Sir Alex Ferguson was the glue that held Manchester United together. Arsenal have yet to conquer the land again since the legendary Arsene Wenger stepped down. But Liverpool‘s transition into a post-Jurgen Klopp world has been nothing short of seamless – at least in a Premier League sense.
One year after reportedly rejecting the Tottenham Hotspur job to see out one more year at Feyenoord, it was only fitting for Arne Slot to officially bring top-flight glory back to Anfield against Ange Postecoglou‘s Lilywhites, smashing Spurs 5-1 on April 27 to confirm the inevitable.
Largely inheriting the star-studded crop that Klopp left behind, while adopting a calmer, more methodical approach than the German’s gung-ho style, Slot masterminded a masterful Premier League season in which his side were in a class of their own.
Football is a team sport, and Slot will never single out individuals to the detriment of the entire team that deserves to have their praises sung, but we will.
Thanks to the extraordinary feats of Mohamed Salah, the steadfast defending of Virgil van Dijk and the engine room excellence of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, Liverpool are champions of England for a 20th time, and Slot has joined an elite club of Premier League managers.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at all of the head coaches who have won the competition in their first season in English football.
The hottest kid on the managerial block after his momentous Champions League success with Porto, Jose Mourinho was cherry-picked by Roman Abramovich to lead Chelsea into a post-Claudio Ranieri world in 2004.
Backed by an extortionate transfer kitty, exceptional home-grown talents and his “special one” mantra, Mourinho’s Chelsea ripped the Premier League trophy out of Arsenal’s hands and came oh so close to emulating the Invincibles themselves, suffering just one defeat all season long.
Trailblazers for the times, Chelsea’s 2004-05 success in Mourinho’s first season saw the Blues total 95 points and 29 wins – unprecedented amounts at the time – and their 15 goals conceded that year remains a Premier League record.
Mourinho’s men successfully defended their crown the next year and also conquered the land in 2015 during the Portuguese’s Stamford Bridge homecoming, although his “special” powers have since waned.
Blue is certainly the colour for this elite managerial list, as the legendary Carlo Ancelotti followed in Mourinho’s footsteps to become the second Premier League head coach to win the trophy in their inaugural season.
Already boasting a stellar CV from his time in the Inter Milan dugout, Ancelotti brought not one, but two slices of silverware to West London, as his Chelsea crop became just the seventh English club – at the time – to win the Premier League and FA Cup in one season.
Focusing purely on Premier League matters, the Blues edged out Manchester United by a solitary point thanks to an outrageous record of 103 goals scored, 68 of which came at home; still an all-time best in the competition.
Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard struck a staggering 51 Premier League goals between them, while Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka also hit double figures before Ancelotti took his managerial powers to Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid – twice.
Swapping one shade of blue for a lighter shade of blue, Manuel Pellegrini had a tough act to follow when taking the reins from Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, just one year on from the Etihad euphoria that will surely never be topped.
The Chilean could hardly have arrived at a better time, as David Moyes‘s Man United were lost without the wily Ferguson at the helm, although Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool were still providing stiff competition for the crown.
However, thanks to the infamous Steven Gerrard gaffe and the Reds’ Crystal Palace collapse, Pellegrini’s Man City won the league by two points and with 102 goals to boot; Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko all passed the 15 mark.
No non-European had won the Premier League before Pellegrini came, saw and conquered, and the South American can now be found overseeing operations at Real Betis after vacating his Etihad office for the legendary Pep Guardiola.
Any Chelsea fan will be able to tell you the exact moment that their side won the 2016-17 Premier League crown. And it was not the victory over West Bromwich Albion on May 12 that officially clinched them the title.
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea were eighth in the Premier League at the end of September, having been slain by top-four rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, but a 3-0 loss to the latter triggered a masterstroke from the Italian boss.
Switching to a 3-4-3 shape for the remainder of the campaign, Conte witnessed his Blues squad embark on a 13-game winning run between gameweek seven and 19 – matching a competition record at the time and eventually setting a new one with 30 victories for the season.
The latter total has since been surpassed by Manchester City and Liverpool, but Conte’s Chelsea were a cut above the rest during the Italian’s first season in English football; the less said about his most recent one with Tottenham Hotspur in 2022-23 the better.
Arne Slot (Liverpool | 2024-25)
Talk about rubbing salt into the Tottenham wounds; nearly two years on from rejecting the Lilywhites’ advances in favour of one more year at Feyenoord, Slot ensured Liverpool’s status as top dogs against Postecoglou’s crisis club in 2024-25.
The Dutchman was certainly not every Liverpool fan’s first choice to replace the charismatic Klopp, as the red carpet had been rolled out for Xabi Alonso to take the reins within minutes of the German announcing his emotional departure.
However, thanks to his perpetual assuredness, tactical nous and above all – a wonderful set of results – Arne and Anfield became a match made in heaven, as the 46-year-old delivered Liverpool’s first-ever Premier League title with fans present.
The Reds’ pursuits of Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup glory that same year may have ended in heartbreak, but when it came to the Premier League alone, Slot’s crop were top of the tree all season long.
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