The 2012–13 Premier League (known as the

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st 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 English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 114th season of top-flight English football overall. The fixture schedule was released on 18 June 2012. The season began on 18 August 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013.

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

were the defending champions, having won their first Premier League title the previous season. This was their first top division title league title since the 1967–68 season.

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 ...

secured their 13th Premier League title with four games to spare with a 3–0 win over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on 22 April 2013. Their 20th English title overall, this left defending champions Manchester City, who suffered a 3–1 defeat to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

a day earlier, trailing 16 points behind their local rivals with only five matches left to play. It was the first time the title had been decided in April since Chelsea were the winners in 2005–06, and only the fourth time in the history of the Premier League that it had been won with at least four games remaining in the season since

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

won in 2003–04.

England national football team manager The role of an England national football team manager was first established in 1946 with the appointment of Walter Winterbottom. Before this, the England national football team was selected by the "International Selection Committee", a process ...

Roy Hodgson declared that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was a "magician" having won 13 titles in 21 seasons. On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced his retirement; his final game in charge was away to West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season, which ended in a 5–5 draw. On 28 April 2013,

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

were both relegated from the Premier League after a goalless draw against each other.

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 ...

were the third and final club to be relegated, following a 4–1 defeat to Arsenal on 14 May 2013. This brought an end to their eight-year stay in the Premier League, and came just three days after winning the season's FA Cup, making them the first club to win the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and suffer relegation in the same season.

Season summary

The season opened the weekend of 18 August 2012. Defending champions

opened their season with a narrow 3–2 victory over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, who had just been promoted back to the Premier League after seven seasons in lower divisions. Man City had taken a 1–0 lead, with Southampton turning it on its head to go 2–1 up with 20 minutes remaining. City eventually came back and Samir Nasri scored the winning goal with ten minutes left. In a Monday evening fixture at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

started their season with a 1–0 loss to Everton, the goal scored by Marouane Fellaini. The first goal of the season, however, was scored by Swansea City's

Michu Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known as Michu (), is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Forward, forward or Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfie ...

, whose team thrashed

5–0 away from home. Manchester United recovered from their opening week loss with a 3–2 win over

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 ...

in their opening home game at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, but lost striker

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

to injury during the match. Other second week highlights included Chelsea's 2–0 win over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, with recent Belgian signing

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

involved in both goals. Early leaders Chelsea had week three off, while a win by Manchester City over Queens Park Rangers left the defending champions two points off the pace. The game was a highly anticipated rematch between the two teams that squared off on the final day of the 2011–12 season, when Manchester City snatched the title on goal difference with a late goal by

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded as one of th ...

. This time though, it was less exciting, with Manchester City comfortably winning 3–1. Level on points with Manchester City in second place were Swansea City, who registered a 2–2 draw with

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

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, who defeated Everton 2–0. The fourth week of the season began with controversy, as the Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers match was fraught with racial tensions when QPR's Anton Ferdinand refused to shake hands with Chelsea's

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

, who had been suspended for four games for using racial epithets against Ferdinand during the previous season. The teams would play out a 0–0 draw, however second place Manchester City could not gain ground as they also drew, with Stoke City. Week five saw Chelsea extend their league lead to 3 points with a 1–0 win over Stoke City. A late goal in the 85th minute by Ashley Cole secured the win for the Blues. Everton and West Bromwich Albion maintained control of second place, with both teams notching a win in week five, though a draw by the Baggies in week six would drop them back to fifth place, which they would share with

following their surprise 3–2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Chelsea, Everton, and Manchester City would all win in week six. The results table after six games would have Chelsea in the lead with 16 points, followed by Everton and Manchester City with 13 points each, and Manchester United with 12. At the bottom of the league,

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 ...

forward

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 ...

scored a hat trick against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, leading Liverpool to a 5–2 victory. It was the second consecutive year that Suárez had scored a hat trick at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

. The month of October saw a tightening at the top of the standings, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all winning their first two of three games for the month, setting up a vital Sunday afternoon match at Stamford Bridge between third placed Manchester United and the leaders Chelsea. The game did not disappoint, as Chelsea went down 2–0 early on an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fortaleza Esporte Clube, Fortaleza. H ...

in the fourth minute and a goal by

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

in the 12th. Van Persie had also taken the shot that had rebounded off of Luiz, and thus was ultimately responsible for the Red Devil's one-goal lead at half-time, following a late first half goal by Chelsea's

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers. He primarily plays as an attacking ...

from a free kick. Eight minutes into the second half Ramires equalised for Chelsea, and in the 75th minute United's Javier Hernández scored what proved to be the deciding goal via a rebound from a missed Van Persie shot. Replays showed that Hernández was in an offside position, generating a great deal of controversy. After the game, only a single point separated leaders Chelsea from second placed Manchester United. The rest of the standings were tightly packed in mid-table as 4 points separated fourth through ninth place. Another key match in October included a fixture between Liverpool and Reading, with Liverpool winning 1–0 (with winger Raheem Sterling scoring his first goal for the club) and giving manager Brendan Rodgers his first win at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

in the league against Reading, a team he formerly managed. The final week of October featured the longest match in the 20-year history of the Premier League, a 103-minute game between Manchester City and Swansea that featured two serious injuries, one to the groin of Swansea keeper Michel Vorm and the other to the knee of Manchester City back

Micah Richards Micah Lincoln Richards (born 24 June 1988) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a right-back. Richards began his senior career with Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and made 245 a ...

, both of which required stretchers to carry them off. City prevailed 1–0 in the marathon event with a goal from

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; né Martínez; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. A dynamic forward (association football), forward in his prime, Tevez ...

. League leaders Chelsea suffered a dip in form in November. They opened the month with draws against Swansea City and Liverpool, dropping them to third in the standings. A loss to West Bromwich Albion on 17 November was marked by ineffective second half play, as the team was unable to capitalise on a late first half equaliser by Eden Hazard. The Blues closed out the month with uninspiring 0–0 draws against Manchester City and Fulham. The primary beneficiaries of Chelsea's slide were Manchester United and Manchester City, as the two rivals moved into commanding control of the first two places in the league table. Key November games included a 2–1 Manchester United win over Arsenal on 3 November, and a dominating 5–0 win by Manchester City over

on 17 November marked by a pair of two-goal performances by Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero. West Bromwich Albion proved to be the biggest mover up the league table, moving from eighth up to joint third with Chelsea, on the strength of four wins over Southampton,

, Chelsea, and Sunderland. At the bottom end of the table, Queens Park Rangers found themselves as the only team without a league win by the end of November. The month of December saw minimal change in the standings at the top end of the table. The situation by

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

with the top three places was the same as it was at the start of the month, though Manchester United had extended their lead over second place Manchester City to seven points, with Chelsea four points back from City in third place. Tottenham Hotspur occupied fourth place with Arsenal, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion all tied for fifth. Chelsea stopped their November slide with a 3–1 win at Sunderland on 8 December on the strength of two goals by

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

. The

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

was renewed on 9 December at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...

with first place on the line. United took a two-goal lead thanks to two goals from Wayne Rooney in the 16th and 30th minute. City responded with a

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Touré aspired to be a striker during h ...

goal in the 60th minute, a goal that followed two saves in rapid succession by United keeper David de Gea.

Pablo Zabaleta Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (; born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player ...

equalised in the 86th minute, but Robin van Persie once again proved to be the hero for United, scoring the winning goal two minutes into injury time to extend United's lead over City at the top of the table to six points. The last team without a league win, Queens Park Rangers, finally got their first win of the season on 15 December.

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

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, returning to the top flight after absences of four, seven and one year respectively. They replaced

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

(both teams relegated to the

after eleven years in the top flight) and

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

(ending their three-year top flight spell).

Stadiums and locations

:''Note: Table lists 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 sponsored by

Expedia Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, based in Seattle. The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacation packages. Expedia.com was launched on ...

.com, and Nike has a new match ball, the Maxim Premier League.

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

* First goal of the season:

for Swansea City against Queens Park Rangers (''18 August 2012'') * Fastest goal of the season: 20 seconds, Theo Walcott for Arsenal against Queens Park Rangers (''4 May 2013'') * Last goal of the season: Urby Emanuelson for Fulham against Swansea City, (''19 May 2013'') * Largest winning margin: 8 goals **Chelsea 8–0 Aston Villa (''23 December 2012'') * Highest scoring game: 10 goals **Arsenal 7–3 Newcastle United (''29 December 2012'') **West Bromwich Albion 5–5 Manchester United (''19 May 2013'') * Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 8 goals **Chelsea 8–0 Aston Villa (''23 December 2012'') * Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals **Reading 3–4 Manchester United (''1 December 2012'') **Swansea City 3–4 Norwich City (''8 December 2012'') **Manchester United 4–3 Newcastle United (''26 December 2012'') **Norwich City 3–4 Manchester City (''29 December 2012'') **Arsenal 7–3 Newcastle United (''29 December 2012'')

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

Clean sheets

Player

Club

* Most clean sheets: 18 **Manchester City * Fewest clean sheets: 5 **Aston Villa **Reading **Wigan Athletic

Discipline

Player

* Most yellow cards: 10 ** Craig Gardner (Sunderland) ** Bradley Johnson (Norwich City) ** Matthew Lowton (Aston Villa) **

(Liverpool) * Most red cards: 2 ** Steven Pienaar (Everton) ** Steve Sidwell (Fulham)

Club

* Most yellow cards: 78 ** Stoke City * Most red cards: 5 ** Arsenal

Awards

Monthly awards

Annual awards

Premier League Manager of the Season

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, 71, received the Premier League Manager of the Season. It was his 11th win, awarded in the final season of his managerial career.

Premier League Player of the Season

The Premier League Player of the Season was awarded to

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The

PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...

was awarded to

PFA Team of the Year

PFA Young Player of the Year

The

PFA Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the ...

was also awarded to Gareth Bale.

FWA Footballer of the Year

The FWA Footballer of the Year was also awarded to Gareth Bale.

Premier League Golden Glove

The Premier League Golden Glove award was won by Joe Hart of Manchester City.

Premier League Fair Play Award

Arsenal won the Premier League Fair Play Award after finishing the 2012–13 Premier League top of the Fair Play Table. The award for best behaved fans went to

for the second year running.

Premier League Merit Award

The Premier League Merit Award was awarded to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Attendances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Premier League Premier League seasons Eng 1