This season, it is Arne Slot’s Liverpool, but there have been many others…so many others.
Ascending to the Premier League summit is a monumental achievement. Remaining there, however, has become a near-impossible task, with a parade of champions suffering spectacular and immediate declines the following season.
😡 The Jose Mourinho Implosion 🔥: A 37-Point Unraveling 🏆➡️🗑️
The 2015/16 campaign stands as the most dramatic reversal. Fresh from securing the championship, José Mourinho's Chelsea disintegrated, falling to 16th place by December.
The manager, who had recently agreed to a new long-term contract, was dismissed after a sequence of four wins in sixteen matches.
He famously turned on his squad, stating they were champions only in reputation, as a toxic atmosphere and internal disputes defined a season that ended with a staggering 37-point decrease from their title-winning total.
🧙♂️ Claudio Ranieri's Impossible Follow-Up ✨: A Fairytale's End 🏰➡️😴
The ultimate underdog story met a painfully predictable sequel. The season after Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City achieved the 5000/1 miracle, they registered an identical 37-point fall.
By February, the team was perched just above the relegation zone, leading to the dismissal of the beloved architect of their glory.
The narrative shifted from a prince charming story to one of a spell abruptly broken, illustrating how quickly unique chemistry and momentum can dissipate under the new pressures of expectation.
💔 Before Arne Slot was Jurgen Klopp's Sorry Champions 🔴: Scrutiny & Sorrow 🧱🔥
Liverpool's current struggle under Arne Slot is a multi-faceted chapter in this ongoing saga. Their position, having lost five of their first eleven league games, mirrors other failed defences.
This follows a previous title defence under Jürgen Klopp that saw a 30-point regression, criticised as a display of complacency.
The present circumstances are compounded by significant squad upheaval from a major spending spree and the profound emotional toll of losing teammate Diogo Jota, a trauma that experts confirm can shatter the focused unity required for a sustained challenge.
🛡️ Pep Guardiola's Proven Vulnerability 🔵: The Inevitable Dip 😴⬇️
Even the modern era's most dominant force is not exempt. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, after securing four consecutive crowns, experienced a pronounced 20-point slump last season, enduring a run of six defeats in eight matches.
This served as a potent reminder that sustained excellence is perpetually under assault from rivals, physical fatigue, and the immense psychological load of being the perpetual target, proving that no managerial genius is a permanent shield against the league's corrosive demand for renewal.
🔚The Curse is Real😱:
The underlying mechanisms of this “curse” are debated but evident in the data. Since 2010 and over the past 15 seasons, 9 defending champions have suffered a points drop of at least 10, with 6 crashing by 20 points or more.
Only two managers have successfully defended the Premier League title since 2009: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) and Guardiola (Manchester City). For everyone else, the curse holds.
Failed transfer strategies are a common thread, from Chelsea’s unmet requests for defensive reinforcements to Manchester City’s negligent squad renewal.
Initial setbacks spark negative cycles of media pressure, eroded morale, and tactical stagnation. Managers like Mourinho and Ranieri become scapegoats for systemic failures they cannot control.
In the Premier League’s relentless ecosystem, every competitor studies the champion’s weakness. The victory parade ends, the work begins, and history shows that more often than not, the crown is swiftly and mercilessly knocked away.
🔗You can check out today’s games on MSport.
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