The 2013–14 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, the top-flight English professional league for men's
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs, and the 115th season of top-flight English football overall. The fixtures were announced on 19 June 2013. The season started on Saturday 17 August 2013, and concluded on Sunday 11 May 2014.
On the final day of the season,
Manchester City sealed their fourth league title and second Premier League title with a 2–0 victory over
West Ham United, finishing with 86 points.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
had looked on course to win the title with two weeks to go, but a loss and a draw in two of their last three matches, combined with Manchester City winning their final five league matches, ultimately meant they finished in second place with 84 points.
Chelsea finished third and
Arsenal, who led the table for the longest period, finished fourth. For the third time in four seasons, the top-seven places were dominated by the so-called ‘
Big Six’ clubs (
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City,
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and
Tottenham Hotspur) and
Everton.
Manchester United's first season following
Alex Ferguson's departure ended in disappointment, as the defending champions would finish 7th, tying the record for the worst title defence with the
1994–95 champions
Blackburn Rovers. It was also their worst finish in the Premier League era.
Norwich City,
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
, and
Cardiff City finished in the bottom three and were relegated to the
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
.
Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
was the top scorer with 31 goals, and was also named Player of the Season. Goalkeepers
Wojciech Szczęsny of Arsenal and
Petr Čech of Chelsea led the league with 16 clean sheets each.
Tony Pulis of Crystal Palace won the Manager of the Season award.
Season summary
The 380 fixtures for the 2013–14 Premier League season were announced on 19 June 2013. The television broadcast rights were given two-to-three weeks later. The season started on Saturday 17 August 2013, and concluded on Sunday 11 May 2014. During the 2013–14 season, the Premier League used
goal-line technology for the first time.
During the 2013–14 season, first place changed hands 25 times, compared to just four times during the 2012–13 season. That represented the most lead changes since the 2001–02 season – which had 29, the most ever. The championship was not decided until the final day of play for just the seventh time in league history.
Manchester City won the league with a 2–0 victory over West Ham United on the final day, finishing with 86 points.
In total, Manchester City led the league just 14 days throughout the season en route to their second championship in the last three seasons. The club scored 102 goals, one short of the record, while also conceding the second fewest goals in the league.
With two weeks to go, Liverpool looked on course to win the championship before they had a loss and a draw in two of their final three games. The team ended up in second place with 84 points. Chelsea came third, while perennial power and 2013 champions Manchester United had a disappointing season under new manager
David Moyes (who was sacked in April) and finished seventh.
It was their first finish outside the top four in Premier League history, their worst finish overall since 1989–90, and the first time they had not qualified for European football in 25 years. Southampton's eighth-place finish and Everton's 72 points were club records.
Sunderland became only the second team in the Premier League era to avoid relegation having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
Defeat at home to Everton on 12 April left Gus Poyet's side bottom of the table, seven points from safety (albeit with two games in hand). The club's 'great escape' began with a draw away at eventual champions Manchester City, followed by a run of four wins, including remarkable away victories at Chelsea and Manchester United. Their 2–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on 7 May confirmed their top flight status for next season. Four days earlier, Cardiff City and Fulham were both relegated to the
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
, after losses away at
Newcastle and
Stoke City, respectively. On the final day of the season, Norwich were relegated after losing to
Arsenal.
Two teams (Manchester City and Liverpool) scored more than 100 goals for the first time in Premier League history. The feat had only once been achieved before – by Chelsea in 2009–10.
Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
won the golden boot for most goals with 31, ahead of teammate
Daniel Sturridge who came second with 21 goals.
Wojciech Szczęsny of Arsenal and
Petr Čech of Chelsea led the league with 16 clean sheets each. In a game against Southampton,
Asmir Begović became just the fifth goalkeeper in league history to score.
Begovic's goal was also the fastest of the season, occurring just 12 seconds into the game.
[ Mile Jedinak had the most tackles with 133. Chelsea manager ]José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
lost a home game for the first time in his Premier League career, losing to Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
and ending a run of 77-straight home games unbeaten, stretching over two stints as Chelsea manager.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
. The promoted teams were Cardiff City, Hull City and Crystal Palace, returning to the top flight after absences of fifty-one, three and eight years respectively. This was also Cardiff City's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
, Reading and Queens Park Rangers, who were relegated to the Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
after spending eight, one and two years in the top flight respectively.
Stadiums and locations
:''Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.''
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
* Additionally, referee kits are now being made by Nike, sponsored by EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
, and Nike has a new match ball, the Incyte Premier League.
Managerial changes
A record 10 managers left their position mid-season during the 2013–14 campaign.
League table
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
* First goal: Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool against Stoke City (37th minute, 13:22 BST) (''17 August 2013'')
* Fastest goal: 12 seconds ( Asmir Begović ( GK); Stoke City 1–1 Southampton ''2 November 2013'')
* Largest winning margin: 7 goals
** Manchester City 7–0 Norwich City (''2 November 2013'')
* Highest scoring game: 9 goals
** Manchester City 6–3 Arsenal (''14 December 2013'')
** Cardiff City 3–6 Liverpool (''22 March 2014'')
* Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 7 goals
** Manchester City 7–0 Norwich City (''2 November 2013'')
* Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals
** Sunderland 3–4 Chelsea (''4 December 2013'')
** Manchester City 6–3 Arsenal (''14 December 2013'')
** Stoke City 3–5 Liverpool (''12 January 2014'')
** Aston Villa 4–3 West Bromwich Albion (''29 January 2014'')
** Liverpool 4–3 Swansea City (''23 February 2014'')
** Cardiff City 3–6 Liverpool (''22 March 2014'')
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
4 Player scored four goals
Clean sheets
Player
Club
* Most clean sheets: 18
** Chelsea
* Fewest clean sheets: 5
** Fulham
Discipline
Player
*Most yellow cards: 11
** Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)
*Most red cards: 3
** Wes Brown (Sunderland)
Club
*Most yellow cards: 78
**Aston Villa
*Most red cards:[ 7
**Sunderland
]
Awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
Premier League Manager of the season
Tony Pulis won the Premier League Manager of the Season award.
Premier League Player of the season
The Premier League Player of the Season was awarded to Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
.[
]
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The PFA Players' Player of the Year was awarded to Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
. The other nominees were; Steven Gerrard, Eden Hazard, Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge and Yaya Touré.
PFA Team of the Year
PFA Young Player of the Year
The PFA Young Player of the Year was also awarded to Eden Hazard.
FWA Footballer of the Year
The FWA Footballer of the Year was also awarded to Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
.
Premier League Golden Glove
The Premier League Golden Glove award was won by Petr Čech of Chelsea and Wojciech Szczęsny of Arsenal.
Premier League Fair Play League
The Premier League Fair Play League was topped by Liverpool.
Average attendances
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2013-14 Premier League
Premier League seasons
Eng
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