2015/16 · Rebuilt without Manchester City
Manchester United finished level with City on 66 points and fifth on goal difference, after a bomb scare pushed their last game back two days. Missing the Champions League was one of the reasons Sky Sports gave when Louis van Gaal was sacked. Take City out and United finish fourth on 62.
Leicester? 77. Still champions.
The story
A club given odds of 5000/1 at the start of the season won the Premier League. Leicester City had spent much of the previous season bottom before finishing 14th. Under Claudio Ranieri they led continuously from 23 January, lost three league games all season and were confirmed champions on 2 May without playing, when Chelsea drew 2–2 with Tottenham. They were the first new English champions since Nottingham Forest in 1977/78.
Jamie Vardy scored in 11 consecutive Premier League matches, passing Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of ten, and was named the Premier League's Player of the Season and the FWA Footballer of the Year. On 7 May Andrea Bocelli sang at the King Power Stadium before they beat Everton 3–1. Tottenham, the last side to chase them, lost their final two games and were passed by Arsenal on the last day.
The champions they replaced came apart. Chelsea sacked José Mourinho on 17 December with the defending champions 16th, and Guus Hiddink took over two days later. They finished tenth, the lowest finish by a Premier League title holder, with no European football for the first time in two decades. City beat them 3–0 twice in the league and lost 5–1 to them in the FA Cup.
City themselves won the League Cup, reached a Champions League semi-final for the first time and finished fourth in Manuel Pellegrini's last season. Take them out and the fairy tale doesn't move an inch. The change comes one place below them, where Manchester United missed out.
The table
Clubs lose only the points they took off City, so a club that lost both games loses nothing. Everyone who finished below City moves up a place automatically; we count it as a change only when a club climbs further, or its fate changes.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | Move | Real pos | Real pts | City pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester CityChampions | 77 | +30 | No change | 1st | 81 | −4 | 36 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 65 | 35 |
| 2 | Arsenal (top four) | 67 | +28 | No change | 2nd | 71 | −4 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 61 | 33 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur (top four) | 64 | +30 | No change | 3rd | 70 | −6 | 36 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 63 | 33 |
| 4 | Manchester United (top four) | 62 | +13 | Up 1 place | 5th | 66 | −4 | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 48 | 35 |
| 5 | Southampton | 60 | +18 | Up 1 place | 6th | 63 | −3 | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 54 | 36 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 58 | +13 | Up 1 place | 7th | 62 | −4 | 36 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 61 | 48 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 54 | +7 | Up 1 place | 8th | 60 | −6 | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 56 | 49 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 50 | +12 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 10th | 50 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 59 | 47 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 48 | −12 | No change | 9th | 51 | −3 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 39 | 51 |
| 10 | Everton | 46 | +6 | Up 1 place | 11th | 47 | −1 | 36 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 59 | 53 |
| 11 | Swansea City | 46 | −9 | Up 1 place | 12th | 47 | −1 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 49 |
| 12 | Watford | 45 | −7 | Up 1 place | 13th | 45 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 46 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 43 | −10 | Up 1 place | 14th | 43 | 0 | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 33 | 43 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 42 | −7 | Up 1 place | 15th | 42 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 46 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 42 | −14 | Up 1 place | 16th | 42 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 44 | 58 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 39 | −10 | Up 1 place | 17th | 39 | 0 | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 47 | 57 |
| 17 | Newcastle United (relegated) | 36 | −16 | Up 1 place | 18th | 37 | −1 | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 58 |
| 18 | Norwich City (relegated) | 33 | −27 | Up 1 place | 19th | 34 | −1 | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 65 |
| 19 | Aston Villa (relegated) | 16 | −45 | Up 1 place | 20th | 17 | −1 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 27 | 72 |
The biggest climb belongs to the defending champions: Chelsea, beaten twice by City, go from tenth to eighth.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 81 | +32 | 38 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 68 | 36 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 71 | +29 | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 65 | 36 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 70 | +34 | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 69 | 35 |
| 4 | Manchester CityRemoved | 66 | +30 | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 71 | 41 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 66 | +14 | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 35 |
| 6 | Southampton | 63 | +18 | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 59 | 41 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 62 | +14 | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 65 | 51 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 60 | +13 | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 63 | 50 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 51 | −14 | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 41 | 55 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 50 | +6 | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 59 | 53 |
| 11 | Everton | 47 | +4 | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 59 | 55 |
| 12 | Swansea City | 47 | −10 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 42 | 52 |
| 13 | Watford | 45 | −10 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 50 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 43 | −14 | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 34 | 48 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 42 | −12 | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 39 | 51 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 42 | −22 | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 67 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 39 | −14 | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 62 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 37 | −21 | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 44 | 65 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 34 | −28 | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 39 | 67 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 17 | −49 | 38 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 76 |
20 clubs, 38 games each. Rebuilt from the published data; it matches the published final table in three independent sources.
What changed
Top four
Fifth for real, on 66 points. Without City, fourth on 62, two clear of Southampton.
Leicester and Arsenal each lose a win and a draw against City, four points apiece, and Spurs lose six: neither chaser gains a point on the champions.
Spurs lose the six points from their two wins over City, joint most with Liverpool, and finish third, three behind Arsenal instead of one.
Top four Changes
For real
United 5th
66 points, level with City: +14 against +30
Without City
United 4th
62 points, 2 clear of Southampton: a Champions League place
On 15 May, the final day, a suspicious package was found at Old Trafford and United's game against Bournemouth was postponed. By the time it was played, on 17 May, City had finished their season, and the table said United needed to win by at least 18 goals to pass them. They won 3–1 and finished fifth, level on 66 points.
The derbies had pointed both ways. At Old Trafford in October, Jesse Lingard's late volley hit the crossbar in a 0–0. At the Etihad on 20 March, Marcus Rashford, in his eighth United appearance, scored his fifth goal, the only one of the game.
Without City, both derbies go, and United lose four points to finish on 62. Southampton lose the 4–2 of 1 May, when Sadio Mané scored a hat-trick against a City side with eight changes, and drop to 60. City's 66 points and their +30 leave with them, and United are fourth, two clear.
Premier League money barely separated the two Manchester clubs; Europe did. Fourth entered the 2016/17 Champions League at the play-off round, which City cleared against Steaua București. United's Adidas deal carried its own penalty for a second season running without it.
The stakes
£21m
What United's finance chief said a second straight season outside the Champions League would cost in Adidas money: 30% of a £70m year.
Source: Goal, 16 May 2017; IBTimes, 17 Nov 2016
In the end, sixteen goals of goal difference kept United out.
Villa, Norwich and Newcastle each lose the point they took off City and still go down; Sunderland, beaten twice by City, stay up by three points instead of two.
Careers in the rebuilt table Changes
One debut season that ends in the top four.
Marcus Rashford Top four without City
Marcus Rashford scored twice on his Premier League debut, 3–2 against Arsenal on 28 February 2016, and started all 11 of his league games that season. His winner at the Etihad three weeks later is one of the results the rebuilt table takes away. United finish 4th without it.
Man Utd 2015/16 · 11 league apps, all starts · 5th → 4th, Champions League play-off round
What if?
15 May 2016. Pellegrini's last game ends 1–1 at Swansea and City, in effect, keep fourth. Two questions follow: whether fourth would have saved United's manager, and what Leicester's title really owed to City.
Door 1
Van Gaal won the FA Cup and was gone within days. Put United fourth as well, and does he stay?
The Cup came four days after the Bournemouth game: 2–1 against Crystal Palace after extra time, United's 12th, equalling the record. “It is fantastic to win this title for the club, for the fans, and also for me because I now have won the cup in four countries,” van Gaal said. Sky Sports reported his sacking days later, after “a fifth-place finish in the Premier League and failure to qualify for the Champions League”. The second half of that sentence is what the rebuilt table takes away.
Fourth and the FA Cup is a season a manager can defend: a trophy and a Champions League place. Take away the goal-difference heartbreak and the public case for change loses its sharpest line, at a club whose own finance chief would later put a price on missing the Champions League.
Against that stands the timetable. José Mourinho was in place within days, on a three-year contract, which is not the rhythm of a decision waiting on a final table. And his first season brought the EFL Cup in February 2017 and the Europa League in May, and through the Europa League a place in the 2017/18 Champions League anyway.
Over to you. Does fourth place remove the sacking, or only change the explanation?
Door 2
The 3–1 at the Etihad is the afternoon everyone remembers. Without City it never happens. What was it worth?
On 6 February, days after Manuel Pellegrini announced he would leave City, Leicester won 3–1 in front of the Etihad's biggest crowd of the season: Huth after three minutes, Mahrez early in the second half, Huth again on the hour. They went five points clear. City had led the table as late as 12 December, and Sky Sports' season review names that defeat as the point that ended their title aspirations.
Leicester had gone top for the last time on 23 January, a fortnight before.
Nor were City the side that chased them to the end. On 10 April, with five games left, Leicester had 72 points and Tottenham 65; City were fourth on 57. The club that pushed Leicester longest was the one that beat City twice.
Over to you. Was the Etihad the day Leicester won the league, or only the day everyone else noticed?
2015/16 is one of the seasons covered by the charges the Premier League referred to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. On 25 September 2026 BBC Sport, The Athletic and Sky Sports reported that the commission had found City in breach of Premier League rules. The Premier League has not published the decision, City say the process is ongoing, reports say City are expected to appeal, and no sanction has been announced (as of 27 September 2026).
Manchester United were among the four clubs The Times reported in November 2024 had lodged legal notices reserving the right to claim compensation if City were found in breach. The same report said the clubs had been advised the six-year limitation period could potentially date back to November 2018, when Der Spiegel first published allegations against City. More on the case: the nine-season summary
Reference · Every club
Where every club finishes without City.
The 3–1 at the Etihad and the 0–0 at home both go: 77 points.
Games against City
The 2–1 win in December and the 2–2 in May both go: 67 points, three ahead of Spurs.
Games against City
Both wins over City go, 4–1 at home and 2–1 at the Etihad. 64 points, and third either way.
Games against City
The 1–0 at the Etihad and the 0–0 at Old Trafford go. 62 points, fourth.
Games against City
Southampton lose the 3 points they took off City. 60 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Their first win at the Etihad, 2–1, and the 2–2 at the Boleyn Ground, in their last season there, both go. 58 points, 6th.
Games against City
The 4–1 at the Etihad, their first league win there since 2008, and the 3–0 at Anfield both go. 54 points, 7th.
Games against City
Beaten 3–0 away and 3–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 50 points: 8th, not 10th.
Games against City
Arnautović's two goals in the 2–0 win in December go. 48 points, and Stoke are the only club below City not to move up.
Games against City
Everton lose the 1 point they took off City. 46 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 46 points with Swansea; ahead on goal difference (+6 v −9).
Games against City
Swansea lose the 1 point they took off City. 46 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 46 points with Everton; behind on goal difference (−9 v +6).
Games against City
Beaten 2–0 away and 2–1 at home by City, so no points come off. 45 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 3–0 at home and 2–1 away by City, so no points come off. 43 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 1–0 at home and 4–0 away by City, so no points come off. 42 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 42 points with Bournemouth; ahead on goal difference (−7 v −14).
Games against City
Beaten 5–1 away and 4–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 42 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 42 points with Palace; behind on goal difference (−14 v −7).
Games against City
Beaten 4–1 away and 1–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 39 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
The 1–1 in April, Agüero's 100th Premier League goal, goes. 36 points: 17th of 19, three from safety.
Games against City
Norwich lose the 1 point they took off City. 33 points, 18th of 19.
Games against City
The 0–0 in Rémi Garde's first match goes. 16 points: 19th of 19.
Games against City
Reference · The 38 games
City won 19, drew 9 and lost 10. The draws and defeats were worth 39 points to thirteen clubs, and they are the only points that come off anyone's total.
19
of City's 38 league games cost them points