The2012–13 Premier League (known as theBarclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st season of thePremier League, 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.[4][5] The season began on 18 August 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013.[5]
Manchester United secured their 13th Premier League title with four games to spare with a 3–0 win overAston Villa on 22 April 2013. Their 20th English title overall, this left defending champions Manchester City, who suffered a 3–1 defeat toTottenham Hotspur a day earlier, trailing 16 points behind theirlocal rivals with only five matches left to play.[6] It was the first time the title had been decided in April since Chelsea were the winners in2005–06, 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 sinceArsenal won in2003–04.[citation needed]England national football team managerRoy Hodgson declared that United managerSir Alex Ferguson was a "magician" having won 13 titles in 21 seasons.[7] 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 andReading were both relegated from the Premier League after a goalless draw against each other.[8]Wigan Athletic 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 theseason's FA Cup, making them the first club to win theFA Cup and suffer relegation in the same season.[9]
The season opened the weekend of 18 August 2012. Defending championsManchester City opened their season with a narrow 3–2 victory overSouthampton, 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 andSamir Nasri scored the winning goal with ten minutes left.[10] In a Monday evening fixture atGoodison Park,Manchester United started their season with a 1–0 loss toEverton, the goal scored byMarouane Fellaini.[11] The first goal of the season, however, was scored bySwansea City'sMichu,[12] whose team thrashedQueens Park Rangers 5–0 away from home.[13]
Manchester United recovered from their opening week loss with a 3–2 win overFulham in their opening home game atOld Trafford, but lost strikerWayne Rooney to injury during the match.[14] Other second week highlights includedChelsea's 2–0 win overNewcastle United, with recent Belgian signingEden Hazard involved in both goals.[15][16]
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 the2011–12 season, when Manchester City snatched the title on goal difference with a late goal bySergio Agüero. This time though, it was less exciting, with Manchester City comfortably winning 3–1.[17] Level on points with Manchester City in second place were Swansea City, who registered a 2–2 draw withSunderland, andWest Bromwich Albion, who defeated Everton 2–0.[18]
The fourth week of the season began with controversy, as the Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers match was fraught with racial tensions when QPR'sAnton Ferdinand refused to shake hands with Chelsea'sJohn Terry, who had been suspended for four games for using racial epithets against Ferdinand during the previous season.[19] The teams would play out a 0–0 draw, however second place Manchester City could not gain ground as they also drew, withStoke City.[20]
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 byAshley Cole secured the win for the Blues.[21] 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 withTottenham Hotspur 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 forwardLuis Suárez scored ahat trick againstNorwich City, leading Liverpool to a 5–2 victory. It was the second consecutive year that Suárez had scored a hat trick atCarrow Road.[22]
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 atStamford Bridge between third placed Manchester United and the leaders Chelsea. The game did not disappoint, as Chelsea went down 2–0 early on anown goal byDavid Luiz in the fourth minute and a goal byRobin van Persie 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'sJuan Mata from a free kick. Eight minutes into the second halfRamires equalised for Chelsea, and in the 75th minute United'sJavier 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.[23] 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 managerBrendan Rodgers his first win atAnfield in the league against Reading, a team he formerly managed.[24] 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 keeperMichel Vorm and the other to the knee of Manchester City backMicah Richards, both of which required stretchers to carry them off. City prevailed 1–0 in the marathon event with a goal fromCarlos Tevez.[25][26]
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.[27] 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,[28] and a dominating 5–0 win by Manchester City overAston Villa on 17 November marked by a pair of two-goal performances by Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.[29] 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,Wigan Athletic, 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 byNew Year's Eve 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 byFernando Torres.[30] TheManchester derby was renewed on 9 December at theCity of Manchester Stadium 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 aYaya Touré goal in the 60th minute, a goal that followed two saves in rapid succession by United keeperDavid de Gea.Pablo Zabaleta 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.[31] The last team without a league win, Queens Park Rangers, finally got their first win of the season on 15 December.
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theChampionship. The promoted teams wereReading,Southampton andWest Ham United, returning to the top flight after absences of four, seven and one year respectively. They replacedBolton Wanderers,Blackburn Rovers (both teams relegated to theChampionship after eleven years in the top flight) andWolverhampton Wanderers (ending their three-year top flight spell).
Source:Premier League 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).[54] (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
Arsenal won the Premier League Fair Play Award after finishing the 2012–13 Premier League top of the Fair Play Table.[85] The award for best behaved fans went toNorwich City for the second year running.[86]