The Unstoppable Reign: Man City Kicks off Epic Four-Consecutive Premier League Titles Chase at Burnley on FNF

Manchester City kick off their defense of the Premier League title on Friday Night Football against Burnley, aiming to secure a historic achievement by becoming the first team to win four consecutive top-flight titles. As we delve into the history of English football, let's explore the teams that have accomplished the remarkable feat of winning three league titles in a row, and investigate the challenges that have made it exceedingly difficult to go one step further and clinch four consecutive championships. Despite their triumphant Treble-winning campaign in the previous season, Pep Guardiola and his City side have yet to conquer this longstanding record, which has stood unbroken since the inception of the English top flight in 1888.

Burnley

Manchester City

Friday 11th August 6:30pm

Kick off 8:00pm

Surprisingly, accomplishing this feat has become commonplace on the continent. Guardiola himself managed to achieve it twice during his tenure at Barcelona (2008-11) and Bayern Munich (2013-16), with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus also joining the ranks of successful teams in recent times.

However, in stark contrast, only six English teams have ever clinched three consecutive league titles, and none have been able to extend their winning streak to four. So, which teams were they, and what hindered their attempts to achieve a fourth consecutive triumph?

Herbert Chapman's Huddersfield were the pioneers in winning three consecutive top-flight titles, with Chapman leading the first two victories in 1923-24 and 1924-25.

In a thrilling turn of events, the Terriers secured their inaugural league triumph by a slim margin of 0.024 goal difference, narrowly surpassing Cardiff City after both teams ended with 57 points.

Huddersfield Town (1923-26)

: Cecil Potter, who took over from the departing Chapman to lead Huddersfield, guided the team to three consecutive victories in 1926. They came tantalizingly close to securing a fourth consecutive league win in the subsequent season, but ultimately had to settle as runners-up to Newcastle United.

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Herbert Chapman, positioned in the bottom row on the left, led his victorious Arsenal team to win the title in the 1932-33 season. After being enticed away from Huddersfield in 1925, Chapman achieved his first league championship with Arsenal in the 1930-31 season, and then repeated this triumph two years later by narrowly surpassing Aston Villa by four points.

Chapman unfortunately passed away from pneumonia during the subsequent season, while Arsenal was on track to defend their title. Caretaker manager Joe Shaw took charge during this period, overseeing the team's efforts. However, it was George Allison who ultimately achieved the incredible feat of winning three consecutive league titles for Arsenal. In the 1934-35 season, Ted Drake etched his name in club history by scoring an impressive 42 goals in 41 league games.

Nevertheless, Allison's quest for a second consecutive title and Arsenal's fourth straight league championship was left unfulfilled, as they disappointingly finished in sixth place the following season. To make matters worse, they were a staggering 26 points behind champions Sunderland in the final standings.

Arsenal (1932-35)

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Liverpool celebrate their 1984 title win, their third in a row

In 1981-82, a new rule was implemented in English football, awarding three points for a win. Under the guidance of Bob Paisley, Liverpool defeated Ipswich Town and successfully defended their title the next season, finishing a comfortable 11 points ahead of unexpected second-place finishers, Watford. Remarkably, Paisley retired in 1983 after an impressive nine-year tenure, having secured an astonishing 21 trophies. His assistant, Joe Fagan, then stepped into the role of manager at Anfield.

The new man followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, accomplishing a 'three-peat' that season. However, the margin of victory was by a mere three points over Southampton. Fagan achieved a remarkable feat as the first English manager to capture three trophies in his first season in charge, which included winning the league and European Cups. Unfortunately, Fagan was unable to maintain this winning streak in the 1984-85 season. Liverpool ended up as a distant second to their city rivals Everton. Fagan made the decision to retire that summer following the tragic events of the Heysel disaster.

Liverpool (1981-84)

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Dwight Yorke celebrates his hat-trick in Man Utd's 6-1 thrashing of Arsenal at Old Trafford in Feb 2001 as Sir Alex Ferguson's side made it a hat-trick of Premier Leagues

Remarkably, it wasn't until the early 2000s that United managed to achieve a 'three-peat'. Sir Alex Ferguson's team narrowly defeated Arsenal by a single point in an exhilarating title race in 1998-99. They then went on to outperform the Gunners in the following two seasons, securing back-to-back league victories with a margin of 18 points and 10 points, respectively.

Ferguson's triumph in the 2000-01 championship made him the first manager to win three consecutive top-flight titles. After this feat, the Scottish manager announced his intention to retire at the end of the subsequent campaign.

However, in February 2002 Fergie underwent a significant change of direction as Arsenal ultimately dashed United's aspirations of securing a momentous fourth successive league title, leading to the Red Devils settling for a third-place finish in the standings.

Manchester United (1998-2001)

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In 2009, Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates as Manchester United secures their 18th title, making it their third consecutive championship. Interestingly, United remains the sole team to have achieved this remarkable feat on two different occasions, with Fergie's side replicating the accomplishment six years later.

In 2006-07, the Red Devils narrowly defeated Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, securing a six-point lead. The following season, they only managed a two-point advantage over Avram Grant's Blues. However, they successfully clinched their third consecutive title in 2008-09 by defeating Liverpool, claiming victory with a mere four-point margin to equal the Reds' impressive record of 18 top-flight titles.

Nevertheless, United's hopes of securing a fourth consecutive league crown were dashed as they once again entered into a fierce battle with Chelsea. Eventually, Carlo Ancelotti's team emerged as winners, securing the title by a mere solitary point.

Manchester United (2006-09)

On the other hand, securing four or more consecutive league titles is a frequent phenomenon in Europe's top-five leagues. Bayern, for instance, has consistently dominated the Bundesliga, clinching the championship in every season since 2012-13.

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Bayern Munich's players celebrate their Bundesliga title triumph in May, the Bavarians' 11th straight German title

Juventus has achieved this feat multiple times in Serie A, first between 1930 and 1935 and then again from 2011 to 2020. Torino and Inter Milan have also accomplished this, with Torino winning from 1945 to 1949 and Inter Milan from 2005 to 2010.

In France, four teams have managed to accomplish this feat. Saint-Etienne was the first to do so between 1966 and 1970, followed by Marseille from 1988 to 1992. Lyon holds the record with seven straight Ligue 1 titles from 2001 to 2008.

PSG has achieved it twice in recent years, from 2012 to 2016 and then again between 2017 and 2020. Similarly, both Real Madrid and Barcelona, the renowned LaLiga giants, have also accomplished this feat. Real Madrid achieved it twice, firstly between 1960-1965 and then again from 1985-1990 with their infamous 'La Quinta del Buitre' side.

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Johan Cruyff's Barcelona Dream Team, featuring Gary Lineker, secured five consecutive Spanish top-flight championships from 1990 to 1994.