The Premier League has become the greatest league in world football over recent years thanks to the influx of star players, brilliant managers and the fantastic support that all 20 sides receive.
It makes sense then that the best league in the world also produces some of the best teams, and with the best teams come the highest points totals.
With that in mind, we here at Football FanCast have looked back at the highest points tallies in Premier League history to see which teams can indeed be considered among the very best to have ever played in the competition. In the event of a tie, we've used games played and goals scored as tie-breakers. Here's how it all breaks down:
Manchester City
2017/18
100
1st
Liverpool
2019/20
99
1st
Manchester City
2018/19
98
1st
Liverpool
2018/19
97
2nd
Chelsea
2004/05
95
1st
Manchester City
2021/22
93
1st
Chelsea
2016/17
93
1st
Liverpool
2021/22
92
2nd
Manchester United
1993/94
92
1st
Manchester United
1999/00
91
1st
Manchester City
2023/24
91
1st
Chelsea
2005/06
91
1st
12 Chelsea 2005/06 91 points
Kicking things off, we have the 2005/06 Chelsea side, who, under Portuguese mastermind Jose Mourinho, managed to lift the Premier League title for a second consecutive season, all while racking up an impressive points total of 91.
It was a brilliant way to celebrate the club's centenary season, and while they failed to add any more cups to their trophy cabinet, they dominated the league.
Manchester United were the Blues' closest challengers, and despite beating them 1-0 at Old Trafford early on in the campaign, they ended up finishing eight points behind them. But having only scored 72 times along the way, Chelsea were the most goal-shy of the other teams to accrue this many points in a season.
Manager
Jose Mourinho
PL record
P38 W29 D4 L5
Top PL scorer
Frank Lampard (16)
FA Cup
Semi-finals
League Cup
Third round
Champions League
Round of 16
11 Manchester City 2023/24 91 points
Man City secured a record-breaking fourth consecutive league title by breaking the 90-point barrier. While they fell just short of Manchester United's 1999/00 tally of 97 goals (see below), 96 isn't too shabby. And with Arsenal pushing them all the way, every last goal was crucial.
It has been customary for Pep Guardiola's City side to go on a mammoth run in the second half of campaigns, and that's exactly what they did here – going unbeaten since early December and winning each of their last nine games to keep the impressive Gunners at bay as they did the previous year.
Manager
Pep Guardiola
PL record
P38 W28 D7 L3
Top PL scorer
Erling Haaland (27)
FA Cup
Runners-up
League Cup
Third round
Champions League
Quarter-finals
10 Manchester United 1999/00 91 points
Manchester United were just coming out of their era-defining treble-winning season, so they'd likely have been forgiven had their levels dropped ever so slightly. Well, maybe with any other manager, that is.
Sir Alex Ferguson lit a fire under his men as they flew out of the blocks from that first whistle and never stopped.
They finished the campaign 18 points ahead of nearest rivals Arsenal, and while they failed to lift any other domestic trophies that year, they did win the Intercontinental Cup.
Manager
Sir Alex Ferguson
PL record
P38 W28 D7 L3
Top PL scorer
Dwight Yorke (20)
FA Cup
Withdrew
League Cup
Third round
Champions League
Quarter-finals
9 Manchester United 1993/94 92 points
We're sticking with the red side of Manchester for a moment, and while their triumph in the 1999/00 season was incredibly impressive, their 1993/94 Premier League campaign might have been even better.
The team had just won their first league title in 26 years, so there was a question as to whether this team had the mentality to go again and defend their title – and they did.
This defence was, of course, helped by the arrival of a young Irish midfielder by the name of Roy Keane in the summer break.
Once the whistle had gone in the final game of the season, United were eight points clear of Blackburn Rovers in second place and would then go on to beat Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final to secure a historic double.
Manager
Sir Alex Ferguson
PL record
P42 W27 D11 L4
Top PL scorer
Eric Cantona (18)
FA Cup
Winners
League Cup
Runners-up
Champions League
Second round
8 Liverpool 2021/22 92 points
Now, this is an interesting one, as the 2021/22 Liverpool side was a genuinely fantastic team and one that managed to accrue 92 points in a 38-game season – United played 42 in 1993/94 – and yet, they are the first side on this list that ended their season as Premier League runners-up.
Yes, the Reds' side that managed 28 wins, six draws, just two defeats, and 92 points did not end the season as champions, all thanks to a certain Sky Blue team we'll get onto later on.
However, coming in second place does not mean that the team aren't worth talking about, as Jürgen Klopp's side were fantastic in this campaign and were, even in May, on for an unprecedented quadruple.
In the end, they finished the campaign as FA Cup and League Cup winners, which should be considered a good season by anyone's standards.
Manager
Jurgen Klopp
PL record
P38 W28 D8 L2
Top PL scorer
Mohamed Salah (23)
FA Cup
Winners
League Cup
Winners
Champions League
Runners-up
7 Chelsea 2016/17 93 points
We're back with the Blues for our next entry, and to say their 2016/17 title win was quite the surprise would be an understatement.
Chelsea were tipped for a title challenge the season prior when they were under the management of managerial legend José Mourinho, but a string of poor results saw him lose his job in December 2015, with Guus Hiddink brought in on an interim basis.
Unfortunately, this did little to steady the ship and come the end of the season, Chelsea found themselves all the way down in tenth place and with no silverware to their name, so when Antonio Conte was tasked with improving the team's fortunes the following season, there was very little expectation from the fans.
These low expectations were lowered yet further when Chelsea lost two and drew one of their opening six games of the season, only for Conte to galvanise his team and lead them on an impressive 13-game winning streak.
The Blues eventually won the league by a seven-point margin ahead of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which probably made it all the sweeter for the fans.
Manager
Antonio Conte
PL record
P38 W30 D3 L5
Top PL scorer
Diego Costa (20)
FA Cup
Runners-up
League Cup
Fourth round
6 Manchester City 2021/22 93 points
Okay, so we have already covered the brilliant 2021/22 Liverpool side that couldn't quite win the league despite amassing 92 points, and now we have reached the reason why.
The 2021/22 Manchester City side might not be the very best City side we have seen over the last decade, but they come mighty close.
It took them a little while to kick into full swing, losing two and drawing two of their first ten league games, but following on from that tenth game, they would only lose once more all season, while drawing four and winning another 23.
They also gave us one of the best final days of the season ever, with an exhilarating comeback win against Aston Villa to seal the title.
Manager
Pep Guardiola
PL record
P38 W29 D6 L3
Top PL scorer
Kevin De Bruyne (15)
FA Cup
Semi-finals
League Cup
Fourth round
Champions League
Semi-finals
5 Chelsea 2004/05 95 points
We've reached our third and final Chelsea entry on the list, and we reckon it remains their most impressive Premier League triumph of all time – it helps that it was their first.
It was the Special One's first season in charge of the Blues, and to say he exceeded the expectations placed upon him would be a colossal understatement.
The team would win the League Cup, reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and utterly dominate a Premier League that until that point, had been shared between Arsenal and Manchester United for close to a decade.
However, perhaps more impressive than anything else is that they won the league while conceding just 15 goals – 0.39 goals per game – a record that still stands today.
Manager
Jose Mourinho
PL record
P38 W29 D8 L1
Top PL scorer
Frank Lampard (13)
FA Cup
Fifth round
League Cup
Winners
Champions League
Semi-finals
4 Liverpool 2018/19 97 points
We have reached our second Liverpool entry on this list, and unfortunately for Reds fans, it is another case of a team placing on this list and somehow not coming away from the season as champions.
Klopp's 2018/19 Liverpool side were mesmerising to watch in league and cup, racking up 30 wins, seven draws and one defeat, alongside a positive goal difference of 67 and 97 points to boot. However, it still wasn't enough, and as it was three years later, Man City were the ones who just about pipped them to the title.
That said, they ended the season as champions of Europe after beating Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid, so it's still a campaign that fans can look back fondly on.
Manager
Jurgen Klopp
PL record
P38 W30 D7 L1
Top PL scorers
Sadio Mane & Mohamed Salah (22)
FA Cup
Third round
League Cup
Third round
Champions League
Winners
3 Manchester City 2018/19 98 points
Manchester City's second entry on this list, and once again, it comes at the expense of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.
The Citizens had an impressive start to the season, with 13 wins and two draws from their first 15 games, but three losses in their next four left them lagging behind the Reds on Christmas Day.
However, as City have now grown accustomed to doing, they went on a 14-game win streak in the final part of the season to win their second title on the bounce.
The final game against Brighton & Hove Albion did require a comeback after a 27th-minute Glenn Murray goal, but the score ended 4-1 in favour of the Sky Blues.
Manager
Pep Guardiola
PL record
P38 W32 D2 L4
Top PL scorer
Sergio Aguero (21)
FA Cup
Winners
League Cup
Winners
Champions League
Quarter-finals
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