Before season 2011-12 got underway, Manchester City and Chelsea again splashed the cash like confetti to reach their intended targets.

City succeeded in claiming their first Premier League title and Chelsea were equally impressive after winning the European Cup for the first time, beating the mighty Bayern Munich at their own Allianz Arena in the final after a tense penalty shoot-out.

Last season, Premier League clubs spent £2.51 billion – £258 million more than they had actually earned as the competition generated £2.23 billion. Clubs dedicated almost £400 million of their income to transfers alone.

It took the oil-rich Manchester City owners around £900 million in investment over three years for the club to become champions of England.

At Chelsea, Russian mogul Roman Abramovich showed why his club has become the envy of all others as the players shared an amazing total of £10 million in bonuses after eliminating Barce-lona in the cup semi-finals before beating Bayern Munich.

In fact, each player in the Blues’ 25-man squad received £350,000 as a reward with Roberto di Matteo, now promoted permanent manager, picking up £500,000.

The Champions League was the title Abramovich had always craved for these past 10 years.

The crowd pullers
1. Manchester United - 75,387
2. Arsenal - 60,000
3. Newcastle United - 49,936
4. Manchester City - 47,045
5. Liverpool - 44,253
6. Chelsea - 41,478
7. Sunderland - 39,095
8. Tottenham Hotspur - 36,026
9. Aston Villa - 33,873
10. Everton - 33,228
11. Stoke City - 27,226
12. Norwich City - 26,548
13. Wolves - 25,672
14. Fulham - 25,293
15. West Bromwich - 24,798
16. Bolton Wanderers - 23,670
17. Blackburn Rovers - 22,551
18. Swansea City - 19,946
19. Wigan Athleti - 18,634
20. QPR - 17,295

Doubles

Home and away wins inflicted upon the same team by Premier League sides last season:

Manchester United (12): Bolton, Arsenal, Norwich, Tottenham, Sunderland, West Brom, Wolves, Fulham, Blackburn, QPR, Aston Villa, Swansea.

Manchester City (10): Wigan, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Norwich, Wolves, Manchester United, Newcastle, QPR.

Chelsea (5): Wolves, Sunderland, Bolton, QPR, Blackburn.

Tottenham (5): West Bromwich Albion, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Fulham.

Fulham (4): QPR, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan, Liverpool.

Arsenal (3): Sunderland, Aston Villa, West Brom.

Liverpool (3): Wolves, Everton, Chelsea.

Newcastle (3): Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Stoke.

Norwich City (3): QPR, Bolton, Swansea.

Bolton (2): QPR, Blackburn.

Everton (2): West Bromwich, Fulham.

Stoke (2): Blackburn, Wolves.

Sunderland (2): Stoke, QPR,

Swansea (2): West Bromwich Albion, Fulham.

West Brom (2): Wolves, Blackburn Rovers.

QPR (1): Stoke City.

Treble terriers

The hat-tricks achieved in 2011-12 Premier League action:

August 28: Dzeko scored four for Manchester City (away) vs Tottenham 5-1; Rooney for Manchester United (home) vs Arsenal 8-2.

September 11: Aguero for Manchester City (home) vs Wigan 3-0; Rooney for Manchester United (away) vs Bolton 5-0.

September 24: Ba for Newcastle (home) vs Blackburn 3-1.

October 2: Lampard for Chelsea (away) vs Bolton 5-1; Johnson for Fulham (home) vs QPR 6-0.

October 29: Van Persie for Arsenal (away) vs Chelsea 5-3.

December 3: Yakubu scored four for Blackburn Rovers (home) vs Swansea 4-2.

December 26: Berbatov for Manchester United (home) vs Wigan 5-0.

January 21: Dempsey for Fulham (home) vs Newcastle 5-2.

February 4: Van Persie for Arsenal (home) vs Blackburn 7-1.

February 12: Odemwingie for West Brom (away) vs Wolves 5-1.

March 4: Pogrebnyak for Fulham (home) vs Wolves 5-0.

April 14: Tevez for Man. City (away) vs Norwich 6-1.

April 28: Suarez for Liverpool (away) vs Norwich 3-0.

April 29: Torres for Chelsea (home) vs QPR 6-1.

Kick-off

The new Premier season kicks off on August 18. Man. City play Chelsea in the Community Shield at Villa Park, on August 12.