Longest Premier League Winning Streak: Record History

Manchester City and Liverpool share the record for the longest winning streak in Premier League history, each managing 18 consecutive victories in different title-winning seasons. Both runs ended in similar, almost symmetrical fashion, and neither team has come close to matching that mark since. This guide breaks down both record streaks, the ten longest runs in league history, and the tactical and squad factors that made them possible.

What Is the Longest Premier League Winning Streak?

The longest winning streak in Premier League history stands at 18 consecutive league matches. Two clubs hold this record jointly: Manchester City, who achieved it during the 2017-18 season under Pep Guardiola, and Liverpool, who matched it during the 2019-20 season under Jurgen Klopp.

Neither team has been able to extend the mark to 19. In both cases, the run ended against a team that was not among the league’s traditional heavyweights, a reminder that even the most dominant sides in Premier League history eventually meet an opponent, or a day, that goes against them.

Which Team Holds the Premier League Winning Streak Record?

City set the record first. Between August and December 2017, Guardiola’s side won 18 straight league games on their way to a record-breaking 100-point season, still the highest points total in English top-flight history. Liverpool equalled it two years later, winning 18 in a row between October 2019 and February 2020 during the campaign that finally delivered the club’s first top-flight title in three decades.

Because the two runs happened in separate seasons and neither side has since gone one game further, the record remains shared rather than outright. Statisticians treat this as a joint record rather than assigning precedence to whichever run happened first.

The Story Behind the Record-Breaking Run

Manchester City, 2017-18

City’s streak began quietly. After drawing 1-1 with Everton in only their second match of the season, Guardiola’s side did not drop another point in the league until New Year’s Eve. Along the way they dismantled Liverpool 5-0, thrashed Watford 6-0, beat Crystal Palace 5-0, and put seven past Stoke City. They also beat every other member of the traditional top six at least once during the sequence, underlining how comprehensively they were outplaying the rest of the division.

The run finally ended with a goalless draw away at Crystal Palace, a result that barely dented City’s title procession given the size of their lead. By the end of the season they had also broken the records for most points, most goals scored, and the biggest winning margin in league history.

Liverpool, 2019-20

Liverpool’s version of the record came at the end of a much longer unbeaten sequence. Having already strung together a 17-game winning run at the tail end of the previous season, Klopp’s side began 2019-20 by winning their opening eight matches. A 1-1 draw at Manchester United in October briefly interrupted things, but Liverpool then reeled off 18 consecutive wins between that draw and the following February.

That streak, combined with results either side of it, formed a 44-game unbeaten run in the league, the second-longest such sequence in English top-flight history behind Arsenal’s Invincibles-era mark. The run, and Liverpool’s hopes of an outright record 19th straight win, ended with a 3-0 defeat away at Watford on 29 February 2020, a genuine shock given Watford were fighting relegation at the time. Liverpool’s total scored across the wider unbeaten run reached 104 goals, with the front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino accounting for the bulk of the output.

Top 10 Longest Winning Streaks in Premier League History

Rank	Team	Streak Length	Period
1	Manchester City	18 games	August-December 2017
1	Liverpool	18 games	October 2019-February 2020
3	Liverpool	17 games	March-October 2019
4	Manchester City	15 games	December 2020-March 2021
5	Arsenal	14 games	February-August 2002
6	Chelsea	13 games	September 2016-January 2017
7	Manchester United	12 games	March-August 2000
8	Manchester United	11 games	December 2008-March 2009
8	Chelsea	11 games	April-September 2009
8	Liverpool	11 games	February-April 2014
8	Manchester City	11 games	April-September 2015

Manchester City appear on this list three times, more than any other club, a reflection of the sustained dominance the team has shown under Guardiola since 2017. Liverpool are the only other club to reach 15 or more wins in a row, and they have done so twice.

How Teams Build Long Winning Runs

Extended winning streaks tend to share a handful of common ingredients rather than happening by chance. Squad depth allows a manager to rotate through a congested fixture list without a significant drop in quality, which matters enormously across an 18-game stretch that typically spans three months and multiple competitions.

Consistency in team selection and system also plays a part. Both City in 2017-18 and Liverpool in 2019-20 had settled first-choice lineups built around a small core of undroppable players, which allowed relationships and understanding on the pitch to deepen week by week. A soft run of fixtures against struggling teams can extend a streak, but neither City’s nor Liverpool’s record run was built on weak opposition alone. City beat every top-six rival during their run, and Liverpool’s sequence included away trips to genuine contenders.

Tactical Factors Behind Premier League Success

Guardiola’s City in 2017-18 were built around rapid, positional passing and extremely high pressing intensity, designed to win the ball back within seconds of losing it and immediately punish disorganised defences. Full-backs Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy provided width and pace, freeing central midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva to dictate play through the middle.

Klopp’s Liverpool operated with a different identity built on gegenpressing, vertical transitions, and relentless work rate from the front three. Where City controlled matches through possession, Liverpool were often happy to concede territory before winning it back aggressively and attacking in quick bursts through Mane, Salah and Firmino. Both approaches were different in style but shared a common outcome: opponents were rarely given time to settle into their own patterns of play.

Players Who Defined Historic Winning Streaks

Kevin De Bruyne was the standout individual performer during City’s 2017-18 run, combining goals with a league-leading volume of assists and controlling the tempo of matches from midfield. Sergio Aguero provided the finishing, ending the season with 21 league goals and forming a reliable focal point in attack.

For Liverpool, the front three did the heaviest lifting. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were the club’s leading scorers through the unbeaten run, with Roberto Firmino contributing goals and, just as importantly, the movement and hold-up play that allowed his teammates space to attack defenders. Virgil van Dijk’s presence at centre-back gave the side a defensive foundation that made those attacking totals sustainable over a long period rather than a short purple patch.

Longest Winning Streaks Compared Across Premier League Eras

The Premier League’s longest winning streaks are heavily concentrated in the last decade. Every entry in the top four positions on the all-time list has come since 2017, coinciding with the arrival of Guardiola and Klopp and a period widely regarded as the most tactically advanced era the competition has seen.

Before that period, the benchmark sat much lower. Arsenal’s 14-game run in 2002 stood as the record for 15 years, while Chelsea’s 13-game streak under Antonio Conte in 2016-17 was viewed at the time as an exceptional achievement. That the record has since climbed by a further four games shows how much squad depth, sports science, and tactical sophistication have shifted the ceiling of what a dominant Premier League team can achieve over a single stretch of the season.

Can Another Team Break the Record?

Matching or beating an 18-game winning streak requires a rare combination of squad quality, fixture fortune, and sustained form across roughly three months of competitive football, including a demanding festive period. Based on available data, only Manchester City and Liverpool have shown they are capable of it in the Premier League era, and both have tried and fallen short of extending their own records since.

Aston Villa’s eight-game run under Unai Emery in late 2025, their best sequence in the top flight in well over a century, illustrates how difficult it is even for a well-run, ambitious club to approach halfway toward the record. Breaking 18 would likely require a top club to avoid injuries to key players, navigate a manageable run of fixtures, and maintain peak form for longer than almost any Premier League side has managed before. It is not impossible, but historical evidence suggests it remains an exceptionally high bar.

Frequently Asked Questions About Premier League Winning Streaks

What is the longest winning streak in Premier League history?

The record is 18 consecutive wins, held jointly by Manchester City (2017-18) and Liverpool (2019-20).

Which match ended Manchester City’s 18-game winning streak?

A goalless draw away at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve 2017 ended the run.

Which match ended Liverpool’s 18-game winning streak?

A 3-0 defeat away at Watford on 29 February 2020 ended the run, denying Liverpool an outright record.

Has any team ever won 19 Premier League games in a row?

No team has reached 19 consecutive wins. Liverpool came closest, losing at Watford in the match that would have set the outright record.

Who are the only two clubs to record 15 or more consecutive Premier League wins?

Manchester City and Liverpool are the only clubs to have reached 15 or more wins in a row, and each has done so more than once.