Chelsea were finally defeated on Saturday, when Newcastle ended any debate about whether Jose Mourinho’s side could match Arsenal’s Invincibles.
Ten years on from Arsene Wenger’s unbeatable Premier League champions, Chelsea had begun this campaign in fine style, winning 11 of their first 14 Premier League contests and drawing the other three.
Victories at Everton and Liverpool, plus points at Manchester City and Manchester United, and a home win over Arsenal, seemed to suggest the Blues were up to any test.
However, a Papiss Cisse double at St James’ Park brought Chelsea’s streak to an end – and raised debate about how they would respond, with second-placed Man City closing the gap at the top to three points.
Of the seven Premier League teams to go unbeaten for at least their first 14 games, only three have gone on to win the title. Can Mourinho’s men bounce back from Saturday’s disappointment to win the league?
Here, we look at three teams who made a better start to the season than Chelsea – and how they responded to their first defeat.
Manchester United, 24 games unbeaten - 2010-11
Finished: Champions
All was going well for Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson had celebrated becoming the club’s longest-serving manager in December and his team equalled United’s record run of 29 matches unbeaten with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford two months later. However, Wayne Rooney and co would not set a new benchmark as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Wolves four days after beating Villa.
United bounced back to win their next two – a Manchester derby at Old Trafford and 4-0 cruise at Wigan – but then suffered consecutive defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool and looked to be wobbling. However, United won six of their last nine and, despite another defeat – this time at Arsenal – won the Premier League by nine points from Chelsea.
Manchester City, 15 games unbeaten - 2012-13
Finished: Second
Manchester City had won their first Premier League title in thrilling fashion and were unbeaten through the first 15 games of their defence. However, five days after finishing rock-bottom of their Champions League group with defeat at Borusssia Dortmund, Roberto Mancini’s side were defeated on their own patch by Manchester United, thanks to a 93rd-minute deflected Robin van Persie free-kick.
Like United in 2010-11, City responded with two wins – seeing off Newcastle and Reading – before losing their third, as former employee Adam Johnson struck for Sunderland. However, unlike their neighbours, City then went on to lose at Southampton (3-1), Everton (2-0), Spurs (3-1) and at home to Norwich (2-3) as their league campaign unravelled. They finished the season 11 points behind champions United and Mancini left after an FA Cup final defeat to Wigan.
Arsenal, 15 games unbeaten - 2007/08
Finished: Third
Arsenal sold star striker and club captain Thierry Henry to Barcelona ahead of the 2007/08 campaign and there were two more high-profile departures in the shape of Freddie Ljungberg and Jose Antonio Reyes, however they began the season in flying form. Arsenal led the Premier League for two-thirds of the season, building on a tremendous start which featured 11 wins and four draws from their first 15 games. Defeat eventually arrived at Middlesbrough but Arsenal responded well and almost repeated their opening run, going undefeated in their next 14.
However, the final four matches of that sequence were draws and the fourth, a 1-1 with Boro, saw United knock Arsenal off the top of the Premier League. A 2-1 defeat at Chelsea followed and a third defeat came three games later at United. Despite winning their remaining four games, Arsenal finished third, two points behind Chelsea and four behind eventual champions United.
Watch Chelsea's next match - their Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon - live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm on Wednesday.