Premier League season: 2002-2003 - from football.co.uk

The 2002-03 Barclaycard Premiership was the eleventh season of the Premier League following its inception in 1992. The title race would see yet another close battle for top spot between Manchester United and winners from the previous season, Arsenal. It was the reigning champions who set the pace early on in the season.The Gunners were leading on all fronts at the halfway stage in the season, breaking new English domestic records along the way.Having lead by eight points on 2 March, Arsenal managed to throw away a priceless lead against Bolton Wanderers and surrendered the title after a 3-2 home defeat to Leeds United, 3 games before the end of the season. Man United benefited from the demise of Arsene Wenger's side, while Leeds salvaged survival with the 3-2 win. United finished 5 points clear of Arsenal, meanwhile Newcastle United and Chelsea grabbed the final two Champions League spots.Chelsea finished fourth at the expense of Liverpool.Liverpool instead qualified for the UEFA Cup and were joined in Europe by Blackburn Rovers and newly promoted sides Manchester City and Birmingham City. Records were also being broken at the bottom of the Premiership table.Sunderland were relegated with the fewest points and goals scored in a season, while West Ham United were relegated with the highest total of points.The 42 points West Ham picked up would have been enough to have saved them in any other season, but in this case they dropped out of the division, with West Brom also dropping down.Domestic honours saw the FA Cup head to Highbury and the League Cup (Worthington Cup) going to Anfield.Arsenal defeated Southampton with a 1-0 win at the Millennium Stadium, the winning goal coming from Robert Pires.Gerard Houllier's Liverpool team beat Sir Alex Ferguson's United side 2-0 to win the League Cup. Harry Redknapp guided Portsmouth to the Premiership and was joined by Leicester City and Wolves in the top flight for the 2003-04 season. Final Premier League TablePosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation1Manchester United (C)3825857434+40832003–04 UEFA Champions League Group stage2Arsenal3823968542+43783Newcastle United38216116348+15692003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round4Chelsea38191096838+30675Liverpool381810106141+20642003–04 UEFA Cup First round6Blackburn Rovers381612105243+9607Everton38178134849−1598Southampton381313124346−3522003–04 UEFA Cup First round9Manchester City38156174754−7512003–04 UEFA Cup Qualifying round10Tottenham Hotspur38148165162−115011Middlesbrough381310154844+44912Charlton Athletic38147174556−114913Birmingham City38139164149−84814Fulham37139154150−94815Leeds United38145195857+14716Aston Villa38129174247−54517Bolton Wanderers381014144151−104418West Ham United (R)381012164259−1742Relegated to the First Division19West Bromwich Albion (R)3868242965−362620Sunderland (R)3847272165−4419Top ScorersRuud van Nisterlrooy (Manchester United) 25 goalsThierry Henry (Arsenal) 24 goalsJames Beattie (Southampton) 23 goalsMark Viduka (Leeds United) 20 goalsMichael Owen (Liverpool) 19 goalsAlan Shearer (Newcastle Untied) 17 goalsNicolas Anelka (Manchester City) 15 goalsGianfranco Zola (Chelsea) 14 goalsRobert Pires (Arsenal) 14 goalsHarry Kewell (Leeds United) 14 goalsPaul Scholes (Manchester United) 14 goalsGoals of the Season

Source: DSG