Premier League season lookback

The forced break must be frustrating for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s men were top of the table by 25 points and looking forward to their first Premier League trophy. They have played unbelievable football since the start of the season and fully deserve the trophy. They built on their Champions League win and looked unstoppable.

The team has benefited from stability with the rock-solid centre back Virgil Van Dijk , the attacking trio of Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane and goalkeeper Allison Becker forming the core. The young guns, full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold have continued their dazzling performances. However, Liverpool will miss out on Arsenal’s invincibles record having lost to Watford.

After a solid early start, defending champions Manchester City lost their way. Their star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has led the way with 16 assists. However, the injury to Aymeric Laporte was a big setback and hampered their performances significantly.

The 2016 champions Leicester City had an incredible start to the campaign including a record 9-0 win over Southampton before losing steam in the latter part of the season. Jamie Vardy has powered the Foxes with 19 goals including scoring in 8 consecutive games ably supported by youngsters Ayoze Perez and James Maddison.

Chelsea has had a mixed season so far and should consider themselves lucky to be in the Champions League spots. The transfer ban meant Chelsea manager Frank Lampard had to rely much more on young players Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson Odoi, Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount. Veteran Willian has had stand out performances.

In my next post, I will summarise the performances of PL teams in the relegation zone.