With 52 points in his first season, Pep Guardiola gave early indications of Manchester City’s future supremacy in the Premier League.
After leading Leicester City to an FA Cup victory, Brendan Rodgers swiftly transformed the team, amassing 52 points in his first 25 games.
Only Jose Mourinho and Arne Slot have scored at least 60 points in their first 25 English league games.
No matter how you put it, football is primarily a results-driven sport. Additionally, a club’s first impressions can make or break a new manager; they can either succeed right away or falter under pressure, like the Frank de Boers of the world.
However, for every manager that is a breeze to work with, there are others who thrive in the Premier League and navigate its turbulent waters with ease. The 20 managers who have amassed the most points after their first 25 games in charge of a Premier League team will be thoroughly examined in this article. The worst part is that, despite leading the standings with 13 games remaining in his debut campaign, Arne Slot is strangely not at the top of the list.
The Premier League managers with the highest point totals from their first 25 games
Rank
Supervisor
Club
The designated date
Points
1.
Mourinho, Jose
Chelsea
July 1, 2004
64
2.
Slot Arne
Liverpool
July 1, 2024
60
3.
Conte, Antonio
Chelsea
July 1, 2016
60
4.
Ancelotti, Carlo
Chelsea
July 1, 2009
58
5.
Grant, Avram
Chelsea
September 20, 2007
57
6.
Gregory John
Villa Aston
February 25, 1998
57
7.
Mourinho, Jose
Chelsea
July 1, 2013
56
8.
Pellegrini, Manuel
City of Manchester
July 1, 2013
54
9.
Ranieri, Claudio
City of Leicester
July 13, 2015
53
10.
Rodgers, Brendan
City of Leicester
February 27, 2019
52
11.
Guardiola, Pep
City of Manchester
July 1, 2016
52
12.
Tuchel, Thomas
Chelsea
January 26, 2021
51
13.
Sarri, Maurizio
Chelsea
July 14, 2018
50
14.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Chelsea
July 1, 2008
49
15.
Emery Unai
Villa Aston
November 1, 2022
49
16.
Erik ten Hag
United Manchester
July 1, 2022
49
17.
Benitez Rafael
Chelsea
November 22, 2012
48
18.
Mourinho, Jose
United Manchester
July 1, 2016
48
19.
Conte, Antonio
Tottenham Hotspur
November 2, 2021
47
20.
Postecoglu, Ange
Tottenham Hotspur
July 1, 2023
47
11Pep Guardiola (52 points)
Manchester City, July 1st 2016
The Etihad supporters were preparing for a golden age at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola before a ball was ever kicked. The Spaniard had already climbed to the pinnacles of German and Spanish football by orchestrating supremacy at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Few questioned whether he would perform any less in Manchester’s sky blue.
City surged to 52 points after 25 games, ultimately placing third in the Premier League season of 2016–17. In the present day, Guardiola has never had a season where he did not place in the top three. He has won all but two of the available league titles during that time, collecting them like a collector.
10Brendan Rodgers (52 points)
Leicester City, February 27th, 2019
In a real football fairy tale, Claudio Ranieri came, saw, and stunned the world by leading Leicester City to an incredible Premier League triumph in 2015–16 against the 5000/1 odds. However, the enchantment diminished and the Foxes were never quite the same after Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante left. In order to extend the good times for a little while longer, Brendan Rodgers arrived in February 2019 and quickly made his impact.
The Northern Irishman raised Leicester’s flag once more after being assigned to steady a sinking ship. A season later, he was the driving force behind the team’s lone FA Cup victory after earning a solid 52 points in his first 25 Premier League games. Before Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s untimely death crushed the club’s dreams of being the finest team outside of the conventional big six, he was arguably the final great manager to grace the King Power dugout.
9Claudio Ranieri (53 points)
Leicester City, July 13th 2015
Speaking of Ranieri, after his first 25 league games as manager in 2015, the renowned Italian tactician—one of the best from his country to ever grace England’s top flight—eclipses his replacement, gaining just one point more than Rodgers. The real magic of his stay, however, lay not just in the outcomes but also in his creative training techniques, recruitment strategy, and steadfast conviction that every little detail matters.
During his first season, several of the minor adjustments Ranieri made to Leicester’s culture and mindset were overlooked. But believe me, when the Foxes accomplished the unthinkable and raised the Premier League trophy 24 months later, they truly came to life. Ranieri somehow made it happen even though the team was never in a position to receive such an award.
8Manuel Pelligrini (54 points)
Manchester City, July 1st 2013
The renowned man-manager Manuel Pellegrini developed a style of play at Manchester City that can be characterised as “death by beautiful geometry.” In his first season, City won their first Premier League title thanks to a combination of brilliant individual runs, precise crosses, intricate passing sequences, and well-executed set pieces.
His start was far from perfect, which adds to the already impressive 54 points from his first 25 league appearances. City had already lost four games by the end of November. Nonetheless, decisive wins over Norwich City, Manchester United, and Newcastle United suggested their full potential. The foundation for the future Guardiola dynasty was laid as Pellegrini’s team went on an incredible 20-game winning streak.
7Jose Mourinho (56 points)
Chelsea, July 1st 2013
On the list of the greatest starts made by a Premier League manager, Jose Mourinho is listed three times, but his second spell at Chelsea puts him in eighth place. The ever-calculating Portuguese ringmaster dismissed the Blues’ chances of winning the championship during his first season back, claiming the team was “in transition.” Chelsea finished third, only four points behind champions Manchester City, despite his showmanship.
He had no trouble readjusting to life at Stamford Bridge, as seen by his 56 points from his first 25 league appearances. With the help of PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard, Mourinho won his third and final Premier League title the following season, adding to the total.
6John Gregory (57 points)
Aston Villa, February 25th 1998
Under John Gregory, Aston Villa was struggling in the UEFA Cup the last time they were a true European force. After taking over in February 1998, the Scunthorpe native guided them there. At the time, he was a little-known, having only held positions at Portsmouth, Plymouth Argyle, and Wycombe Wanderers. But he quickly demonstrated that he was a respectable manager.
Halfway through the 1998–99 season, Gregory had Villa atop the Premiership after scoring 57 points in his first 25 Premier League games, or an incredible 2.28 points per game. They lost out on what might have been a historic title challenge, though, as their form declined and they fell to sixth place. In 2000, Villa made it to the FA Cup final but lost to Chelsea. Gregory eventually left in January 2002, and after he took on the unachievable job of keeping Derby County up during their notorious record-low points season, his management career quickly fell into the background.
5Avram Grant (57 points)
Chelsea, September 20th 2007
Roman Abramovich’s remarkable ability to select managers who might produce immediate success is demonstrated by the fact that Chelsea hired four of the top five most point-earners following their first 25 Premier League games. Avram Grant’s entry in 2007 serves as a prime example of this from a results perspective.
The Israeli, who was close to Abramovich, was first brought on as the team’s Director of Football before being thrown into the hot seat after Mourinho’s initial departure. By accomplishing this, he became the first manager from his country to manage in the Premier League. Grant managed to score 57 points in his first 25 games, but he never gained the players’ or fans’ entire respect.
4Carlo Ancelotti (58 points)
Chelsea, July 1st 2009
Throughout his career, Carlo Ancelotti has undoubtedly been one of the greatest managers in football history in terms of tactics, man-management, and trophy-winning. After the lacklustre selections of Avram Grant, Guus Hiddink, and Luiz Filipe Scolari in the years preceding the Italian’s employment, this was once more evident as he guided Chelsea to a Premier League championship in his 2009–10 debut season.
With 103 goals at the end of the season, the side became the first in the English top division since Tottenham in the 1962–63 season and the first in the Premier League to score more than 100 goals in a season. Ancelotti was obviously a hit right away. He was the first person from his country to win the English Premier League, and he completed the season by winning the FA Cup and the league for the first time.
3Antonio Conte (60 points)
Chelsea, July 1st 2016
Antonio Conte was unquestionably skilled, scoring 60 points in his first 25 league games as Chelsea manager. He was also fiery, outspoken, and never one to sugarcoat his dissatisfaction with a club’s hierarchy. Having previously played for Juventus and the Italian national side, Conte quickly established himself by matching Arsenal’s record of 13 straight wins in a season.
An even greater accomplishment followed that outstanding accomplishment: becoming the first manager to win three Premier League Manager of the Month titles in a row. Chelsea won the Premier League thanks to his record-breaking 30 victories in 38 games, and the Conte era seemed to be fuelled by an unending supply of victories. However, he was fired after a dismal fifth-place league result, even though he had won the FA Cup in his second season. In retrospect, though, the supporters of Stamford Bridge would probably do anything to resurrect his flaming rule.
2Arne Slot (60 points)
Liverpool, July 1st 2024
Following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, rival supporters thought Liverpool would follow Manchester United’s lead when Jurgen Klopp left last summer. However, the club’s trajectory appears more analogous to the time in 1974 when Bill Shankly turned the reins over to Bob Paisley, rather than a collapse.
In those days, Shankly established the club’s basis, and Paisley completed the details, turning Liverpool into an unbeatable force. Today, with Liverpool leading the Premier League by seven points, as well as being one of the favourites to win the Champions League and go to the League Cup final, Arne Slot sees them speeding forward like a goods train, heading for yet another heyday.
1Jose Mourinho (64 points)
Chelsea, July 1st 2004
After leading Chelsea to a commanding 64 points after 25 league games in the 2003–04 season, Mourinho must have had an easy time adjusting to English football after orchestrating an unexpected league and Champions League double with Porto. During his first news conference, he famously referred to himself as “The Special One,” and he was nothing short of extraordinary, living up to the hype.
He won two league titles in just two Premier League seasons, one of which saw him set a record for the fewest goals allowed in a season with just 15. Mourinho’s entrance was a lesson in quick impact, solidifying his reputation as one of the best managers to ever stalk the touchline. If anyone could teach another manager how to make a strong first impression, it would be him.
