Sheffield United 0–8 Newcastle United (24 September 2023) Chelsea 4–4 Manchester City (12 November 2023) Newcastle United 4–4 Luton Town (3 February 2024)
The2023–24 Premier League was the 32nd season of thePremier League and the 125th season oftop-flight English football overall. The season began on 11 August 2023 and concluded on 19 May 2024.[2][3][4][5]
This season was significant as it was affected by points deductions handed out to bothEverton andNottingham Forest, as part of the Premier League’s crackdown on financial breaches by clubs. Everton received two separate points deductions (a 10-point deduction, later reduced to six, in November 2023 and a further two-point deduction in April 2024) whilst Forest received a four-point deduction in March 2024. Each deduction was for breaking the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
This season was the third to feature a winter break, with each team having a two-week break from all competitions some time between 2 January and 30 January 2024.[9] The summertransfer window was from 14 June to 1 September 2023, while the winter transfer window was between 1 January and 1 February 2024.[10]
A record 1,246 goals (380 games, an average of 3.28 per match) were scored during the season, breaking the previous record of 1,222 in the1992–93 season (which had 462 games, an average of 2.65 per match). The average goals per game was the highest in the top flight since1964–65.[11] All three of the newly promoted teams were relegated (Luton Town,Burnley andSheffield United), the first time this happened since the1997–98 season; those three teams had a combined total of 66 points.Nottingham Forest avoided relegation with 32 points (including a 4-point deduction), a record low for a team to do so.
For only the third time in Premier League history (afterMiddlesbrough in1996–97 andPortsmouth in2009–10), a Premier League team was deducted points; on 17 November 2023,Everton had 10 points deducted from their total for a breach of the Premier League'sprofit and sustainability rules (PSR). The deduction was the biggest to be handed out in Premier League history and was subject to appeal.[12] On 26 February 2024, following their appeal, it was announced that the deduction had been reduced to six points.[13] On 18 March 2024,Nottingham Forest became the fourth-ever Premier League club to receive a points deduction, as they were deducted four points for a breach of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules. The club submitted an appeal on 26 March, but on 7 May their appeal was rejected. On 8 April, Everton were deducted two additional points for further PSR breaches, which the club initially appealed, but later withdrew.[14][15][16] In total, the club were deducted eight points this season.
On 30 September 2023, in the game betweenTottenham Hotspur andLiverpool, Premier League's video assistant referee (VAR),Darren England, failed to intervene on a decision that disallowedLuis Díaz's legitimate goal. Liverpool lost the game 2–1 andPGMOL admitted the offside ruling as a "significant human error". It was revealed that England and the assistant VAR, Dan Cook, took an eight-hour long flight back from theUnited Arab Emirates a day before. A group of PGMOL officials were in the UAE to take charge of a match betweenSharjah andAl-Ain. It led to questions over PGMOL's decision of allowing the leading match officials to take lucrative assignments in theUAE Pro League.[17]
On 5 December 2023,Sheffield United became the first club to sack their manager, dismissingPaul Heckingbottom after their 5–0 defeat to fellow newly-promoted sideBurnley. He was replaced byChris Wilder, marking his return to the club since the2020–21 season.[18] At that time, Sheffield United were bottom of the league, having amassed only five points in 14 games.[19]
On 16 December 2023, the match betweenBournemouth andLuton Town was abandoned after 65 minutes with the score level at 1–1 as Luton captainTom Lockyer suffered acardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch. Play was initially suspended, with the referee taking both sets of players off, midway through the second half, whilst medical personnel tended to Lockyer. He was eventually stretchered off and taken to hospital, where it was later announced that he was responsive, and in a stable condition.[20] The game was replayed on 13 March 2024, with Luton taking a 3–0 lead at half-time, before Bournemouth fought back in the second half to win 4–3, in what was praised as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the league.[21]
On 19 December 2023,Nottingham Forest became the second club to sack their manager, dismissingSteve Cooper after Forest had won one game from 13 league games played.[22] His last game in charge was a 2–0 home defeat toTottenham Hotspur.[23] He was replaced by formerWolverhampton Wanderers and Spurs coachNuno Espírito Santo, whose first game in charge was a 3–2 home loss toBournemouth, extending the club’s winless run to seven games.[24] In his second game, Nuno ended Nottingham Forest's winless run with a 3–1 away win atNewcastle United, withChris Wood scoring a hat-trick against his old club, having left in the January transfer window of the2022–23 season.[25]
On 26 January 2024,Liverpool managerJürgen Klopp announced his intention to step down as manager at the end of the season after more than eight years in charge.[26]
On 19 February 2024,Crystal Palace managerRoy Hodgson resigned from his role. Palace had lost ten of their previous 16 games and were 16th in the table, five points above the relegation zone. Hodgson, who had been taken ill at a team training session on 15 February, was replaced by formerEintracht Frankfurt managerOliver Glasner.[27]
On 27 April 2024,Sheffield United became the first team relegated to the Championship after a 5–1 away defeat at Newcastle United. The defeat left the Blades 10 points adrift of safety with three matches left to play.[28] On 4 May, they also became the first Premier League side to concede 100 goals in a 38 game season, equalling the record ofSwindon Town overall, who also conceded 100 goals in the1993–94 season, consisting of 42 games.[29] On 11 May, they broke the Premier League record, conceding a 101st goal in a 1–0 defeat toEverton, and by the end of the season had conceded a total of 104 goals, the most by a top flight team sinceIpswich Town conceded 121 in the1963–64 First Division.[citation needed]
On 6 May 2024,West Ham United announced that managerDavid Moyes would leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expired.[30]
On 11 May 2024,Burnley became the second team to be relegated, following a 2–1 away defeat toTottenham Hotspur. The defeat left them five points adrift of safety with one match left to play, having failed to move out of the relegation zone since the opening day of the season.[31][32] On the same day,Luton Town lost 3–1 away toWest Ham United, which left them three points adrift of safety with one match left to play, a result which whilst not mathematically confirming relegation, would have required a 13 goal swing on the last day of the season to beat 17th placedNottingham Forest.[33] Their relegation was confirmed on the final day as they lost 4–2 to Fulham, and Nottingham Forest beat Burnley 2–1.[34][35]
On 18 May 2024,Brighton & Hove Albion announced that they had reached a mutual agreement with managerRoberto De Zerbi to terminate his contract following the conclusion of the season the following day.[36]
On 19 May 2024, the final day of the season,Manchester City beatWest Ham United 3–1 at home to secure the title with 91 points – two points ahead of their title rivalsArsenal, who defeatedEverton 2–1 at home. Arsenal finished runners-up with 89 points, becoming the third-best second-placed team in the history of the Premier League.[37]
This season saw the continued rise ofAston Villa underUnai Emery, with them securing aChampions League spot under the new 'league phase' format, and for the first time since1983. Meanwhile,Manchester United suffered their worst season in Premier League history. After finishing third and winning theEFL Cup inErik ten Hag's debut season, United recorded new lows in his second season, including their lowest finish in a season (eighth, previously seventh in2013–14 underDavid Moyes), the most losses in a single Premier League season ever (14), a −1 goal difference and a total of 58 goals conceded (82 in all competitions), the most since the1976–77 season.[citation needed] In spite of this, United salvaged their season by defeating Manchester City in theFA Cup final, denying them a league and cup double in successive seasons and securing a place in the Europa League league phase for thenext season.
Chelsea, who finished 12th in theprevious season, saw themselves back into European football after a year's absence under formerTottenham Hotspur managerMauricio Pochettino, by finishing sixth after a season full of inconsistent results, confirming qualification for the Conference League playoff round for thenext season on the final matchday. Meanwhile,Newcastle United finished seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference for the first time since the 1976–77 season. However, Manchester United's FA Cup win meant that they missed out on European football; had Manchester City won the FA Cup, Chelsea would have taken United's spot in the Europa League league phase, Newcastle would have qualified for the Conference League playoff round, and Manchester United would have missed out on European football altogether.[38]
The new stoppage time rule was used in the league for the first time this season. In an effort to improve clamping down on time-wasting and to improve the accuracy of time added on, stoppage times were longer across matches. The new rule accounted for stoppages due to injuries, goal celebrations, yellow and red cards, and VAR reviews. Additionally, there were yellow/red card offences for dissent and time wasting, which contributed to a large increase in yellow and red cards this season.[39] It was reported that the new rule also made the matches more chaotic and unpredictable, and increased the drama and spectacle of the competition with many goals scored in added time (many occurring after the 95th minute). In addition, increasing the stoppage time was considered a good move by some who argued that time wasting was no longer tolerable, while others (including some insiders) would have preferred a switch to actual time and more clarity and transparency about how long a match should last.[40][41][42]
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theChampionship. The promoted teams wereBurnley,Sheffield United andLuton Town, who returned to the top flight after respective absences of one, two and thirty-one years. This was also Luton Town's first season in the Premier League.[43]With their promotion, Luton Town were the first team to have been promoted from non-League (5th tier or lower within theEnglish football league pyramid) to the top flight during the Premier League era. They replacedLeicester City,Leeds United andSouthampton, who were relegated to theChampionship after respective spells of nine, three and eleven years in the top flight.
Source:Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs[44] (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
^Since the winners of the2023–24 EFL Cup, Liverpool, qualified for the Champions League, the spot given to the League Cup winners (Conference League play-off round) was passed to the sixth-placed team.
^Manchester United qualified for the Europa League league phase as the2023–24 FA Cup winners.
^Everton were deducted eight points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. They were originally deducted ten points but this was reduced to six after an appeal. The club were then deducted an additional two points for further PSR breaches.[12][13][14]
^Nottingham Forest were deducted four points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. The club appealed the decision but were unsuccessful.[141][142][143]
Source:Premier League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Frank Lampard[127]
Mauricio Pochettino[128]
Ange Postecoglou[130]
Andoni Iraola[132]
Steve Cooper[137]
Nuno Espírito Santo[138]
Oliver Glasner[140]
Erling Haaland
Alexander Isak
Mohamed Salah
Son Heung-min
Jean-Philippe Mateta
Evan Ferguson
Nicolas Jackson
Chris Wood
Matheus Cunha_21_(cropped).jpg)
Bernd Leno
André Onana
Mark Flekken
Guglielmo Vicario
Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur)
Oli McBurnie (Sheffield United)
Thomas Kaminski
