PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON REVIEW

-By Varun Sangwan

THE TITLE RACE

The title race was effectively over by December when Liverpool held a 13 point lead with a game in hand over then defending champions Manchester City. At the time it looked like Liverpool were going to finish the season unbeaten until March 1 when Liverpool were beaten 3-0 by Watford driven by Ismaila Sarr. It turned out to be a bad week for Liverpool supporters as they were also knocked out of the Champions League by Athletico Madrid 4 - 2 on aggregate.. After Corona-virus hit the UK, football came to a halt and it looked like Liverpool would be robbed of their first League title in 30 years if the season was declared null and void..

However football resumed in June and Liverpool won the title courtesy of Chelsea defeating Manchester City. They lifted the title following a dramatic match against Chelsea which ended 5 - 3 in their favour..

THE RACE FOR TOP 4

Even though the title race was a bit boring this year with one team running riot, the race for top 4 was as action packed as anyone could imagine.. Manchester City were handed a 2 year ban on Champions League football earlier in the season which was eventually reversed nearing the end of the season following an appeal. Man City and Liverpool were the only two teams who were comfortable in securing Champions League football for the 2020 - 21 season...

Leicester City started the campaign brilliantly with Brendan Rogers' team being firmly placed in 3rd spot for a long-long time. Fast flowing attacking football reminded the Foxes' fans of the football they played to win the title and in my honest opinion, this Leicester side was slightly better than the team that won the title under Claudio Ranieri. Post lock-down, the wheels came off with some injuries to crucial players and they lost the plot on the final day to Manchester United and have to be content with Thursday night football. Key Players from this campaign were James Maddison, Ayoze Perez, Chilwell and Jamie Vardy who was also the Golden Boot winner.

All credit to Frank Lampard who returned to Stamford Bridge heroically, guaranteeing them a place in the top 4. Chelsea had been slapped with a transfer ban early on in the season and Frank Lampard used the team at his disposal well and were always going to be in the top4 even if they had to wait until the last do to confirm that. Players like Mason Mount, Matteo Kovacic, Cesar Azpilicueta were crucial in their campaign and Olivier Giroud's late burst of form really helped the Blues' cause and gave them 

Manchester United began the season with a 4 - 0 win against Chelsea but then things started to go horribly wrong and by mid- November sat 10th in the league and the prospect of European football looked a fantasy especially with the form of Wolves and Sheffield United who sat comfortably above them. The fan base was in dissaray with many calling for Solskjaer's head. It all changed however after the turn of the year and the arrival of Portuguese play-maker who almost single-handedly took us into the top 4 with him contributing goals and assists in plenty. Ole's philosophy, the one he talked about being the United way suddenly came together and United have been unbeaten in the Premier League since February. A 2 - 0 win over Leicester on the final day confirmed our return to Europe's top tier.  

The Top 4...

THE OTHER EUROPEAN PLACES..

Leicester City finished fifth following a dismal run of form post lock-down. Spurs took the other place in 6th with Jose Mourinho guiding them after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked midway through the season after poor performances and poor league position. 

Wolves will be hoping to make it to their second consecutive European campaign hoping that Chelsea win the FA Cup and not Arsenal.. Also they could make it to the Champions League this season if they win the Europa League.. 

The Europa League slots

MID TABLE...

Arsenal were disappointing in every sense of the word this season - finishing 8th, their worst position since before Arsene Wenger. Burnley were resilient and Sean Dyche's men continued to defy expectations as they finished in the top half of the season with many analysts having written them off and expecting thrm to be involved in a relegation scramble. 

Sheffield United played an unbelievable season mainly thanks to Chris Wilder's tactics and the team lacking what many would call - a match winner. Sheffield United heavily over-performed with many touting them to finish bottom of the league and were a shout for European places until the final three games of the season.

Southampton were subjected to the worst Premier League defeat at home in their history with them being thrashed 9 - 0 against Leicester City and Ralph Hassenhutl's men looked poised to go down . But that ended up being the moment when they started to rise courtesy of Danny Ings who score 22 goals this season and become the only second Southampton player to score 20 goals in a season. 

Brighton and Hove Albion continued their stay in the Premier Division with Graham Potter's men led by Neil Maupay able to stave off any relegation threat with ease.. 

RELEGATION SCRAP

West Ham and Aston Villa pulled off remarkable escapes this season with Aston Villa managing to eke out a draw against the Hammers on final day with them taking 10 of the available 12 points of the last four matches. Jack Grrealish was really a one man army and now is looking forward to a new season in the top flight- be it in Villa colours or not... West Ham had to recall David Moyes to pick them out of the relegation scrap, something he achieved on his former hunting groung- Old Trafford where they drew 1 - 1. Mikhail Antonio's form post lock-down was crucial for them.

Bournemouth never really looked the part this season and you cant help but feel sorry for Eddie Howe who worked so hard to get this team from almost being relegated to non-league football to come up to the Premier League. But the fairy tale is over and they look to a season in England's unpredictable second tier hoping to come back.. 

Watford have their board to blame for their return to the Championship with them sacking 4 managers during this season. They finally had gotten thing right with the appointment of Nigel Pearson who led their team out of the relegation zone but after him being sacked just 2 games before the end of the season on what seems like disagreement with the board, the Hornets dropped down to 19th with their losses in those final games...

Norwich did start the season brightly with Teemu Pukki scoring for fun and Daniel Farke's men looked the part especially with a win over then defending champions Manchester City. But since then they were abysmal and were the first team to be relegated...

Relegation Places

THE DEVIL'S DEN - TEAM OF THE YEAR

THE DEVIL'S DEN - PLAYER OF THE YEAR

KEVIN DE BRUYNE : It has to be said, Kevis De Bruyne is the best midfielder on the planet right now. He broke the record for the most assists in a season registering 20 in the Premier League and also contributing 13 goals. Thus he is worthy of our Player Of The Year...

THE DEVIL'S DEN - GOAL OF THE YEAR

SON HEUNG MIN : He dribbled the ball past the Burnley defense with astonishing ease and scored a well rounded goal..

THE DEVIL'S DEN - YOUNG (U21) PLAYER OF THE YEAR

MASON GREENWOOD : There could be no other winner for this. The eighteen year old bagged in 10 goals in the Premier League and also an assist while not playing many minutes and has a goal involvement of 0.75 per 90. Pretty astonishing figures for a teenager...

THE DEVIL'S DEN - MANAGER OF THE YEAR

CHRIS WILDER : Literally everybody had written off Sheffield United before the start of the season and many saw them finishing rock bottom of the league but Chris Wilder got them playing some fine football after tweaking his formation to a 3 - 4 - 1 - 2. The Blades lacked a proven match-winner but still because of Wilder's tactical approach found themselves flirting with European places for most of the season.The overlapping center-backs is going to prove to be a real force next season..

THE DEVIL'S DEN - SIGNING OF THE SEASON

BRUNO FERNANDES : There is no other player more deserving of this award. His arrival transformed the Red Devils who were seriously under-performing and helped them secure Champions League football. Even when he is not playing well, he adds to his stats. Since his arrival at the Theater Of Dreams, he has scored 8 and assisted 7 goals with a goal involvement of 1.13 per 90 minutes which is out of this world. His impact is too much to discuss in this segment and I will be doing an article just about this...