Premier League Season Review (Part III)

Tottenham Hotspur. Potential Finish: 3rd. Final Position: 6th



Tottenham has had one of the best teams over the past five years that often challenged for the title, consisting of the likes of Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembélé, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane. They had a fantastic run to the Champions League Final last year but their results at the end of last season masked the problems the Lilywhites had. After their defeat in the final, it was clear that the team did not recover from the final and it looked like the team had reached its zenith. Their poor form at the start of the season led to the firing of Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho was appointed to take his place. Christian Eriksen left the club in January and injuries to Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min close to the end of the season made Spurs' run-in look blink. They were fortunate that the lockdown occurred which enabled them to have a fit squad when the season resumes. Tanguy Ndombele has been underwhelming for Spurs having been their record signing and has not been on good terms with Mourinho which puts his future uncertain. Mourinho will be hoping that he will get the funds to revamp the squad but that will be a big ask for Daniel Levy to say yes.


Leicester City. Potential Finish: 7th. Final Position: 5th



Leicester City was many people's team that had an outside chance of breaking into the top six, maybe even the top four as well. They had a young squad containing the likes of James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi whilst having the experienced heads of Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Jonny Evans. They have a fast second to the season, winning 12 of their first 18 games of the league which included a pulsating 9-0 victory against Southampton in October. However, they came crashing back to Earth following their 4-0 home defeat to Liverpool on Boxing Day which ended any sort of title push. But the worst was yet to come. Brendan Rodgers' side only won four games after that defeat before lockdown but still had a considerable point gap off their top-four rivals. Then things did not improve as Ricardo Pereira was out for the restart through injury with Maddison and Chilwell also missing the run-in. They lost four of the remaining nine games including games to Bournemouth, Tottenham and Manchester United as the Foxes finished fifth with 62 points. In hindsight, this has been a great season for Leicester with Jamie Vardy winning the Golden Boot but given what happened this season, they will have to feel disappointed that Champions League football will not be at the King Power next season.


Chelsea. Potential Finish: 5th. Final Position: 4th



Chelsea had another season of transition appointing former player Frank Lampard as their manager, replacing Maurizio Sarri who left for Juventus. They were also given a transfer ban which prevented them from getting any new signings while losing Eden Hazard, who left for Real Madrid. The former Derby County manager was given the task to bed in several young players in the squad from Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham to Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. The Blues were exciting to watch with their youthful spirit, scoring 69 goals with only Manchester City and Liverpool scoring more. Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham led the attacking at the start of the season but Lampard made heavy rotation throughout the season with Olivier Giroud and Christain Pulisic coming into the team at the end of the season. Their back-line, however, was a big Achilles heel for Lampard. They conceded 54 goals, the most in the top half. They missed the protective shield of N'golo Kante for much of the season through injury but their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has had a very disappointing season with Lampard dropping him in their final fixture against Wolves. The Blues have already made signings in Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech with more to come as their expectations will change next season.


Manchester United. Potential Finish: 6th. Final Position: 3rd

  

Ole Gunnar Solskjær was entering his first full season as Manchester United manager, letting go of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, and bringing in Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. It was a hit and miss start to the season, beating Chelsea and Leicester City but losing to Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth. They were playing a lot on the counter-attack which worked to full effect with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial leading the line with their pace and skill which was seen in their 2-1 away win against Manchester City. They missed Paul Pogba for much of the season through injury but their fortunes completely changed with the signing of Bruno Fernandes in January. The Portuguese signed from Sporting and gave United something new in their midfield with his creativity and directness. We were also given what United can be with both Fernandes and Pogba in midfield, which is an exciting prospect for next season. United's form from February was great, winning nine of their last 14 league games which enabled them to finish third and play in the Champions League next season. The Red Devils will look to improve next season, having been with the likes of Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho plus the emergence of Mason Greenwood but the form of David de Gea has been a worry, as well as the need for an upgrade of Nemanja Matic. Solskjær has made this season a success for United but will be hoping that this is a springboard for something bigger and more successful in the future.


Manchester City. Potential Finish: 1st. Final Position: 2nd



After winning the title for two straight years while accumulating 198 points in the process, many believe that the Skyblues juggernaut will keep marching on despite the threat of Liverpool. They made big acquisitions in Rodri and João Cancelo but lost captain and defensive stalwart Vincent Kompany who departed back to Belgium. Pep Guardiola's choice not to sign a centre-back in the summer would eventually come back to haunt him as the missed out on the title. Even though finishing second was the lowest City could finish, they will be disappointed how they fell off this season and the points gap between them and Liverpool. They lost nine games this season which included Liverpool, Norwich City, Manchester United twice and Wolves twice. Aymeric Laporte's injury at the start of the season forced Guardiola to alter his defence and midfield which cost them games as well as how poor his attack was at times in taking their chances despite scoring over a hundred goals. The shining light of their season was Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian was magnificent this season, scoring 13 goals and making 20 assists. The joint highest in Premier League history, matching Thierry Henry. Raheem Sterling had his best goal-scoring season while David Silva ended his ten-year stay at the Etihad. Manchester City will react to Liverpool's title win aggressively in the transfer market and they look to be Liverpool's main title rival next season.


Liverpool. Potential Finish: 2nd. Final Position: 1st



Speaking of Liverpool, they reached 97 points last season but missed out on the title. Many wondered how the Reds would react after missing out on the title despite how fantastic they were last season. This season, they weren't flashy on the eye but they were simply ruthless and efficient which has propelled them to the league title for the first time in the Premier League era and their first top-flight title in thirty years. They had the best start ever in any of Europe's top five leagues winning 22 of their first 23 games with no one getting close to them. There have been various moments this season for Liverpool from their two late goals in their win away at Aston Villa, their complete domination over Leicester City on Boxing Day and their 2-0 win over Manchester United when Mohamed Salah scored the winner and the fans on the Kop shouted, "We're gonna win the league" with sheer confidence. They did not go unbeaten as they lost to Watford and did not break the highest points tally as they finished with 99 points but that should not diminish the achievements Jürgen Klopp's side has done. They won the league with the most games to spare, had the most points at home and matched the highest amount of wins in a league season. It almost didn't happen due to the pandemic but the Premier League was able to finish, giving Liverpool the glory they rightfully deserve. From Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk to Sadio Mané to Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Liverpool players have been unbelievable and have placed themselves in Liverpool history forever. It will not be easy next season as the competition will get stronger from Manchester City to Chelsea but this Liverpool is not going anywhere and will be competing for honours for the next few years