League Record
| Division | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for | Goals against | Points | Finish | English top-flight champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prem | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 86 | 43 | 89 | 1st | Manchester United |
Cups And Honours
| FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Europe / world | Archive honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R6 | R4 | Not eligible | Champions League - Round of 16 | English league title |
People and Context
Top scorer: Robin van Persie (30 goals in all competitions). [3]
Season in focus
Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season delivered the club’s 20th English league championship and a decisive response to the previous year’s goal-difference loss. Robin van Persie’s arrival supplied 30 goals; his first-half hat-trick against Aston Villa sealed the title with four matches to spare. The championship was also Ferguson’s 13th league title as United manager, which makes the campaign a natural closing point for his tenure. European elimination by Real Madrid and domestic cup exits did not alter the central achievement: a final, authoritative league win before a change of manager. [1] [3]
Premier League tables provide the official competition record for the 2012–13 title. [1] [3]
More wins, more goals conceded
United won 28 of 38 league fixtures, a 73.7% win rate. Their 86 goals scored and 43 conceded work out to 2.26 and 1.13 per match respectively.
Against the 2007–08 double winners, this team recorded one more league win and six more goals, but conceded 21 more. The higher points total therefore came with a smaller goal difference: +43 rather than +58. The comparison shows why league points and defensive performance need to be considered separately.