The longest winning runs in Premier League history

The longest winning run in Premier League history is 18 games, and it has been done twice: Manchester City between 26 August and 27 December 2017, and Liverpool between 27 October 2019 and 24 February 2020. The record is shared, and that is the point worth disagreeing with everyone about: an 18-game winning streak tells you almost nothing about which of the two teams was better, because a winning run is as much a product of fixture schedule and luck as it is of quality. Judged properly, by points per game across a full season, Manchester City's 2017/18 side (2.63 per game) edges Liverpool's 2019/20 side (2.61 per game). But the streak itself, the headline number, is a tie between two teams that never played each other in either run.

What is the record for consecutive wins in the Premier League?

The Premier League's official records list the mark as 18 consecutive wins, shared by two clubs. Manchester City set it first, from 26 August 2017 to 27 December 2017, a run that carried them through the entire autumn of their 100-point season. It ended with a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on New Year's Eve. Liverpool matched it from 27 October 2019 to 24 February 2020, and that streak ended in a 3-0 defeat at Watford, their first league loss of the campaign.

Liverpool's run was the more remarkable of the two in one respect: it bridged two calendar years and followed a 17-game winning streak the previous season that had been stopped by a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in October 2019. Between March 2019 and February 2020, Liverpool won 17 league games in a row, drew with United, and then won another 18 in a row. That is 35 wins in 36 league matches, with a single draw the only blemish across the two runs. Only one team in the division could have broken up a calendar year of Liverpool victories, and it did not happen until Watford.

The full list of the longest winning runs

Beyond the joint record of 18, the shape of the list surprises people. These are the longest winning runs in Premier League history:

Wins	Club	Period
18	Manchester City	26 Aug 2017 to 27 Dec 2017
18	Liverpool	27 Oct 2019 to 24 Feb 2020
17	Liverpool	Mar 2019 to Oct 2019
17	Manchester City	19 Dec 2020 to 2 Mar 2021
15	Manchester City	Feb 2019 to Aug 2019
14	Arsenal	Feb 2002 to Aug 2002
13	Chelsea	Oct 2016 to Dec 2016
11	Manchester United	1999/2000

Manchester City's 15-game run is its own fascinating footnote. It was 14 consecutive wins to close out the 2018/19 title race, a run that took them past Liverpool by one point on the final day, and then a 15th win at West Ham on the opening weekend of 2019/20. City's final 14 wins of 2018/19 remain the longest winning run to end a top-flight campaign. Arsenal's 14 is a similar straddling streak: 13 wins to close out the 2001/02 double season, plus the opening win of the 2002/03 campaign, before West Ham held them to a draw.

Why Chelsea's 13 was the most brutal streak of all

Chelsea's 13-game winning run in late 2016 stands apart because of what it cost them. Across those 13 consecutive wins, Antonio Conte's side conceded just four goals. The run started with a 2-0 win at Hull in October, included a 4-0 and a 5-0 against Manchester United and Everton respectively, and was only stopped by a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham in early January 2017. That Chelsea team won the title with room to spare, and the streak was the platform.

The run also mattered because it changed English football. It was Conte's switch to a back three that made it possible, and every other top side spent the next few seasons copying it. A 13-game streak that re-shapes the tactical direction of the whole league is worth more than a longer streak that merely confirms a team is very good.

The all-competitions record is different

The winning run record gets muddled when people mix competitions, so it is worth being precise. The Premier League record is 18 league wins. The record for consecutive wins in all competitions by an English top-flight club is 20, set by Manchester City across the 2020/21 season, a run that began on 19 December 2020. Before City, the all-competitions record was 14, a mark set by Preston North End in 1892 and equalled by Arsenal in 1987. Arsenal's 1987 run is often quoted as a 14-game league streak, but it was actually 10 league wins plus four League Cup wins across the autumn of 1987.

The two records answer different questions. The all-competitions streak includes cup ties against weaker opposition, so it tends to run longer. The league-only streak is the purer test because every opponent is a league side with something to play for. City's 20-game all-competitions run in 2020/21 was the longest English winning run of any kind in the modern era, but it does not appear in the Premier League's own record book.

Streaks overrate fixture luck

Here is the argument most coverage skips: winning runs are distorted by the fixture list. A team that plays three of the bottom five in a row will extend a streak that a team playing the top five in a row will not. The 17-game runs of Liverpool and Manchester City in 2019 and 2020/21 respectively were outstanding, but they were also partly a function of when the tough games fell.

The honest measure of sustained quality is points per game across a whole season, where the fixture luck averages out. On that scale, Manchester City 2017/18 is the best season ever recorded: 100 points from 38 games at 2.63 per game, with 32 wins, 106 goals and a goal difference of plus 79. Liverpool 2019/20 finished on 99 points at 2.61 per game, the second-best rate in Premier League history. The gap between the two teams over a full season was one point over 38 matches. The gap between their winning streaks is zero, because both hit 18.

Streaks are also not the same thing as unbeaten runs, and the distinction trips people up. An unbeaten run allows draws, which is why Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten streak between May 2003 and October 2004, the longest in Premier League history, included plenty of draws and yet no defeats. Liverpool's 44-game unbeaten run across the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons is the second longest in top-flight history, behind only Arsenal's 49.

What the record books do not tell you

The winning run record also obscures the deeper achievements that surround it. Liverpool 2019/20 did not just win 18 in a row; they went 26 wins and one draw from their opening 27 matches, took 79 points from a possible 81, and won the title with seven games still to play, a Premier League record for the earliest title by games remaining. They also put together 24 consecutive home league wins between February 2019 and July 2020, another Premier League record, and their 55 home points in 2019/20 matched the all-time best.

Manchester City 2017/18, for their part, set the record for most wins in a season (32), most goals in a season (106), best goal difference (plus 79), most away wins (16) and most away points (50). Their 19-point title margin is still the biggest in Premier League history. For more on the landmark campaigns behind these streaks, see our breakdown of the 100-point season and the single-season goals record. The two teams that share the 18-game winning run record therefore also own almost every meaningful single-season record in the book. The streak was never the point; it was a by-product of two of the four greatest seasons ever played.

Key takeaways

• The record for consecutive Premier League wins is 18, shared by Manchester City (2017/18) and Liverpool (2019/20), both runs ended by a draw and a defeat respectively.
• Liverpool's wider achievement was unmatched: 17 wins, a draw, then 18 more wins across 36 league matches between March 2019 and February 2020.
• Chelsea's 13-game streak in 2016/17 was the meanest, conceding only four goals and reshaping tactics league-wide.
• The all-competitions English record is 20, set by Manchester City in 2020/21, ahead of the previous best of 14 shared by Preston (1892) and Arsenal (1987).
• Judged by points per game, City 2017/18 (2.63) narrowly beats Liverpool 2019/20 (2.61), which is why the shared 18-game streak flatters neither and settles nothing.

FAQ

What is the longest winning streak in Premier League history?

18 games, achieved twice: Manchester City from 26 August to 27 December 2017, and Liverpool from 27 October 2019 to 24 February 2020.

Who ended Manchester City's 18-game winning run in 2017/18?

Crystal Palace, who held City to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park on New Year's Eve 2017.

Who ended Liverpool's 18-game winning run?

Watford, who beat Liverpool 3-0 at Vicarage Road on 24 February 2020, the Reds' first league defeat of the 2019/20 season.

What is the record for consecutive wins in all competitions by an English club?

20, set by Manchester City across the 2020/21 season, starting on 19 December 2020. The previous record of 14 was set by Preston North End in 1892 and equalled by Arsenal in 1987.

Which team has the most points per game in a Premier League season?

Manchester City 2017/18, with 100 points from 38 games at 2.63 per game. Liverpool 2019/20 is second at 2.61 per game with 99 points.