Premier League 2004-05

Final table, top scorers, season awards and full review.

Chelsea Champion
Thierry Henry Top Scorer (25 goals)
975 Total Goals
20 Clubs

Final Table

# Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Chelsea 38 29 8 1 72 15 +57 95
2 Arsenal 38 25 8 5 87 36 +51 83
3 Manchester United 38 22 11 5 58 26 +32 77
4 Everton 38 18 7 13 45 46 -1 61
5 Liverpool 38 17 7 14 52 41 +11 58
6 Bolton Wanderers 38 16 10 12 49 44 +5 58
7 Middlesbrough 38 14 13 11 53 46 +7 55
8 Manchester City 38 13 13 12 47 39 +8 52
9 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 10 14 47 41 +6 52
10 Aston Villa 38 12 11 15 45 52 -7 47
11 Charlton Athletic 38 12 10 16 42 58 -16 46
12 Birmingham City 38 11 12 15 40 46 -6 45
13 Fulham 38 12 8 18 52 60 -8 44
14 Newcastle United 38 10 14 14 47 57 -10 44
15 Blackburn Rovers 38 9 15 14 32 43 -11 42
16 Portsmouth 38 10 9 19 43 59 -16 39
17 West Bromwich Albion 38 6 16 16 36 61 -25 34
18 Crystal Palace 38 7 12 19 41 62 -21 33
19 Norwich City 38 7 12 19 42 77 -35 33
20 Southampton 38 6 14 18 45 66 -21 32
Champions League Europa League Conference League Relegation

Top Scorers

# Player Club Goals Assists
1 Thierry Henry Arsenal 25 14
2 Andy Johnson Crystal Palace 21 1
3 Robert Pires Arsenal 14 7
4 Jermain Defoe Tottenham Hotspur 13 2
5 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Middlesbrough 13 2
6 Frank Lampard Chelsea 13 16
7 Yakubu Aiyegbeni Portsmouth 13 1
8 Andy Cole Fulham 12 3
9 Wayne Rooney Manchester United 11 5
10 Didier Drogba Chelsea 10 5

Top Assisters

# Player Club Assists
1 Frank Lampard Chelsea 16
2 Thierry Henry Arsenal 14
3 Arjen Robben Chelsea 8
4 Robert Pires Arsenal 7
5 Lauren Arsenal 6

Clean Sheet Leaders

# Goalkeeper Club Clean Sheets
1 Petr Cech Chelsea 24
2 Jens Lehmann Arsenal 13
3 Roy Carroll Manchester United 12
4 Nigel Martyn Everton 11
5 Brad Friedel Blackburn Rovers 10

Season Awards

Player of the Season
John Terry
Young Player of the Season
Wayne Rooney
Golden Glove
Petr Cech
Manager of the Season
Jose Mourinho

Season Review

Chelsea stormed to their first league title in 50 years in 2004-05, Jose Mourinho's debut season in English football producing one of the most dominant campaigns the Premier League had ever seen. The Blues amassed a then-record 95 points, losing just once all season -- a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City -- while conceding a historically low 15 goals across 38 matches.

Mourinho's pragmatic yet devastatingly effective approach was built on an impenetrable defence marshalled by John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, with Petr Cech setting a new clean sheet record of 24. Frank Lampard was the creative heartbeat, contributing 13 goals and 16 assists from midfield, while Arjen Robben and Damien Duff provided pace and trickery on the wings. Didier Drogba, in his debut season, showed glimpses of the match-winner he would become.

Arsenal mounted the strongest challenge, finishing second on 83 points. Thierry Henry once again claimed the Golden Boot with 25 goals, while adding 14 assists for good measure. The Gunners' unbeaten run from the previous season was finally ended at 49 games when Manchester United beat them 2-0 at Old Trafford in October -- the infamous 'Battle of the Buffet' match.

Manchester United finished third on 77 points, with the emerging Wayne Rooney claiming the Young Player of the Season award after a brilliant debut campaign at Old Trafford. Everton's remarkable fourth-place finish under David Moyes was one of the stories of the season, the Toffees qualifying for the Champions League against all expectations.

Liverpool finished fifth but saved their best for Europe, producing one of the greatest Champions League campaigns in history. Rafael Benitez's side came back from 3-0 down against AC Milan in the final in Istanbul to win on penalties and lift the famous trophy.

At the bottom, the Great Escape defined the relegation battle. West Bromwich Albion became the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom at Christmas. Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton all went down on the final day in one of the most dramatic finishes in league history.

Petr Cech's 24 clean sheets and Chelsea's 15 goals conceded remain records that have stood the test of time, cementing the 2004-05 season as one of the great defensive campaigns.

Relegation & Promotion

Relegated

  • Crystal Palace
  • Norwich City
  • Southampton

Notable Moments

  • Chelsea won the title with a then-record 95 points in Jose Mourinho's first season
  • Petr Cech kept 24 clean sheets while Chelsea conceded just 15 goals -- both PL records
  • Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run ended with defeat at Old Trafford in the 'Battle of the Buffet'
  • West Brom became the first club to survive after being bottom at Christmas
  • Liverpool won the Champions League in Istanbul despite finishing fifth domestically