0% |
| 11 | Southampton | 585,084 | 31,930 | 27,714 | 30,794 | −0.5% |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 577,701 | 30,634 | 29,676 | 30,405 | +8.6%1 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 556,317 | 30,022 | 27,458 | 29,280 | +6.7% |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 476,189 | 25,840 | 23,477 | 25,063 | −0.4% |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 465,878 | 26,223 | 22,704 | 24,520 | +2.7% |
| 16 | Huddersfield Town | 456,757 | 24,426 | 23,548 | 24,040 | +18.2%1 |
| 17 | Burnley | 393,080 | 21,841 | 18,862 | 20,688 | +0.6% |
| 18 | Swansea City | 391,830 | 20,933 | 19,580 | 20,623 | 0.0% |
| 19 | Watford | 384,388 | 20,552 | 20,002 | 20,231 | −1.7% |
| 20 | Bournemouth | 202,154 | 10,952 | 10,242 | 10,640 | −4.8% |
| League total | 14,552,748 | 83,222 | 10,242 | 38,297 | +6.9% |
Source: World Football
Notes:
1: Team played last season in the Championship