The hallmark of champions, grinding out 1-0 wins in the title run-in to stay a step ahead of the rest. "It means championship form. I don't mind the 1-0s, I really don't because it tells you we are determined, we're going to defend, do the right things and play as a team," Sir Alex Ferguson said on the subject in 2012.
But is this old Premier League cliché actually borne out of fact or is it simply now a myth that no longer carries any particular relevance?
According to numbers collected bybwin, it would indeedappear to be a myth.Only once in the last 10 years in England's top flighthas the team with the most 1-0 wins over the course of any given campaign finished that seasonas champions.
That was Manchester United in 2008/09 after recording as many as 10 victories by a 1-0 score-line. But in the other nine seasons from the period in question, the eventual champions have usually won five or fewer 1-0 games.
That Leicester managed as many as seven 1-0 wins on their way to lifting the Premier League trophy last season was actually something of an anomaly. Manchester United, drilled in Louis van Gaal's conservative tactics, stillrecorded more, though, and finished 5th.
Chelsea only won five games 1-0 in 2014/15, with mid-table pair Swansea and West Brom claiming two more each. In five seasons between 2009 and 2014, the champions (Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City) never won more than four games 1-0.
In the last 10 years, the likes of Crystal Palace (2013/14)and Birmingham City (2009/10)have both led the Premier League in 1-0 wins with eight and seven respectively. For those clubs, that league-highnumber of narrow victories was not the 'hallmark of champions' but more the difference between a comfortable mid-table finish and arelegation battle.
It is a pattern that is repeated across Europe's other top leagues as well,although perhaps itbears much less relevance than in England given the dominant nature of a small handful of clubs in those countries.
Only once in the last 10 years have the most frequent 1-0 winners been crowned champions in La Liga and the Bundesliga, which can possibly be explained by the fact that Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid often convincingly beat teams by several goals.
It has only happened twice in France. But similarly, both examples came before Paris Saint-Germain's reign of dominance. Only in Italy, where four of the last six champions have won by a 1-0 scoreline more often than anyone else, is there evidence that the traditional 'hallmark of champions' does actually exist.
Premier League Sides With the Most 1-0 Wins Each Season Since 2006:
To continue the discussion on Twitter follow @jamiespencer155
Visit www.facebook.com/jamiespencer155