| Premier League 2002-03 | ||
| ||
| Season information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winners | Manchester United | |
| Relegated | West Ham United West Bromwich Albion Sunderland | |
| Domestic cup winners | ||
| FA Cup | Arsenal | |
| Worthington Cup | Liverpool | |
| FA Community Shield | Arsenal | |
| Continental cup qualifiers | ||
| Champions League | Manchester United Arsenal Newcastle United Chelsea | |
| UEFA Cup | Southampton Blackburn Rovers Liverpool Manchester City | |
| Season statistics | ||
| Matches played | 380 | |
| Goals scored | 1000 | |
| Average | 2.64 | |
| Top goalscorer | Ruud van Nistelrooy (25) | |
| Biggest home win | Chelsea 5-0 Manchester City Arsenal 6-1 Southampton | |
| Biggest away win | West Brom 0–6 Liverpool | |
| Highest scoring | Man Utd 5-3 Newcastle Newcastle 2-6 Man Utd | |
← 2001-02
|
2003-04 →
| |
The 2002–03 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were played on 11 May 2003.
Manchester United ended the campaign as champions for the eighth time in eleven years – an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that defending champions Arsenal had been in the lead by eight points on 2 March. After defeating Birmingham at the start of the season, Arsenal equalled a top-flight record of fourteen straight wins but failed to extend it in their next game at West Ham United, being held to a 2–2 draw. They remained unbeaten for 30 Premier League games, 23 of which were played away, until late October, and scored in a record 55 consecutive league games, beating the previous record of 47 set by Chesterfield during the 1930-31 Third Division North season. This run ended at Old Trafford on 7 December 2002, when Manchester United won 2–0. Arsenal then threw away a priceless lead against Bolton Wanderers and finally surrendered the title with a 3–2 home defeat to Leeds United in their antepenultimate game of the season, a result that also saved Leeds from relegation. Newcastle United and Chelsea were the remaining Champions League qualifiers, at the expense of Liverpool who had to settle for the UEFA Cup; they would be joined in Europe by Blackburn Rovers for a second successive season, along with Southampton who were back in Europe for the first time since 1984.
At the bottom end of the table, West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland were relegated to the Football League First Division; West Ham's 42 points from a 38-game season was a record for a relegated team. Promoted to replace them were 2002–03 Football League First Division champions Portsmouth, runners-up Leicester City, and play-off winner Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Promotion and relegation[]
Start of season[]
Teams promoted from the First Division 2001-02
- Manchester City (Champions)
- West Bromwich Albion (Runners-up)
- Birmingham City (Playoff winners)
End of season[]
Teams relegated to the First Division 2003-04
Final league table[]
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United (C) (Q) | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 74 | 34 | +40 | 83 | Champions League Group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal (Q) | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 85 | 42 | +43 | 78 | |
| 3 | Newcastle United (Q) | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 63 | 48 | +15 | 69 | Champions League Third qualifying round |
| 4 | Chelsea (Q) | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 67 | |
| 5 | Liverpool (Q) | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 64 | UEFA Cup First round |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers (Q) | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 52 | 43 | +9 | 60 | |
| 7 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 49 | -1 | 59 | |
| 8 | Southampton (Q) | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 43 | 46 | -3 | 52 | UEFA Cup First round |
| 9 | Manchester City (Q) | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 51 | UEFA Cup Qualifying round |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 62 | -11 | 50 | |
| 11 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 49 | |
| 12 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 | 56 | -11 | 49 | |
| 13 | Birmingham City | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 49 | -8 | 48 | |
| 14 | Fulham | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 50 | -9 | 48 | |
| 15 | Leeds United | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 47 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 42 | 47 | -5 | 45 | |
| 17 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 44 | |
| 18 | West Ham United (R) | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 59 | -17 | 42 | Relegated to the First Division |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 29 | 65 | -36 | 26 | |
| 20 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 65 | -44 | 19 |
Source: Barclays Premier League
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored.
P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points;
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (Q) = Qualified to respective tournament; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
| Premier League 2002-03 Winners |
|---|
| Manchester United 8th Premier League title 15th English title |
Top goalscorers[]
External links[]
| Premier League 2002-03 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Arsenal · Aston Villa · Birmingham City · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Charlton Athletic · Chelsea · Everton · Fulham · Leeds United · Liverpool · Manchester City · Manchester United · Middlesbrough · Newcastle United · Southampton · Sunderland · Tottenham Hotspur · West Bromwich Albion · West Ham United
Template:2002-03 in English football Template:2002-03 in European football (UEFA) |
