Chelsea
were finally defeated on Saturday, when Newcastle ended any debate about
whether Jose Mourinho’s side could match Arsenal’s Invincibles.
Ten years on from Arsene Wenger’s unbeatable Premier League champions,
Chelsea had begun this campaign in fine style, winning 11 of their first 14
Premier League contests and drawing the other three.
Victories at Everton and Liverpool, plus points at Manchester City and
Manchester United, and a home win over Arsenal, seemed to suggest the Blues
were up to any test.
However, a Papiss Cisse double at St James’ Park brought Chelsea’s streak to
an end – and raised debate about how they would respond, with second-placed
Man City closing the gap at the top to three points.
Of the seven Premier League teams to go unbeaten for at least their first 14
games, only three have gone on to win the title. Can Mourinho’s men bounce
back from Saturday’s disappointment to win the league?
Here, we look at three teams who made a better start to the season than
Chelsea – and how they responded to their first defeat.
Manchester United, 24 games unbeaten - 2010-11
Finished: Champions
All was going well for Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson had celebrated
becoming the club’s longest-serving manager in December and his team
equalled United’s record run of 29 matches unbeaten with a 3-1 win over
Aston Villa at Old Trafford two months later. However, Wayne Rooney and co
would not set a new benchmark as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to
relegation-threatened Wolves four days after beating Villa. United bounced
back to win their next two – a Manchester derby at Old Trafford and 4-0
cruise at Wigan – but then suffered consecutive defeats to Chelsea and
Liverpool and looked to be wobbling. However, United won six of their last
nine and, despite another defeat – this time at Arsenal – won the Premier
League by nine points from Chelsea.
Manchester City, 15 games unbeaten - 2012-13
Finished: Second
Manchester City had won their first Premier League title in thrilling
fashion and were unbeaten through the first 15 games of their defence.
However, five days after finishing rock-bottom of their Champions League
group with defeat at Borusssia Dortmund, Roberto Mancini’s side were
defeated on their own patch by Manchester United, thanks to a 93rd-minute
deflected Robin van Persie free-kick. Like United in 2010-11, City responded
with two wins – seeing off Newcastle and Reading – before losing their
third, as former employee Adam Johnson struck for Sunderland. However,
unlike their neighbours, City then went on to lose at Southampton (3-1),
Everton (2-0), Spurs (3-1) and at home to Norwich (2-3) as their league
campaign unravelled. They finished the season 11 points behind champions
United and Mancini left after an FA Cup final defeat to Wigan.
Arsenal, 15 games unbeaten - 2007/08
Finished: Third
Arsenal sold star striker and club captain Thierry Henry to Barcelona ahead
of the 2007/08 campaign and there were two more high-profile departures in
the shape of Freddie Ljungberg and Jose Antonio Reyes, however they began
the season in flying form. Arsenal led the Premier League for two-thirds of
the season, building on a tremendous start which featured 11 wins and four
draws from their first 15 games. Defeat eventually arrived at Middlesbrough
but Arsenal responded well and almost repeated their opening run, going
undefeated in their next 14. However, the final four matches of that
sequence were draws and the fourth, a 1-1 with Boro, saw United knock
Arsenal off the top of the Premier League. A 2-1 defeat at Chelsea followed
and a third defeat came three games later at United. Despite winning their
remaining four games, Arsenal finished third, two points behind Chelsea and
four behind eventual champions United.
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