Premier League
Club-by-club review of the Premier League season
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/arsenal-amtch.jpg)
Manchester City won a record fourth straight Premier League crown on Sunday, finishing two points ahead of Arsenal.
Following is a summary of the campaigns of the 20 top-flight clubs, listed in order of their final positions:
1-MANCHESTER CITY
City were pushed hard by Arsenal but once again proved masters in closing a title race to become the first English top-flight club to win four successive league championships.
Liverpool cracked under City’s relentless pressure and while Arsenal took it to the wire, a run of 19 wins and four draws since their last defeat saw Pep Guardiola’s side prevail.
Even more impressively they had to make do without midfielder Kevin de Bruyne for several months while striker Erling Haaland also had injuries, but such is the depth of City’s squad that they simply continued churning out wins.
It is hard to pick out individuals from a supreme squad although this felt like the season that the league’s player of the year Phil Foden stepped completely out of De Bruyne’s shadow, scoring 19 league goals
Already the question is who can stop City making it five in a row next season.
2-ARSENAL
Arsenal proved they have come a long way since last season as they pushed Manchester City to the final day of the title-race, finishing runners-up with 89 points — one fewer than the total achieved by The Invincibles in 2003-04.
Ultimately it was not enough to dislodge City from their perch, but Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal proved that they are now a force to be reckoned with.
Declan Rice fully justified his 100 million pounds ($126.82 million) price tag as he commanded Arsenal’s midfield, while Bukayo Saka, with 16 league goals, and skipper Martin Odegaard had tremendous seasons.
Arteta told fans on Sunday not to be satisfied and that’s the message he will spend the close season preaching to his players.
3-LIVERPOOL
Outgoing manager Juergen Klopp did not get the farewell he hoped for as the unlikely dream of a quadruple evaporated during a dreadful run of form beginning with a dramatic FA Cup defeat at arch-rivals Manchester United in mid-March.
Third place and the League Cup is all Liverpool have to show for a season that once again faded at the business end, just as it did two seasons ago when they lost the title by a point and the Champions League final by one goal.
But, after a wholesale overhaul of an ageing midfield, the Reds seem ahead of schedule towards what Klopp has described as “Liverpool 2.0”, in particular with breakout seasons for academy prospects including Northern Ireland full-back Conor Bradley.
The project will continue under departing Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, who inherits a high-class team but one that needs a few tweaks to match the league’s latest top two next term.
4-ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa’s dream season under Spanish manager Unai Emery ended with fourth place and a Champions League spot, a first qualification for Europe’s elite club competition since 1982-83 when they entered the European Cup as holders.
Villa, 150 years old in 2024, were 14th and sinking fast when Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in October 2022 and he has masterminded a remarkable turnaround in fortunes with some smart additions to the squad and a more attacking mindset.
Boosted by the goals of Ollie Watkins and an eight-game winning run at home from the start of the campaign that was surprisingly ended by Sheffield United (1-1) in December, the early momentum faltered towards the end of the season but provided the platform for their top four finish.
A disappointment will be their surprise exit from the Europa Conference League semi-finals at the hands of Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus, which included a 4-2 home defeat in a competition Emery would have been eyeing for success.
5-TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
There is a sense of disappointment about Tottenham’s first season under Ange Postecoglou as a wretched run of form in the closing weeks put paid to their top-four hopes.
But had fans been offered fifth place and a return to the club’s mantra of ‘daring football’ ahead of the campaign, especially having seen England striker Harry Kane depart to Bayern Munich, they surely would have taken it.
Postecoglou’s high-intensity, risk-taking style helped Spurs enjoy their best start after 10 games of a Premier League season although cracks soon appeared as it proved too much for some of the current squad.
He will not change his philosophy though and the club would be foolish not to match the Australian’s ambition with high-quality signings in the close season, especially with a return to continental football in the Europa League to cope with.
6-CHELSEA
Qualification for Europe next season looked like a dream for inconsistent Chelsea during much of the season, but a late run of form – powered by top scorer Cole Palmer – earned Mauricio Pochettino’s side a Europa Conference League spot.
In early March, with the club in the lower half of the table and stinging from a League Cup final defeat by Liverpool, Pochettino had to endure abusive chanting from some Chelsea fans fed up with so little return on a 1 billion pounds spending spree since a U.S. private equity-led takeover in 2022.
Then Chelsea put together their best form since the Roman Abramovich era, losing only once in their last 15 games and winning their last five as an injury crisis abated.
While speculation about Pochettino’s future at the club has not lifted entirely, his next challenge may be to cope with any sales of players by the club to meet financial rules, which would probably focus on “pure-profit” academy talent such as midfielder Conor Gallagher or defender Trevoh Chalobah.
7-NEWCASTLE UNITED
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe must be secretly pleased that drama elsewhere in the Premier League has taken the focus off his Saudi Arabian-funded club, which has quietly but undeniably underperformed expectations this season.
A fourth-place finish last term and return to the Champions League looked to be teeing the Tynesiders up for a spell at football’s top table, but a slew of injuries and controversies have seen them fail to push on.
The long ban handed out to Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali for gambling-related offences robbed the team of a promising playmaker, and injuries often prevented Howe from fielding his best side, but even when he could, they were no match for the top clubs – or, indeed, some of the bottom ones.
Injuries aside, a squad of Newcastle’s depth – not to mention the deep pockets of their owners – demands a top-four finish and, after falling short this year, Howe will have some thorny questions to answer.
8-MANCHESTER UNITED
A depressing season littered with comprehensive defeats by better organised and more motivated teams operating on far smaller budgets has left new owner Jim Ratcliffe with major headaches.
Manager Erik ten Hag described United as one of the most entertaining sides in the league and he was right, but only because they were so easy to play against, lacked any coherent game plan and were often guilty of shocking game management.
A highly unlikely FA Cup final victory over Manchester City would provide a bit of cheer and Ratcliffe has started the much-needed restructuring of the club’s senior management team.
Dutchman Ten Hag’s time is surely up and a ruthless overhaul of the squad is needed before United can even think about returning to the top table of English football.
9-WEST HAM UNITED
A top-half finish and another strong run in Europe failed to placate a sizeable majority of West Ham fans who needed little invitation to criticise manager David Moyes.
They argued that Moyes was not the man to take the club to the next level but the Scot will leave the club at the end of the season with plenty of credit in the bank.
While it was true West Ham missed Declan Rice and suffered some heavy beatings, there were still notable scalps including wins at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and they pushed Bayer Leverkusen hard in the Europa League quarter-finals.
A new approach can be expected under Julen Lopetegui next season but Moyes has handed the club over in good shape.
10-CRYSTAL PALACE
Roy Hodgson guided Palace to safety last season but results this campaign under the former Liverpool and England boss did not meet expectations and he stepped down in February with the South London club 16th in the table.
Oliver Glasner was appointed as his replacement and results quickly looked up, with a win and two draws in his first four matches lifting them out of the relegation dogfight.
In the last few weeks of the season, the Austrian has further revitalised a young Palace side, claiming big wins over Liverpool and Manchester United and setting them up for a bright future – if they can keep hold of talents like Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze.
11-BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
Brighton completed the best season in their 123-year history in the 2022-23 campaign when they finished sixth and won rave reviews for their playing style and the tactical acumen of manager Roberto De Zerbi.
But they could not build on that success and, if anything, the 2023-24 season was one of regression where, after a strong start in which they won five of their first six games, they had to settle for mid-table mediocrity and a last-16 exit in the Europa League at the hands of AS Roma.
The loss of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister ripped the heart out of their midfield and they failed to dominate possession like before, winning three Premier League matches between September and February, a run of 18 games.
They limped across the finish line and with no European football next season, perhaps a reason why manager Roberto de Zerbi has ended his stay, they could be left to fight once more to keep hold of the best of their young talent.
12-BOURNEMOUTH
Andoni Iraola had an awful start to life as a Premier League manager when Bournemouth went the first nine games without a win despite the club spending more than 100 million pounds ($126.8 million) on new players in the close season.
But Bournemouth believed the Spaniard could turn things around as they adopted a high-pressing style that is not easy for players to grasp quickly and once the team learned to press as a unit, they registered some impressive results.
Despite a dip in form earlier this year, they slowly clawed their way up the table.
Striker Dominic Solanke recorded career-best top-flight figures with 19 goals and Iraola ended his debut campaign in England with a Manager of the Season nomination for their remarkable turnaround.
13-FULHAM
Fulham may not have reached the heights of last season’s top-half Premier League finish, but survival was the objective as they sought to rid themselves of the ‘yo-yo club’ tag.
Pre-season predictions had been pessimistic, especially when they looked set to lose manager Marco Silva, before he signed a new contract.
They did lose their leading scorer from the previous two seasons, Aleksandar Mitrovic, but Rodrigo Muniz returned from his loan spell at Middlesbrough and while he struggled early on with injuries the Brazilian netted nine goals.
Unlike last season, Fulham managed wins over top clubs this campaign, with victories against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, and if Silva remains at the club their future in the Premier League looks promising.
14-WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Despite some gloomy predictions for Wolves, they stayed well out of the relegation zone throughout the season, produced some memorable performances, and would surely have finished better than 14th had star man Pedro Neto stayed fit.
Fans would say the Video Assistant Refereee (VAR) also took the shine off their season after more than their fair share of dubious decisions that began on the opening day when wrongly denied a penalty away at Manchester United.
However, Gary O’Neil’s side managed some eye-catching results, including victory over league champions Manchester City at home and doubles over both Tottenham and Chelsea.
Wolves’ South Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan had a superb season with 12 league goals. And brilliant Portuguese winger Neto gave them flair and thrust every time he played, but his appearances were limited by injury and results dropped without him at the end of the season.
15-EVERTON
For the third year in a row Everton spent most of the season worrying about relegation, and though they had to deal with the added problem of an eight-point deduction for financial irregularities, they still looked and played like a team for whom mid-table mediocrity would represent success.
They did finish with a flourish, winning four and drawing two in a seven-game surge to safety, including their first home victory over Liverpool for 14 years which was probably the highlight of their season and was greeted with a taunting 10 minute chant of “You lost the league at Goodison Park.”
Although solid at the back, boasting the fourth-best defence in the league, they were desperately short of class in midfield and attack where their paltry return of 40 goals was the second-worst and next season, their 70th unbroken in the top flight is likely to be another struggle against the backdrop of their protracted takeover and planned move to a new stadium.
16-BRENTFORD
Brentford stayed up comfortably enough in the end but only after sliding perilously close to the drop zone in a tough season with injuries and absences taking a toll.
Ninth last season, when they punched above their weight to finish ahead of west London rivals Chelsea and Fulham, the Bees’ third Premier League campaign was more challenging.
Goalkeeper David Raya joined Arsenal at the start of the season, England forward Ivan Toney was unavailable until January after an eight month ban for betting offences and Bryan Mbeumo was out for months after ankle surgery.
Rico Henry suffered a knee injury in the fifth game of the season while Ben Mee was out from February with a fractured ankle, joining Ethan Pinnock and Aaron Hickey on a list of injured defenders.
“It’s our entire back four from last season now out,” manager Thomas Frank lamented in March.
While standing out as a side painfully incapable of defending a lead, Brentford did still manage to beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage.
17-NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Following a season of toil made more challenging by a four-point deduction for breaching Premier League Profit & Sustainability Rules, Forest were not mathematically safe until the final day.
After a brush with a relegation battle in their first season back in the topflight in 2022-23, it was expected they would kick-on, but 20 defeats in 38 games is far too many and a run of one victory in 13 led to the sacking of much loved manager Steve Cooper just before Christmas.
Forest had an average 0.82 points per game up until then and appointed Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo to the helm. Things got marginally better, the next 21 games yielded 1.05 points per match and the side limped to safety.
The club were furious over several refereeing displays through the season and an ill-advised social media post after a loss at Everton led to a charge of misconduct and ultimately the resignation of Forest’s referee consultant Mark Clattenburg.
18-LUTON TOWN
Few gave Luton much hope of surviving their first top-flight season for more than 30 years and while they did go straight back down Rob Edwards’s team won plenty of respect.
After losing their first four games Luton were already written off but they found their feet and a fine run of form either side of the new year had them dreaming of staying up.
Injuries to key players such as Albert Sambi Lokonga hit hard though and despite continuing to play some enterprising football against some of the big clubs, a run of one win in 17 from early February sealed their fate.
With a new stadium on the horizon and the impressive Edwards at the helm, the immediate future looks good for Luton.
19-BURNLEY
While the Clarets won promotion back to the Premier League with a Championship record seven matches remaining last season, the top flight was too steep a step up for Vincent Kompany’s men, who were relegated with one game remaining.
There were glimpses of excellence from Burnley, who had a strong stretch of just one defeat in eight games between March and April, helping to stave off relegation until their penultimate game, a 2-1 loss to Tottenham. Kompany promised fans after the game that: “We will have the good times again.”
Kompany’s future with the team is uncertain with some crticising his attacking style of football, which worked well in the Championship but proved costly this season.
20-SHEFFIELD UNITED
A horrible season saw the Blades branded as one of the worst Premier League teams of all time and dumped back down to the Championship with barely a whimper.
Their 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United on April 27th confirmed the inevitable relegation and their season hit a new low on May 4 when they became the first Premier League team to concede 100 goals in a 38-game season.
Paul Heckingbottom became the league’s first managerial casualty of the season when he was sacked on Dec. 5 but the return of Chris Wilder had little impact, although he is likely to lead the rebuild at Bramall Lane.
-Reuters
Premier League
Salah uncertain about his future at Liverpool
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/salah.jpg)
Egyptian publication, Ahram has published that Liverpool’s Egyptian winger, Mohamed Salah, expressed uncertainty about his future with the club on Sunday, citing the impending expiration of his contract at the end of this season.
The 32-year-old shone on Sunday as Liverpool delivered a stunning 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in a Premier League fixture.
Salah played a pivotal role in the win, assisting in the first two goals before finding the net for the third, bringing his goal tally to three in three games so far this season.
“I had a good summer and had a long time to myself to try to stay positive because as you know it’s my last year at the club, “Salah told Sky Sports after the game on Sunday.
“Nobody at the club has spoken to me yet about a new contract so. I just play this last season and then see at the end of the season.”
When asked about the possibility of playing for Manchester United, Salah responded that it is premature to discuss such matters.
“So far, we don’t know with which club, but so far yeah my last game here with Liverpool. It’s not up to me but nobody talk to me about a contract with the club. We’ll see.”
The Egyptian winger joined Liverpool in the summer of 2017 from Italian side AS Roma.
He has made 352 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool, scoring 214 goals and providing 92 assists.
Premier League
Man Utd humbled as Diaz double helps Liverpool humiliate rivals
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_S5FE3KYF5FMS7J7MA2MR4IDBAY.jpg)
Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag’s side humbled by their fierce rivals.
Liverpool dominated a United team who could not keep pace with them in the first half, the visitors taking the lead in the 35th minute through a back-post header from Diaz after United midfielder Casemiro had given the ball away.
Casemiro was again at fault for Diaz and Liverpool’s second, again supplied by Mohamed Salah, with the Colombia international sweeping home three minutes before the break, sending United supporters off for their halftime refreshments early.
With United on the ropes, Liverpool smelled blood after the break, Salah adding a third 11 minutes into the second half, but the visitors settled for three as they maintained their 100% record this season under new coach Arne Slot.
“The goals are always self-inflicted,” United captain Bruno Fernandes told Sky Sports. “You need to commit a mistake to give them the goal. We don’t need to be pointing fingers at everyone. that won’t help us now.
“When you concede a goal you can’t just point at one mistake. We don’t have to look at the past. We just have to make it different. We lost the game, congratulations to Liverpool, they were more clinical. I don’t look at the stats but the game was tight.”
After a positive summer in the transfer market and fresh faces in the boardroom, last week’s last-gasp defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion gave United supporters a stark reminder of the improvements still needed on the pitch.
Sunday’s visit of a Liverpool side who had lost just one of their previous 12 Premier League meetings with United will have caused a great deal of concern pre-match.
Those more pessimistic fans were fearing the worst as Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to have fired Liverpool into an early lead at Old Trafford, only for VAR to step in and save the hosts, adjudging Salah to be offside earlier in the move.
United settled into the contest without troubling Liverpool down the other end of the pitch, allowing the visitors to pick their moments when they came.
Casemiro’s wayward pass ensured the Slot’s side did not have to try too hard to unlock their rivals, Diaz applying the finishing touch to get Liverpool up and running.
Diaz’s third of the season was another fine finish, but another Casemiro will want to forget. The flying Liverpool forward has now scored more Premier League goals against United than any other opponent.
Yet another mistake in midfield, this time from Kobbie Mainoo, was ruthlessly punished by Salah in the second half, the Egyptian cementing his pace as the highest-scoring opposition player at Old Trafford in Premier League history — seven strikes.
The visitors thereafter cruised to a victory that means Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win his first meeting with United since Bob Paisley in November 1975, and just the second to do so away from home after George Kay in November 1936.
“Everything what you want to see as a manager you saw in this game,” Slot said. “There were difficult moments for us, United started really well but then we have disallowed goal and there was no negative reaction, kept on playing, scoring three, could have scored more.
“There were two important saves from our goalkeeper and the work rate was incredibly well without the ball and that makes it a very positive day.”
-Reuters
Premier League
Brighton end 10-man Arsenal’s winning start
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_N2B4ELQX5VPFXNKLNYOLY7QTIU.jpg)
Brighton and Hove Albion ended Arsenal’s winning start to the new Premier League season with a 1-1 draw at The Emirates on Saturday, with the home side holding on with 10 men after Declan Rice’s second-half sending off.
Arsenal dominated the first half and deservedly lead at half time after Kai Havertz finished brilliantly in the 38th minute, having been played in expertly by Bukayo Saka.
Four minutes into the second half, however, Arsenal’s task was made all the harder when Rice was sent off after picking up a second yellow card. Brazilian striker Joao Pedro fired Brighton level 12 minutes later.
Both sides missed golden chances to win the contest late on, but they each had to settle for a point that keeps Arsenal and Brighton unbeaten from their three games so far.
“We started the game really well,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports. “We scored the goal, 1-0. We started the second half really good but then there is the decision that changes the game completely.
“If it (second yellow card) happens throughout the game in a consistent way it is fine but it didn’t. It is the inconsistency.”
After narrowly missing out on their first Premier League title since 2004 last season, Arsenal started the new term in perfect fashion.
With champions Manchester City also coming into this weekend’s fixtures with two wins from two at the start of the new season, Arsenal know any slip-up, even this early in the campaign, could be costly.
They appeared set to be course for a ninth successive league victory after a dominant first-half display. Skipper Martin Odegaard should have scored earlier in the opening period before Havertz lofted home his second of the campaign.
Rice’s second yellow for trying to stop Brighton taking a quick free kick, a decision that was met with consternation around the stands, turned the tide in the visitors’ favour.
Since Boxing Day 2019 – Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge of Arsenal – the Gunners have been shown 16 red cards in the Premier League, at least three more than any other side. But it was Rice’s first red in his 245th Premier League appearance.
Following his last-gasp winner against Manchester United last weekend, Pedro reacted first after Yankuba Minteh’s shot had been saved to pull Brighton level, and the game opened up thereafter.
Saka could have snatched the win late on, while Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had to be at his best on several occasions to keep Brighton from earning all three points, but both seemed content with a draw after an exhilarating tussle.
“We didn’t create enough chances when they went down to 10 men, but we will go away and look at it,” Brighton captain Lewis Dunk said.
“We always believe we can win any game of football. We are in a good place and we know we can beat anybody.”
-Reuters
-
TRANSFER MARKET3 days ago
Points of Interest as Napoli’s coach apologises to Victor Osimhen
-
Badminton1 week ago
American beats Nigeria’s Segun Obasanjo
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week ago
Transfer market still bubbling as Chelsea agents lands in Napoli for Osimhen
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week ago
BREAKING! Osimhen is left stranded! Future remains uncertain
-
TRANSFER MARKET5 days ago
Lukaku pays respect to Osimhen
-
Nigerian Football1 week ago
As in 1974 , 1995 and 2005 another coach, Labbadia disappears from Nigeria’s national team job
-
PARALYMPICS5 days ago
How Mikano powered Eniola to Nigeria’s first medal at Paris 2024
-
AFCON1 week ago
Interim Commander, Eguavoen opens up on his plans for Super Eagles