Scoring goals will put you in the lead, but protecting your own net will get you points. Football is a game in which we like seeing goals scored left and right. It makes things more watchable and fun for us viewers. But football experts, and especially managers, are much more content when they finish the game without conceding a goal.
Jose Mourinho is the prime example of a manager who prefers to protect his own net primarily. Max Allegri is another one. However, the two drastically differ as Mourinho managed to transfer his defensive style into ways of winning multiple European trophies.
Nevertheless, today we want to tackle the concept of teams with the most clean sheets in the Premier League and how it affects the results that they’ve made.
Most Clean Sheets in EPL 2023/24
Looking back at the most recent history, Arsenal were the club who were able to protect their own net the most last season. In the season behind us, the Gunners managed 18 games without conceding a goal. They earned the Premier League most clean sheets title mainly thanks to goalkeeper David Raya, who was tremendous at goal.
However, surprisingly enough Everton were the second team with the most clean sheets in EPL in 2023/24. They managed 13 of those and tied Manchester City, the title winners, in second place. But the Toffees’ results differed drastically from the Gunners and the Cityzens.
Sean Dyche’s men barely escaped relegation as they finished 15th in the table.
Most Clean Sheets in Premier League History
If we take a look at it from a historical perspective, you might be surprised that Manchester United is the team with the most clean sheets in EPL history. The Red Devils went 506 games without allowing a goal.
Chelsea is trailing behind them with 482 games, and Arsenal is third with 471 games. Surprisingly, the current champions, Man City, are in sixth place with 361 games. The Cityzens may be the most dominant team in the Premier League at the moment, but the situation was far different some ten or twenty years ago.
Manchester Utd may not be the force that they once were. However, under Sir Alex Ferguson, they were the most dominant team in Europe, allowing them to rack up many games without conceding a goal.
Most Clean Sheets this Season
Not to anyone’s surprise, the team with the most clean sheets at the start of the season is Arsenal. They kept their defence intact and have bought David Raya on a permanent deal, making one of the most rock-solid defences in the league. Alongside them are Liverpool, with three clean sheets in four games.
David Raya was the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets last season with 16. Before him, it was David De Gea with 17 during his final season at Man Utd. Allison Becker and David Raya are goalkeepers with the most clean sheets this season. Allowing both the Reds and the Gunners prime title contenders this season.
As far as history goes, the undisputed goalkeeper in EPL history is the legendary Czech goalkeeper, Petr Cech. He went 202 games without allowing a goal in.
