The 2025-26 Premier League season is over. There was a lot of talk about points totals after the weekend, so we looked back on the last 30+ years to see if it really was as notable as suggested.
It was a strange Premier League season, all told.
We suggested back in August that we could be about to see one of the strongest/most competitive campaigns in recent history, and you could argue that it did indeed turn out that way.
Perhaps the title race was a little underwhelming in the end as Arsenal had things wrapped up before the final day, while Burnley and Wolves both disappeared to the Championship with a bit of a whimper.
But in between, things were as close as they’ve been for a while.
In 2025-26, there was only a 13-point gap between sixth and 16th in the Premier League, the smallest since 1998-99, and almost half what it was last season (24 points).
The Competitive Premier League
Premier League‘Bunched Middle’, Lifting a Curse, and Rare Trips to Europe: What Made Premier League 2025‑26 So Competitive
20 hours ago Ryan BensonThere were some other stats that you may have forgotten about that somewhat sum up how unpredictable the league was in 2025-26.
It was essentially proven that starting well or poorly was no indication of future prospects. Liverpool won their first five league games before losing six of their next seven and stuttering through the rest of the campaign. Tottenham were fifth after 11 games, only to spend much of the second half of the season frantically fighting relegation.
Aston Villa didn’t win any of their first five games, and didn’t even score in the Premier League until their fifth outing, a 1-1 draw at Sunderland. It was the first time in the club’s history that they failed to score in their first four league games, but things soon changed for them. Villa went on to win eight consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since a run of nine between October and December 1910. In all competitions, their 11-game winning run equalled a club record, set in September 1897 and March 1914 previously.
When Manchester United hired Michael Carrick in January, they were seventh and 11 points off third. They ended up finishing six points clear of Villa in fourth, while Chelsea proved that changing manager did not necessarily equal instant improvement. They were in fifth place when they sacked Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day, and ultimately came 10th.
Then, you arguably have the most fascinating team in the Premier League this season. Bournemouth managed to have an eight-game unbeaten run after their opening-day loss at Liverpool, before not winning any of their next 11 in the league. Once they broke that duck against Tottenham, though, they went on another unbeaten run, which is still going, reaching 18 on the final day with their 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.
That all certainly hints at it being a more competitive and unpredictable league, but was it really? What does the final table tell us? We’ve decided to look back at every 20-team Premier League season (since 1995-96) to see how points won this season compared.
Of course, the important thing to remember about looking at points totals across seasons is that they are all relative. Just because a team five years ago won more points than a team this season, it doesn’t mean they were better. Perhaps the overall level of the league this time around was higher. For example, playing Man Utd last season and this season were two very different experiences for many.
The average points of the team finishing in first place over the 30 Premier League seasons prior to this one was 87.6, so champions Arsenal only fell slightly short with 85. It was a point more than Liverpool managed last season, though the Reds did somewhat slow down after securing the title with four games to go. Other than that, it was the lowest points total for champions since Leicester City’s 81 in 2015-16.
Manchester City ended on 78 points, which was only the third time in the last 10 seasons that the team finishing second won fewer than 80 points. The average prior to this season for the team finishing second in a 38-game Premier League was 80.5.
Man Utd’s 71 points was also slightly below the previous average of 73.4, but then we get to Aston Villa. Their total of 65 points was the lowest for a team finishing fourth since 2004-05 (Everton – 61), and obviously below the average of 68.9.
Liverpool finished fifth with just 60 points, well below the average of 64.9, and the fewest points won by the team in fifth since Tottenham in 2006-07 (also 60).
Bournemouth did brilliantly to finish sixth with 57 points (previous average was 61.6), but that was the lowest total for the team finishing sixth since 2003-04, when Aston Villa only reached 56 points.
Sunderland’s 54 points to clinch seventh was the lowest total for that position since 2017-18 (Burnley – 54), and below the average of 58.1. It was also 11 points fewer than Nottingham Forest won when they finished seventh last season (65), and was the same as Fulham recorded in 2024-25 when they finished 11th.
In fact, every team in the top eight won fewer points than the previous average in the 20-team Premier League era, while from Brentford in ninth down to West Ham in 18th, each team won more points than the previous average.
Both Crystal Palace in 15th and West Ham in 18th won 4.5 points more than the average for their respective position, so were, in theory, the two ‘unluckiest’ teams. The Hammers will feel particularly harshly dealt with considering they won 14 more points than Leicester did last season when they finished 18th.
The bottom two were very much outliers. Indeed, Burnley can consider themselves fortunate not to have finished bottom with their 22 points. That is the joint-lowest total for a team who didn’t finish bottom in the 20-team Premier League era, level with Ipswich Town last season. It was over nine points below the average for 19th (31.1) and is even lower than the previous average to finish bottom (24.8).
Comparing over three decades might be a bit much, though, so let’s see how this season measured up against more recent trends.
Across the last 10 years, it’s much the same story. The top eight in the Premier League all won fewer points than the average across the previous nine seasons. Liverpool (-7.9) in fifth saw the biggest drop-off, while Arsenal’s -7.6 on the average for top spot followed the trend from the previous campaign.
From ninth to 18th, every team won more points than the average from the previous nine seasons. Again, poor West Ham will not be comforted to learn that they won 7.6 points more than the average for 18th place from 2016-17 to 2024-25.
There were some feelings that the quality of entertainment on offer in the Premier League this season was lower than usual, and that may well be because of the increase in more direct tactics, a stronger focus on set-pieces and the never-ending debate that is VAR, but in terms of competitiveness, there is little doubt that the English top flight was as closely-contested as we’ve seen for a while.
Some don’t seem to like that other clubs from the Premier League are improving as it is starting to show in Europe, with the possibility that five of the last six major trophies (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League) will have been won by English teams after this season. There are conversations to be had about financial disparity across the continent.
However, it is seemingly leading to things being more open in the Premier League, and that can surely only be a good thing.
Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Was This the Closest Premier League in Years? Comparing Points Totals Across the Last Three Decades Opta Analyst.
Hence then, the article about was this the closest premier league in years comparing points totals across the last three decades was published today ( ) and is available on The Analyst ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Was This the Closest Premier League in Years? Comparing Points Totals Across the Last Three Decades )
Also on site :
- Decorated local aviator details his pursuit of recognition for his fellow shadow warriors of the Cold War
- Karol G Stunned by Surprise AMAs Win After Accepting International Artist of Excellence: ‘My Life Is Meaningful Because of My Music’
- Summer Reading Recommendations: Anticipated Summer Book Releases of 2026