Following Leicester City’s rise to the pinnacle of the Premier League in the first half of the season, many have begun to tout the Foxes as strong contenders for the title and with good reason, as their recent performances and Premier League history suggests.
The Premier League title has been won by the team on top of the League by Christmas a staggering 11 times, and with the way Leicester’s going this season might be the 12th time a team’s won it from being top at Christmas unless the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal think otherwise.
But with all that said let’s take a look at the 11 times when winter champions went on to win the tittle.
2Chelsea FC (Four times)
Chelsea won the Premier League under Jose Mourinho in the 2004-05 season. It was their first English League title in 50 years and as expected it was a moment relished by Abramovich and Mourinho alike.
It was Mourinho’s first season with the Blues and being a successful spell it encouraged Roman Abramovich to continue spending large chunks of cash in subsequent seasons.
The second time came the following season (2005/06) With Jose Mourinho still in charge. It was Chelsea’s successive league title victory as they won the league with an 8 point gap over title rivals Manchester United.
The third time came during the 2009-10 campaign in Carlo Ancelotti’s first season as Chelsea manager.
Despite disappointment in the Champions League, the club had the most successful season in its history, winning the Premier League for a third time and retaining the FA Cup for the first time.
Didier Drogba was a key player in the title winning campaign as he scored a record 29 league goals and 37 goals in all competitions which won him the Premier League Golden Boot award.
The fourth time Chelsea won the league after being top at Christmas was during the 2014-15 season in Jose Mourinho’s second season back at the club.
It was also Chelsea’s fourth Premier League title victory and they finished the season 8 points clear at the top with 87 points as opposed to Manchester City’s 79.
