Football matches have lasted for 90 minutes since the Victorian age – and there’s one or two high-profile Premier League managers that’ll be glad that games aren’t over after the first half.
Although the season is less than 10 games old, there’s already been plenty of thrills and spills as the best clubs in England have produced some captivating football.
But all Premier League managers will agree about the importance of starting games quickly – or, at least, not slowly – which makes the half-time table for this season’s top flight extremely interesting.
While Arsenal and Manchester City continue to set the pace, Liverpool’s troubles are laid bare; they’d be rock bottom of the Premier League if matches only lasted 45 minutes.
On the other hand, Leicester City would be nestling in a European place if matches were only half of the regulation length which gives Brendan Rodgers, who has seen his side throw away leads with alarming regularity, something to chew on.
Nottingham Forest, who have struggled in their first Premier League season in the 21st century, would also be faring much better if referees weren’t such sticklers for starting the second half. But Chelsea and Manchester United would fare slightly worse under these new rules.
We’ve crunched the numbers to work out the 2022-23 Premier League table if matches only lasted 45 minutes.
1. Arsenal – 9 games, 20 points, +8 GD
2. Manchester City – 9 games, 19 points, +12 GD
3. Tottenham – 9 games, 18 points, +4 GD
4. Newcastle United – 9 games, 16 points, +6 GD
5. Brighton – 8 games, 13 points, +3 GD
6. Leicester City – 9 games, 13 points, +2 GD
7. Manchester United – 8 games, 13 points, -6 GD
8. Chelsea – 8 games, 12 points, 0 GD
9. Nottingham Forest – 9 games, 12 points, -3 GD
10. Crystal Palace – 8 games, 11 points, +2 GD
11. Aston Villa – 9 games, 11 points, 0 GD
12. Everton – 9 games, 10 points, -1 GD
13. Wolves – 9 games, 10 points, -2 GD
14. Fulham – 9 games, 10 points, -3 GD
15. Leeds United – 8 games, 8 points, 0 GD
16. Brentford – 9 games, 8 points, -2 GD
17. West Ham United – 9 games, 7 points, -3 GD
18. Southampton – 9 games, 7 points, -4 GD
19. Bournemouth – 9 games, 6 points, -12 GD
20. Liverpool, 8 games, 4 points, -1 GD
READ MORE: Ranking every 22-23 Premier League club by average age of their squad
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