Norwich City's 3-2 victory over Manchester City at Carrow Road on Saturday was a result few saw coming but such upsets of defending champions by promoted teams are not as rare as some may suppose.
The Canaries' victory was the seventh time in the last eight seasons, since the start of 2012/13, that a team just up from the Championship have beaten the Premier League title-holders.
Newcastle United were the previous team to do so, in a 3-0 home win over Chelsea on the final day of 2017/18.
Promoted teams' recent wins v champions
| Season | Promoted team | Champions | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | SOU | MCI | 3-1 | H |
| 2014/15 | BUR | MCI | 1-0 | H |
| 2015/16 | BOU | CHE | 1-0 | A |
| 2016/17 | HUL | LEI | 2-1 | H |
| 2016/17 | BUR | LEI | 1-0 | H |
| 2017/18 | NEW | CHE | 3-0 | H |
| 2019/20 | NOR | MCI | 3-2 | H |
There was a time when such an occurrence was unusual.
Only four times in the 15 seasons between 1997/98 and 2011/12 did a promoted side defeat the previous season's title winners.
Lucky 13
On Saturday, not only did Norwich beat the champions soon after promotion but their victory also came in a Matchweek they started in the bottom three.
Such instances of teams in the relegation zone troubling champions used to be rare.
In the 11 seasons between 1996/97 and 2006/07, only once did a team starting the day in the bottom three beat the title holders.
That was Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were 20th, beating Manchester United 1-0 in January 2004.
But Norwich's win on Saturday was the 13th time such an upset has taken place in the last 13 seasons.
The previous two instances came in the first half of 2017/18, with Chelsea losing at both Crystal Palace and West Ham United in the space of two months.
Man City do not have long to wait before meeting their next bottom-three opponents. They host 20th-placed Watford on Saturday.
They next face a promoted opponent at the Etihad Stadium when Aston Villa visit on 26 October.