The remarkable Premier League table since the World Cup break

Manchester City and Arsenal have the best record in the Premier League since the 2022-23 season resumed following the World Cup break.

But some of the rest of the Premier League’s big guns have struggled to pick up points since the Premier League resumed in December. Chelsea, in particular, have suffered a disastrous spell of form.

We’ve taken a look at how the table shapes up since attention returned to club action after Qatar 2022.

Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have taken 23 points from 11 matches since returning to action. They ended the first portion of the season on a high note after Alejandro Garnacho scored a last-gasp winner away to Fulham and they didn’t seem to lose any momentum from there.

Indeed, the termination of Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract doesn’t appear to have had a derailing effect. Quite the opposite, in fact – United returned to win successive matches against Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Bournemouth and Man City. They’ve also navigated their way to a first trophy in six years and remain in the FA Cup and Europa League.

Manchester United have undoubtedly been among the best sides in the Premier League, which makes their historic 7-0 defeat to Liverpool all the more shocking and difficult to explain.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have really struggled since the World Cup, but they’ve gradually returned to form and boast the top flight’s fourth-best record since the mid-season break.

Alongside the shocking 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League and FA Cup elimination to Brighton, Liverpool have conceded three goals in league defeats to Brentford, Wolves and Brighton, while dropping further points against Crystal Palace and Chelsea. But they’re climbing up the table after taking 13 points from the last 15 available – in a run with five successive clean sheets.

Fulham are arguably the most remarkable story since the World Cup. The newly-promoted side are into the FA Cup quarters and have taken 20 points from 12 matches, which keeps them in genuine contention for European qualification.

Brighton and Hove Albion are similarly punching above their weight under Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi. They have an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League and may bridge that gap if they can maintain their current form – with 17 points from their last nine outings.

Champions Man City have failed to put together the kind of relentless run that we’ve come to expect in recent years under Pep Guardiola, with damaging defeats to big six rivals Manchester United and Tottenham since the season resumed. Yet still, they remain top of the table since the break.

Guardiola’s men are keeping pace with league leaders Arsenal, who have taken the same number of points from the same number of games, doing well to recover their blip of two defeats and a draw in successive league outings in February.

Newcastle’s Champions League push appears to be falling away. Eddie Howe’s Magpies lost in the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United and suffered league defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City either side of that. They lie 13th in the table since the World Cup break.

Chelsea aren’t faring a great deal better, with just 13 points from 11 matches since Christmas – in spite of bolstering Graham Potter’s squad to the tune of almost £300million in January.

Bournemouth are the worst-performing side since they gave Gary O’Neil the manager’s job on a permanent basis. They’ve won just one of 10 league outings since the season resumed.

Fellow relegation-battlers like Leeds, Everton, Southampton and Leicester aren’t faring much better – three of those have changed their manager over the past couple of weeks, begging the question of whether Brendan Rodgers is in for the same fate.

Here’s how the full table since the World Cup stacks up in full:

1. Manchester City – 26 points, GD +15 (Played 12)
2. Arsenal – 26 points, GD +12 (Played 12)
3. Manchester United – 23 points, GD +6 (Played 11)
4. Liverpool – 20 points, GD +8 (Played 12)
5. Fulham  – 20 points, GD +7 (Played 10)
6. Brighton – 17 points, GD +10 (Played 9)
7. Wolves – 17 points, GD 0 (Played 11)
8. Brentford – 16 points, GD +9 (Played 8)
9. Tottenham – 16 points, GD 0 (Played 11)
10. Aston Villa – 16 points, GD -1 (Played 10)
11. Chelsea – 13 points, GD -1 (Played 11)
12. Nottingham Forest – 13 points, GD -5 (Played 10)
13. Newcastle United – 11 points, GD 0 (Played 9)
14. West Ham United – 9 points, GD -5 (Played 10)
15. Southampton – 9 points, GD -7 (Played 10)
16. Crystal Palace – 8 points, GD -7 (Played 11)
17. Everton – 8 points, GD -13 (Played 11)
18. Leicester City – 7 points, GD -7 (Played 10)
19. Leeds United – 7 points, GD -7 (Played 11)
20. Bournemouth – 5 points, GD -13 (Played 10)

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