Manchester City didn't just win the league. They broke it. Honestly, looking back at the Premier League season 2017 18, it feels less like a competitive sports campaign and more like a 38-game flex from Pep Guardiola. People talk about "Centurions" like it’s just a cool nickname, but think about the math for a second. One hundred points. It means they essentially forgot how to lose, or even draw, for ten straight months.
The vibe was weird from the jump. Chelsea were the defending champions under Antonio Conte, but they spent the summer acting like a club that wanted to self-destruct. They replaced Diego Costa with Alvaro Morata—a move that looks worse with every passing year—and the mood at Stamford Bridge soured before the first whistle. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho was busy telling anyone who would listen that finishing second with Manchester United was his greatest achievement. At the time, we all laughed. In hindsight? He might’ve been onto something.
The Centurions and the Death of the Title Race
When people search for the Premier League season 2017 18, they’re usually looking for the stats. And the stats are ridiculous. 106 goals. 32 wins. 18 consecutive victories. But the numbers don't capture how inevitable it felt.
By December, the race was over.
City went to Old Trafford and beat United 2-1, and even though the points gap wasn't insurmountable on paper yet, everyone knew. It wasn't just that City were winning; it was how they were doing it. Kevin De Bruyne was playing passes that didn't seem physically possible, and Raheem Sterling kept popping up with 90th-minute winners that broke the spirits of every other fan base in the country. It was relentless.
The season reached its peak narrative moment on the final day. Gabriel Jesus chipped the goalkeeper in the 94th minute against Southampton to secure the 100th point. It was the last kick of the season. If he misses that, they stay on 98, and the "Centurions" brand never exists. That’s the margin between history and just being "really good."
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Beyond the Blue Moon
It wasn't all just Pep’s tiki-taka, though. This was the year Mohamed Salah decided to turn the league into his personal playground. Nobody expected it. He’d been a "Chelsea flop" (their words, not mine) and came from Roma with a reputation for being fast but wasteful.
Then he scored 32 goals.
He broke the record for a 38-game season, and he did it while playing on the wing. You’ve got to remember the context here: Harry Kane was also in his absolute prime, scoring 30 goals himself. Usually, 30 goals gets you the Golden Boot and a statue. In the Premier League season 2017 18, it got Kane a silver medal and a lot of jokes about claiming goals that weren't his.
The Chaos at the Bottom
If the top was a procession, the bottom was a meat grinder. We saw the end of an era for some massive clubs. Stoke City finally went down after a decade of making people hate Tuesday nights. West Brom joined them after a weird late-season resurgence under Darren Moore that proved to be too little, too late.
And then there was Swansea. They’d been the "model club" for so long, but they finally ran out of lives. It felt like the league was shedding its mid-2010s skin. The old guard of pragmatic, "proper" British managers was starting to lose its grip. Sam Allardyce took Everton to 8th—which sounds good—but the fans hated the football so much they basically revolted. It was a strange time where results didn't always equal happiness.
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Arsène Wenger’s Long Goodbye
We can’t talk about this season without mentioning the exit of a titan. After 22 years, Arsène Wenger finally stepped down. The "Wenger Out" banners had become a meme, then a tragedy, then just a part of the furniture. His final home game, a 5-0 win over Burnley, was genuinely emotional. Even the rivals felt it.
The Premier League season 2017 18 marked the definitive end of the 90s/00s era. Once Wenger left, the transition to the "Super Manager" era of Klopp and Guardiola was complete. Arsenal finished 6th, their lowest under Wenger, proving that even legends stay too long sometimes.
Why 2017-18 Still Matters Today
Some critics say this season was boring because City won by 19 points. I disagree. It set the bar for the "perfect" team. Before this, 90 points was the gold standard. Now, if you don't hit 95+, you're basically not even in the conversation. It forced Liverpool to become the juggernaut they eventually became. Without City’s 100 points, we don't get the 90+ point title races of the following years.
It also gave us the first real taste of Sean Dyche’s Burnley finishing 7th. Imagine that now. Burnley in Europe. It happened. They were a defensive wall that basically defied the laws of Expected Goals (xG) for an entire calendar year.
The Tactical Shift
We saw the death of the traditional 4-4-2 in a big way this year. Everyone was trying to copy City’s 4-3-3 or Chelsea’s 3-4-3 from the year before. The tactical sophistication of the league took a massive leap. If you weren't pressing, you were losing. If your goalkeeper couldn't play with his feet—like Joe Hart, who found himself pushed out—you were finished.
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Key stats you should actually care about:
- Manchester City's goal difference: +79. That is not a typo.
- The relegated teams: Swansea, Stoke, West Brom.
- The shocker: Burnley finishing above Everton and Leicester.
- The newcomer: Brighton survived their first-ever Premier League season, which started their journey to becoming the smartest club in the country.
How to Use These Insights
If you're a football fan or a bettor looking at historical trends, the Premier League season 2017 18 is the blueprint for the "Modern Era." It shows that squad depth is more important than a single star player—though having Kevin De Bruyne helps.
For those analyzing team building, look at how City recruited that summer. They spent big on full-backs (Walker, Mendy, Danilo) and a keeper (Ederson). It wasn't glamorous, but it fixed the foundation. If you're building a project, fix the back before you worry about the front.
To truly understand the current landscape, go back and watch highlights of City’s 18-game winning streak. Watch how Salah moved off the ball. It wasn't just luck; it was a fundamental shift in how the game was played in England. The league stopped being a physical brawl and became a chess match played at 100mph.
The best way to appreciate what happened is to compare it to the seasons that followed. It wasn't a fluke. It was the start of a monopoly that changed the financial and tactical expectations of world football forever. Check the records—most of them still stand today, and they might stay that way for a long time.
Next Steps for Deep Knowledge
- Review the "Big Six" Mini-League: Look at how Man City performed specifically against United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs. They took 24 points from a possible 30.
- Analyze the 'Salah Effect': Study his 32-goal map. Most came from the "half-space" between the center-back and left-back, a zone that became the most dangerous area in the league after this season.
- Study the Relegation Battle: Research how Crystal Palace survived after losing their first seven games without scoring a single goal. It remains one of the greatest escape acts in sports history.