Leicester City, who had won the League Cup the season before, surprised everyone by taking the lead in the Premier League at this point. In their subsequent encounter, United defeated the Foxes to take the lead, and a run of eight straight victories allowed the Red Devils to pull ahead at the top of the standings.

For the remainder of the year, United held the top spot, and a 6-1 thumping of Arsenal at Old Trafford in February, which featured a hat-trick for Dwight Yorke in the first half, put Sir Alex Ferguson's club 16 points ahead of their nearest competitors. They clinched the championship in April, but defeats in their final three games cut their advantage to 10 points by the season's finish.

Two sides that had had outstanding seasons in European play faced off at Elland Road in November while United easily won the championship. As Leeds defeated Liverpool 4-3, Australian striker Viduka stole the show by scoring all four goals.

Leeds fell as low as 14th position in January despite the victory, but the arrival of West Ham defender Rio Ferdinand and an extraordinary run to the UEFA Champions League semifinals inspired David O'Leary's team.

Yorkshire jumped ahead of Leeds to claim the third and final Champions League berth on April 13 after winning the replay at Anfield, but McAllister's long-range free-kick in the waning seconds of Liverpool's 3-2 victory at Everton the next game allowed the Reds slip ahead of Leeds to claim the position. The Merseysiders' season came to a conclusion with a remarkable trifecta of victories in the League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League).