Premier League
Team-by-team review of English Premier League season 2024/25
Team-by-team review of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
1 – LIVERPOOL
Arne Slot enjoyed a superb first season after replacing fan favourite Juergen Klopp, exceeding the hopes of supporters, many of whom would have been content with a top-four finish and a cup run.
Liverpool had the league sewn up long ago, thanks to a 26-game unbeaten league run as Arsenal faltered and Manchester City imploded, though one March week, when they were knocked out of Europe and lost the League Cup final, took some of the shine off.
The departure of local boy Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid also leaves big shoes to fill. But with the talismanic Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah tied down and further reinforcements to come, Liverpool are in a good position to prove this slightly surprising title was no one-off.
2 – ARSENAL
Mikel Arteta’s side are in danger of becoming the perennial nearly men as another season of rich promise slipped by without anything tangible to show for it.
Manchester City’s surprising decline should have opened the door for Arsenal to win a first league title since 2003, but instead, a third successive runners-up spot, this time by a huge margin, felt like regression.
They came close in the Champions League, losing a tight semi-final to Paris St Germain. But those two ties highlighted what Arsenal must address in the summer, chiefly a world-class striker to get them over the line.
3 – MANCHESTER CITY
Salvaged an otherwise poor season by clinching a Champions League berth with a 2-0 victory at Fulham on the final day.
Their hopes of a fifth successive league title began well but a mid-season nose-dive saw them fall off the pace and they missed a top-two spot for the first time since 2016-17.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in late September and would not return until the season’s penultimate game as they dropped as low as seventh in the table with manager Pep Guardiola saying the team’s crisis was costing him sleep.
They crashed out of the Champions League early and their FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace meant they ended the season with no silverware for the first time in eight years.
4 – CHELSEA
Chelsea left it late to achieve their target for the season by qualifying on the final day for the 2025/26 Champions League, thanks to a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
With more than 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) spent on players by the club’s U.S. owners since 2022, Enzo Maresca faced pressure in his first season as coach to get Chelsea back into Europe’s elite competition. The Blues were second in the Premier League in December before a poor run made a top-five finish a struggle.
Chelsea finished fourth and could yet win silverware with a UEFA Conference League final to come against Spain’s Real Betis on Wednesday. Failure to lift Europe’s third-tier trophy would be an embarrassment for the two-time Champions League winners.
5 – NEWCASTLE UNITED
Eddie Howe’s side ended a memorable season with their first domestic silverware for 70 years and a return to the Champions League.
Their 2-1 League Cup final win over Liverpool was a perfect representation of the Magpies this season, with the defence capping a fine collective performance with a goal from Dan Burn, and striker Alexander Isak showing the potency of their attack by notching the second.
With the mercurial Isak attracting attention from Premier League rivals and clubs around Europe, Howe will have to convince the Swedish international that they can take another step next season and challenge for the title.
6 – ASTON VILLA
Playing a swashbuckling style of football built on tough defence and fast attacks, Unai Emery’s side have had their fans in raptures at times this season but it ended in disappointment.
Runs to the Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals produced some great moments but they missed out on a top five spot on the last day with defeat at Manchester United.
Villa Park became a fortress in the Premier League with no defeats in their last 18 there and they also beat Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain on two famous European nights.
Emery’s squad oozes so much talent it is hard to pick out the main star: from charismatic World Cup-winning shot stopper Emiliano Martinez in goal to Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers up front with 17 and 14 goals respectively in all competitions.
7 – NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Boosted by the goals of striker Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest mounted an unlikely challenge for Champions League football, putting behind them successive relegation battles.
Despite being in the top three for much of the campaign, a late season slump in which they won two of their final eight games saw them finish in seventh to qualify for the Conference League, a return to European football for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo found the right formula for success with a solid defensive structure and an attack built around the play-making talent of Morgan Gibbs-White and 20 league goals from a rejuvenated Wood.
8 – BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Brighton’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ persona this season will have been frustrating for fans as while their eighth-place finish represents a solid return under 32-year-old manager Fabian Huerzeler, they would have been higher up the table without the inconsistency that dogged them all campaign.
They managed wins against Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Chelsea, and drew twice with Arsenal, but a 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest was their worst league defeat in 67 years, and an eight-game winless run mid-season hurt their European chances.
Winger Yankuba Minteh proved an astute signing from Newcastle, and Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro all reached double figures for goals but, as ever, their challenge in the next transfer window will be holding on to their leading players, with the latter tipped for an exit.
9 – BOURNEMOUTH
Bournemouth missed out on Europe but Andoni Iraola’s team achieved a club-record points tally for a Premier League campaign as they punched above their weight.
In two years, Iraola has transformed the club, playing with a risky, high-intensity pressing style which earned them memorable wins over Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
Ryan Christie, Evanilson and Justin Kluivert have been central to Bournemouth’s progress this season, but the rise of youngsters like Real Madrid-bound Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez has been equally vital.
10 – BRENTFORD
The Bees flirted with a first foray into European club competition but eventually fell short after a season in which they proved unpredictable but highly entertaining.
Relegated Southampton and Ipswich were the only sides to concede more than Brentford at home, with the 35 goals the most they have let in at home in the topflight since the 1946-47.
But then only Manchester City, Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool scored more goals than Thomas Frank’s team this season, seeing them to 10th place.
Bryan Mbuemo netted 20 league goals and Yoan Wissa 19 while Danish international Mikkel Damsgaard was named both the Supporters’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year at the club’s end-of-season awards.
11 – FULHAM
Another solid season for Marco Silva’s side who spent the vast majority of the campaign in mid-table.
An 11th-placed finish, after coming 13th and 10th in the two previous seasons since Silva took them back into the Premier League, represents stability after some yo-yo years.
Losing to Crystal Palace at home in the FA Cup quarter-finals felt like a missed opportunity for the club and having established themselves in the top flight the key will be whether they can start aiming higher next season.
Raul Jimenez (12) and Rodrigo Muniz (8) provided the goals while Emile Smith Rowe thrived in midfield after moving from Arsenal.
12 – CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace’s victory in the FA Cup final over Manchester City secured their first major trophy in the club’s history and ensured this season will go down as their finest despite winning only one of their opening 13 league games.
They ended up with a club-record 53 Premier League points as manager Oliver Glasner moulded his team around the goals of talisman Jean-Philippe Mateta, the guile of Eberechi Eze and the pace and power of Ismaila Sarr.
Europa League football next season could help Palace keep hold of their prized assets.
13 – EVERTON
David Moyes and Beto proved the unlikely duo who turned around Everton’s season as another battle against relegation loomed as they languished one point above the drop zone with three wins from 19 games under the cautious Sean Dyche.
Moyes then returned after a 12-year absence and oversaw a remarkable nine-game unbeaten league run of four wins and five draws that ensured Everton would be in the top flight when they move into their new stadium next season.
Beto somehow reached double figures in goals, with fans overlooking his rawness while celebrating his whole-hearted, battling approach.
It helped that he scored against Liverpool, when James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute top-corner rocket in front of the Gwladys Street End to secure a 2-2 draw was the club’s moment of the season. There was still time for an emotional farewell to Goodison Park, the club’s home for 133 years, as the Toffees signed off with a win against Southampton.
14 – WEST HAM UNITED
A lacklustre season for the London club, whose decision to part ways with David Moyes and replace him with Julen Lopetegui always looked like ending unhappily.
Despite West Ham spending 130 million pounds on signings, Lopetegui’s style was bland and he was sacked after only 20 league games in charge, of which West Ham won only six.
Graham Potter’s impact has hardly been spectacular with five wins in 18, but he will be judged next season when he has been able to put his stamp on the team. Jarrod Bowen was again West Ham’s outstanding player with 13 league goals.
15 – MANCHESTER UNITED
United staggered through their worst season in the top-flight since they were relegated in 1974, and a massive rebuilding job awaits Ruben Amorim in the summer.
They jettisoned manager Erik ten Hag in October with United in 14th place, and if anything, they got worse under Amorim, who struggled to implement his style on a mediocre squad.
Even the salvation of a Europa League title was denied them as they lost to Tottenham Hotspur in a poor final in Bilbao and the lack of Champions League revenue will be a huge financial blow to a club already reeling from co-owner Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting measures.
16 – WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Vitor Pereira secured top-flight status with five games to spare, overseeing a massive improvement after taking charge of the Midlands club in December when they were second-bottom.
In contrast to his predecessor Gary O’Neil’s tinkering, the Portuguese manager stuck to a settled formation, improving Wolves defensively and taking them on a six-game winning run in the top flight for the first time since 1970.
While their results tailed off with safety guaranteed, Wolves have shown they can challenge for a top-half finish next season, but they may have to deal with the loss of their top scorer with Matheus Cunha who is expected to leave in the summer.
17 – TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Ange Postecoglou delivered on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club as Spurs put aside a diabolical Premier League campaign to win the Europa League and end a 17-year silverware drought.
Whether or not that momentous night in Bilbao saves the pugnacious Australian’s job is another matter.
Twenty-two league defeats were embarrassing for a club with top-four pretensions. Postecoglou will point to a chronic run of injuries and the distraction of Europe as mitigating factors, but will need to convince the club’s hierarchy that it was an anomaly.
Strangely, Tottenham’s Europa League success was ultimately achieved by the opposite of so-called ‘Ange Ball’ — his team grinding through the knockout rounds to glory. The emergence of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray offer some hope of a better season next time while their unlikely Champions League qualification will be an easy sell to potential signings.
18 – LEICESTER CITY
The Foxes’ fate was sealed with five games to go and they make an immediate return to the Championship.
Leicester set an unwanted record as the first team in the top four divisions to lose nine consecutive home league games without scoring.
The die was cast early in the campaign with their failure to win any of their first six games. Manager Steve Cooper was sacked after 15 games with the team in 16th position, but turning to former Dutch international Ruud van Nistelrooy saw no improvement.
19 – IPSWICH TOWN
After successive promotions to return to the top flight it proved a bridge too far for Kieran McKenna’s side.
Four wins all season tell their own story, but despite their struggle, there is optimism that Ipswich will be in a strong position to challenge for promotion next season.
They will probably have to do that without their stand-out player, though as Liam Delap’s 12 league goals have attracted the attention of some of England’s top clubs.
20 – SOUTHAMPTON
Southampton were relegated with seven games to go in April, the earliest in Premier League history, but they at least avoided Derby County’s all-time low of 11 points from 2007–08 as they ended with 12.
Two different managers, Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, could do little to lift the team’s form and 30 defeats was a new Premier League record.
They conceded 86 goals in a torrid campaign and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale suffered his third relegation as a player but in truth it was his efforts that saved Saints from more humiliation as he made 125 saves, the second most in the league.
Will Still will be tasked with bringing them back up again.
-Reuters
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Manchester United’s under-pressure coach Ruben Amorim will be given the full three years of his contract to prove himself and the club will become the most profitable in the world, co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said on Wednesday.
Amorim was Ratcliffe’s choice to replace Erik ten Hag last November but the Portuguese coach has struggled to turn around the club’s flagging fortunes, winning only 10 of his 34 Premier League matches in charge.
United endured their worst top-flight finish last season since they were relegated in 1973–74, coming 15th, and they missed out on Europe after being beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
But Ratcliffe has issued his strongest statement of support for Amorim yet, comparing the situation to when Alex Ferguson struggled in the early years of his reign before becoming the greatest manager in the club’s history.
“I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years,” Ratcliffe, who owns 30% of the club and controls the football side of the business, told The Times’ podcast The Business. “You look at (Mikel) Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time for the first couple of years.
“We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results. I think there’s lots of good things at Manchester United. We have to be patient and we have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.
“Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.”
‘WE’VE MADE ERRORS’
While the American Glazer family retain majority control of the 20-time champions of England, Ratcliffe rejected suggestions they could instruct him to sack Amorim.
“It absolutely wouldn’t happen because it’s just a good working relationship. They come to the board meetings. We sit down and we talk about things,” Ratcliffe said.
“We’ve made errors. There’s absolutely no question that we’ve made errors as we’ve gone along and we’ve talked about it. But no one’s perfect.”
Asked to confirm whether Amorim would see out his contract, Ratcliffe said: “Yes. That’s where I would be. Three years, because football’s not overnight.”
Despite United’s stock falling on the pitch, off it they recently posted record revenues of 666.5 million pounds ($892.1 million) in the year to June 2025, albeit with a 33 million pounds loss.
Amorim’s squad was boosted by more than 200 million pounds worth of new signings in the summer.
“The better your squad, the better your football should be. So a lot of what we have done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing,” Ratcliffe, who completed his acquisition of a minority stake in the club in 2024, said.
“If you look at our results for last year we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest. We’re not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we’ve done in this set of results, and we were not in the Champions League.
“Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high-level of football.”
Ratcliffe also said he wants to revive the club’s Academy that once churned out the likes of multiple title winners David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.
“The academy has really slipped at Manchester United,” Ratcliffe said. “You don’t solve the academy problem overnight. It takes time. We just recruited a new academy director.”
-Reuters
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Manchester United cruised to a rare comfortable home Premier League victory as goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko secured a 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday.
With the pressure growing on manager Ruben Amorim after a disappointing start to the season, Mount calmed the nerves around the ground with a fine early finish to break the deadlock.
United continued to dominate, with a spectacular save from Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs preventing Bruno Fernandes from adding a sumptuous second before Sesko netted his first Old Trafford goal after 31 minutes.
Sunderland were awarded a penalty late in the first half, a decision that was overturned following a VAR intervention, but they never really threatened after the break as United eased to a third home league victory of the season.
The result put United in provisional eighth place with 10 points from seven games, two places below Sunderland on 11.
Wins, especially comfortable ones, have been in short supply for Portuguese Amorim since he took charge in November.
United supporters have slowly started to turn on the new manager as a result, with nothing short of victory over promoted Sunderland, despite the visitors’ impressive start to the season, enough to appease the disgruntled masses.
Mount’s superb control and finish was just what the beleaguered boss needed. The fine strike was the earliest United have scored in the Premier League since Marcus Rashford’s goal at Ipswich Town in Amorim’s first game in charge.
It was only a matter of time until the hosts scored again, such was their dominance. From a long throw, Sesko was alert to the flick-on before steering home his second in as many games.
United thought they had shot themselves in the foot as Sesko was penalised for a high boot in his own penalty area, only for VAR to deem it not to be a foul.
The hosts took their foot off the gas in the second half, but still should have added to their tally, with veteran Brazilian Casemiro blazing their best chance over the bar.
Sunderland did manufacture a late gilt-edged chance but Senne Lammens, making his debut in the United goal, stood tall to block, completing an assured performance from the keeper and his new teammates.
-Reuters
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Premier League champions Liverpool dropped points for the first time this season when they lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace in the eighth minute of added time as Manchester United and Chelsea suffered 3-1 defeats on Saturday.
United slumped at Brentford and 10-man Chelsea were beaten at home by Brighton & Hove Albion, who scored twice in stoppage time.
Manchester City thrashed Burnley 5-1 thanks to two own goals and a late brace from Erling Haaland while Leeds United were held to a 2-2 draw after Bournemouth equalised in added time through 19-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi.
There was also a late twist at Tottenham Hotspur when Joao Palhinha struck an equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
LIVERPOOL SUFFER FIRST LOSS
Liverpool were on the back foot early on when Palace took the lead in the ninth minute through a set-piece when the ball fell to Ismaila Sarr who smashed it home.
Liverpool would have conceded more if not for goalkeeper Alisson while Jean-Philippe Mateta nearly made it 2-0 when he hit the post.
Although Liverpool equalised through Federico Chiesa in the 87th minute, fellow substitute Eddie Nketiah provided late drama when he scored the winner in the 97th minute, with Selhurst Park celebrating the goal twice after VAR confirmed he was not offside.
“The boys are in really good form and think we can win every game and today we showed that,” Nketiah told the BBC.
Palace ended the day in second place, three points behind leaders Liverpool although Arsenal can go second if they beat Newcastle United on Sunday.
OWN GOALS, HAALAND GIVE MAN CITY WIN
Burnley’s Maxime Esteve became only the sixth player to score two own goals in a Premier League game as City climbed up to fourth.
Esteve scored the first when he tried to deny Phil Foden but Jaidon Anthony made it 1-1 with a shot that deflected off Ruben Dias.
Matheus Nunes restored City’s lead with a close-range effort before Esteve’s second own goal came when he looked to stop Oscar Bobb from finding the net.
Haaland struck twice in the dying minutes to hand Burnley their biggest loss of the season.
MANCHESTER UNITED LOSE AT BRENTFORD
Bryan Mbeumo received a warm welcome from the Brentford fans as he returned to his former club for the first time since his move to Manchester United but the reception paled in comparison to the roars when the home side went 2-0 up inside 20 minutes.
Igor Thiago capitalised on United’s high line for the opener when Jordan Henderson sent him through on goal in the eighth minute, before the Brazilian forward grabbed his second when United keeper Altay Bayindir spilled a save right into his path.
United pulled one back when Benjamin Sesko scored his first goal for the club but Bruno Fernandes had a penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher before Mathias Jensen put the game out of reach in added time with a rocket from outside the box.
“We didn’t control the game, we played the game of Brentford. We were really confused (on) second balls, first balls, set pieces,” United manager Ruben Amorim said.
“The crucial moments, they were against us. Tough to lose again.”
CHELSEA SEE RED AGAIN
Chelsea had a player sent off for a second time in as many league games when Trevoh Chalobah saw red for denying Brighton a goal-scoring opportunity at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Fernandez had given Chelsea a 1-0 lead with a close-range header but Chalobah’s red card in the 53rd minute reduced the home side to 10 men and Brighton made it count when Danny Welbeck opened his account for the season with the equaliser.
Brighton capitalised again in the 92nd minute when Maxim De Cuyper powered home a header and the visitors sealed all three points when Welbeck scored in the 10th minute of added time.
Bournemouth took the lead at Leeds when Antoine Semenyo scored from a free kick but the home side made it 2-1 when Joe Rodon and Sean Longstaff netted either side of halftime.
With Leeds close to taking three points, Kroupi volleyed home from inside the box in the 93rd minute to lift Bournemouth into a group of three clubs on 11 points.
Sunderland moved to 11 points and fourth place by beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground to leave Forest’s new manager Ange Postecoglou winless after five games in charge.
Omar Alderete’s first-half goal was the difference between the two sides with Sunderland mounting a staunch rearguard action as Forest laid siege to their goal.
Wolves were seconds away from earning their first win of the season after losing their opening five games in their worst ever start to a league campaign.
They led through Santiago Bueno’s scrappy goal early in the second half but Palhinha guided in a superb finish to send Tottenham to third place on goal difference.
-Reuters
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