It was by no means a vintage Premier League campaign, though. Manchester United finished second despite playing some atrocious football under the ever-cranky Jose Mourinho. Chelsea and Arsenal have been reduced to a pale shadow of their former selves. Just under half the teams in the league changed managers, even though some of those decisions were ultimately vindicated. Beneath the top six, you have 14 clubs who begin the season with a realistic chance of being dragged into a relegation battle. Some big names like West Ham, Southampton and (briefly) Everton were in that quagmire, while we lost two clubs who had not so long ago been beacons of top flight stability in Swansea and Stoke, ill-advised transfer dealings coming back to haunt that pair. As for West Brom, they plain couldn't be bothered for most of the campaign.
With another season put to bed, let's look at how each club fared throughout 2017/18.
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| Mo Salah - top class. (Pic credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) |
MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City's two previous Premier League triumphs went to the final day but that was never likely to happen this season, with the title clinched with a month to spare. The records speak for themselves - 100 points, 32 wins, a +79 goal difference, 105 goals scored, 18 straight wins. The numbers on their own, though, don't tell the story of how breathtaking Pep Guardiola's team were throughout the season, while they also proved more than capable of toughing out narrow wins on days when they were far from their best. Kevin de Bruyne was sensational, David Silva rolled back the years with his excellence, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus look like developing into world-class players, Ederson brought a steadying presence in goal and Raheem Sterling has matured immeasurably under Guardiola's tutelage. The Carabao Cup was also secured along the way, with the only real blemishes an FA Cup exit at Wigan and that week in April when they were swept aside by Liverpool in the Champions League and blew their first title-clinching opportunity by losing at home to Manchester United. Four of the last five Premier League winners didn't even finish in the top four the following season; surely that is not going to happen to this awesome City team.
High point: The devastating 5-0 thrashing of Liverpool in September
Low point: Bombing out of the FA Cup against third tier Wigan
Pre-season prediction: 2nd
Season rating: 9.5/10
MANCHESTER UNITED
What to make of the past nine months at Old Trafford? Let's begin with the positives: they recorded their highest league finish since last winning the title in 2013 and gained 81 points, one more than when they were champions in 2011. They beat every other team in the league, something that happened just once in Alex Ferguson's 13 title triumphs. They are favourites to win the FA Cup for the second time in three years, making it a third consecutive season with silverware for United. However, there remains an air of discontent around the club, with a string of dour, error-strewn performances throughout the campaign and the continuation of Jose Mourinho's belittling of young players like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw. The handsomely-reimbursed Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba were decidedly mediocre, although Romelu Lukaku had a good first season at United and David de Gea proved again why he is the world's best goalkeeper. United are progressing, but it might take someone other than Mourinho to get them back to where they want to be.
High point: Coming from 2-0 down to beat Manchester City at the Etihad and delay their title-winning party
Low point: The feeble Champions League exit against Sevilla
Pre-season prediction: 3rd
Season rating: 7/10
TOTTENHAM
It's quite a compliment to Tottenham that we're looking back on them finishing third as the highest-placed London club in the league and debating whether they have had a successful season. They may have finished one position lower than last term, but that owed mainly to the progress made by the Manchester duo, while they are the capital's only representatives in next year's Champions League. Harry Kane was prolific again, even if he did get a little help from friends in high places to reach 30 league goals, while Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min excelled. Tremendous victories over Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal showed what they're capable of, but they also lost plenty of key games against direct rivals. Mauricio Pochettino has nurtured the best Spurs team since the early 1980s, if not the 60s, but they still lack that killer instinct which turns contenders into trophy winners, while the manager has put the cat among the pigeons by demanding greater expenditure from the club's hierarchy if they are to take that giant leap to lifting the big prizes.
High point: Outclassing Real Madrid at Wembley
Low point: Being outclassed by Manchester City at Wembley
Pre-season prediction: 5th
Season rating: 8/10
LIVERPOOL
Life as a Liverpool fan is never dull and this season has been glaring evidence of that. The Reds have consolidated rather than improved by finishing fourth, but this season's placing is considered more impressive by the fact that it accompanied a scintillating run to the Champions League final, whereas they weren't in Europe in 2016/17. Liverpool were a joy to watch at their best, with the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane terrorising even the best defenders on the planet. There remains a nagging tendency, though, to toss away points from comfortable positions and to slip up against the league's lesser lights - they lost at relegated Swansea and failed to beat the bottom two at Anfield, although they were the only team to end the Premier League season unbeaten at home. Jurgen Klopp is definitely building something on Merseyside and the German will become a Kop icon if he delivers the Reds' sixth European Cup in Kiev.
High point: So far, the 3-0 Anfield hammering of Manchester City in the Champions League (victory in Kiev would go straight to the top of the list if it happens)
Low point: Their dreadful FA Cup defeat at home to West Brom, their only Anfield loss all season
Pre-season prediction: 4th
Season rating: 8/10 (upgrade to 9 if they win the Champions League final)
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| Arsene Wenger called it a day after 22 years. Pic credit: Eurosport |
CHELSEA
It wasn't as laughably bad a title defence as two years ago, but this will still go down as an awful season for Chelsea, one that made them the third title holder in a row to finish outside the top four. The losses of Diego Costa and John Terry were only recognised after they had flown the coop, with most of last summer's signings failing to deliver. Alvaro Morata was disappointing, Davide Zappacosta started well but faded, Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater are out of their depth while Tiemoue Bakayoko was a calamity. Antonio Conte, so upbeat in his first season at Stamford Bridge, seemed far more discontent as the Blues' title defence ended before it ever got a chance to start. Even if they win the FA Cup on Saturday, the Italian will surely move on in the summer and some of the club's enigmatic players could follow him out the door. A strong run towards the end of the season almost snuck them into the top four, but they wilted in their final two games to end up with the burden of Europa League football to endure for Conte's successor.
High point: Winning away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League
Low point: The 0-3 home defeat by Bournemouth in January
Pre-season prediction: 1st
Season rating: 4/10
ARSENAL
After months, if not years, of seeing #WengerOut taking over Twitter, the wishes of many an Arsenal fan finally became reality in recent weeks as their beleaguered manager ended his 22-year stint with the club. His immense contribution to Arsenal was acknowledged once he announced his decision to leave, but strip away the sentiment and it has been a pretty poor season for the Gunners. Sixth is their lowest finish under Wenger, while their FA Cup defence ended at the first hurdle at Nottingham Forest. A run of seven successive away defeats in the league, and 11 in total, was embarrassing, with the likes of Grant Xhaka, Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Danny Welbeck proving they are not worthy of representing as proud as club as Arsenal. Wenger's successor will have some potent attacking options with which to work, but elsewhere a significant overhaul of the squad is needed if the Gunners are to get back among the Premier League elite.
High point: Victory in the North London derby in November
Low point: Surrendering 0-3 at home to Manchester City at a snowy Emirates four days after a similar outcome in the Carabao Cup final
Pre-season prediction: 6th
Season rating: 4/10
BURNLEY
Leicester's title triumph remains the zenith of logic-defying Premier League achievements, but Burnley securing European football for 2018/19 is up there. Sean Dyche did not flaunt the chequebook to guide the Clarets to seventh, but cut-price signings like Chris Wood and Jack Cork, along with the development of James Tarkowski and Nick Pope, ensured that they maintained a formidable team ethic and were economical with the chances that they carved out. It seems remarkable to think that they could finish seventh with a season tally of just 36 league goals, but 14 wins tells you that they made their goals count big. After a magnificent first third of the campaign, Burnley's form plummeted over the winter, but the inconsistencies of others meant that they remained in the top eight and until the final month of the season they had genuine hope of gatecrashing the league's Big Six. The job that Dyche has done at Turf Moor is nothing short of exceptional; whether they can maintain that progress while juggling the Europa League next year is the burning question.
High point: Beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day
Low point: Losing at home to West Brom a week later
Pre-season prediction: 17th
Season rating: 9/10
EVERTON
Everton began the season talking big about pushing for the Champions League and finishing above Liverpool, but a horrendous first three months to the campaign left them just above the drop zone and put Ronald Koeman out of a job. David Unsworth fared little better in his caretaker spell in charge before they realised the scale of their predicament by hiring firefighter supreme Sam Allardyce. Not for the first time, the ex-England manager was welcomed with all the enthusiasm of a student taking their seat for double Maths at 9am on a Monday. Allardyce will justifiably point to the Toffees' ascent from 16th upon taking over to eighth by season's end as proof of a job well done, but Everton were one-dimensional and unimaginative despite spending millions last summer. Gylfi Sigurdsson was well below his best and Michael Keane had a poor season while Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez made their way into future conversations about the club's worst signings of all time. At least they got it right in January with the coup of Cenk Tosun, whose goals kept Everton away from a possible survival scrap. Still, that wasn't enough for Allardyce to keep his job, the club's board going along with the wishes of most of the Goodison Park faithful by axing him this week.
High point: Getting a draw away to Manchester City
Low point: The 4-1 thrashing by Southampton just before Sam Allardyce was hired
Pre-season prediction: 7th
Season rating: 4/10
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| Wilfried Zaha was outstanding for Crystal Palace. Pic credit: Premier League |
LEICESTER
On the face of it, a top half finish seems about right for Leicester, but everything the Foxes now do will be judged through the prism of that fairytale title triumph of two years ago. A slow start to the season saw the club dispense with Craig Shakespeare less than eight months after he stepped up to replace Claudio Ranieri and the appointment of Claude Puel did not set pulses racing at the King Power Stadium. The Frenchman made an immediate impact, though, lifting Leicester away from trouble to finish well inside the top half. That achievement was tainted, though, by a lethargic limp to the finish line and reports of player discontent with Puel's management. There was also the unwanted drama of Riyad Mahrez trying unsuccessfully to force a deadline day move to Manchester City in January, but at least Jamie Vardy looked more like the striker who captured people's admiration in 2015/16 while summer signing Harry Maguire was arguably the league's best defender this season.
High point: Eliminating Liverpool from the Carabao Cup
Low point: A lethargic 5-0 thumping at Crystal Palace
Pre-season prediction: 9th
Season rating: 4.5/10
NEWCASTLE
Newcastle had their sights set on more than merely avoiding relegation at the outset of the season and after an inconsistent first half of the campaign, they hit a superb run of form in the spring to end up well clear of the drop and with a top half finish upon their Premier League return. That was despite Rafael Benitez being given chickenfeed by the club's hierarchy for transfer dealings, testifying to how formidable a job the Spaniard has done at St James' Park. Jonjo Shelvey began the season with a needless red card against Tottenham and ended it with his absence from England's World Cup squad being widely lamented. Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune grew into a steady centre-back partnership, Ayoze Perez became a reliable source of goals and mid-season loan signing Martin Dubravka excelled as their last line of defence. If the board do the sensible thing and back Benitez financially, he can definitely take the Geordies back into Europe before long.
High point: Beating Man Utd in February
Low point: The 3-0 home defeat by Watford in November
Pre-season prediction: 14th
Season rating: 6.5/10
CRYSTAL PALACE
Seven games (four of them under Frank de Boer before he was sacked), seven defeats, not even a single goal. It may have been less than two months into the season, but survival looked a tall order for the Eagles when Roy Hodgson took his team to face Chelsea in mid-October. Victory over the Blues was the platform on which Crystal Palace built a remarkable rise up the table, their recovery spearheaded by the scintillating form of Wilfried Zaha and improbably high goal returns from Luka Milivojevic and Patrick van Aanholt to make up for Christian Benteke's laughable profligacy. A horrible run during February and March when they were unlucky to lose by one goal to Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool dragged them back into trouble but, rather than rue their misfortune, Palace took the positives from those performances and turned them into results after Easter to eventually finish 11th. Had they got the points the deserved from that springtime run, they may well have been top eight material. Hodgson has had his share of critics, me included, but he deserves the height of commendation for the turnaround he has inspired at Selhurst Park.
High point: The 5-0 hammering of Leicester which all but sealed survival
Low point: Losing at Old Trafford to make it seven defeats in a row at the season's outset
Pre-season prediction: 12th
Season rating: 6/10
BOURNEMOUTH
By the final few weeks of the season, you'd nearly forget that Bournemouth were in the Premier League - and I mean that as a credit to them and not an insult. That's because, for the third season in a row, Eddie Howe's men were well clear of a relegation scrap that involved clubs with vastly superior resources to the Cherries. The outlook for the season didn't look so good after losing their first four games, but once they got the first few points in the board, Eddie's steady crew got into their stride and eased their way out of trouble. A horrendous FA Cup mauling at home to Wigan in January could have derailed them, but they responded with wins over Arsenal and Chelsea later in the month and made a happy habit of securing valuable points with late goals. Bournemouth didn't have any particularly outstanding performers, but nor did they carry any passengers either. Another perfectly satisfactory middle of the road effort from the men on the south coast.
High point: Winning 3-0 at Stamford Bridge
Low point: A humiliating FA Cup round 3 thrashing by Wigan
Pre-season prediction: 10th
Season rating: 7/10
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| Mark Noble gets stuck into a pitch invader. Pic credit: Getty |
WEST HAM
After an introductory year of teething problems at London Stadium, this was supposed to be the season when West Ham kicked on to push for the top eight. Instead, a slow start under Slaven Bilic left them in the danger zone and a 1-4 home demolition by Liverpool saw the Croatian given his marching orders. A 4-0 thumping by struggling Everton in November suggested that they were in for a torrid campaign, but despite being not exactly welcomed with open arms, David Moyes instigated a revival from the Hammers' underperforming squad and got the best out of players such as Manuel Lanzini, Adrian and especially Marko Arnautovic. However, results tailed off again going into the final third and things came to an ugly head in March when, during a 0-3 home defeat by Burnley, spectators got onto the pitch to confront players and vent their spleen at the club's board. That could have destroyed the team's morale, but a subsequent thrashing of Southampton sparked a strong finish to a troubled season. Moyes completed the mission with which he was tasked, but was not kept on for 2018/19. Will the next appointment get the most out of a talented squad or will the club's tendency for implosion strike again in the coming months?
High point: The home win over Chelsea in December
Low point: The riotous scenes during the London Stadium battering by Burnley
Pre-season prediction: 8th
Season rating: 4/10
WATFORD
Many felt that the appointment of Marco Silva, who almost kept Hull up last term, was a clever move by Watford and the Hornets made a better than expected start to the season. Left-field autumn signings like Richarlison and Marvin Zeegelaar settled in quickly at Vicarage Road, while Abdoulaye Doucoure proved a surprisingly fruitful supply of goals. Once winter arrived, though, their good start tailed off and some harrowing results over Christmas saw the board panic, giving Silva the chop with indecent haste. The club went for a foreign manager once again, hiring the little-known Javi Gracia to halt a worrying slide. He managed to do just that, although their failure to score in their final eight away games prevented them from climbing back into the top half. There was the occasional outstanding display, not least their 4-1 mauling of Chelsea in the early days of Gracia's reign, but Watford also turned in quite a few shockers and, three years after getting back into the top flight, they still seem to be content with treading water in the lower mid-table regions rather than actively seeking to build something meaningful in Hertfordshire.
High point: The 4-1 romp over Chelsea in February
Low point: Yes it was against Man City, but losing 0-6 at home is never good
Pre-season prediction: 16th
Season rating: 5/10
BRIGHTON
While the Premier League's top brass can throw money at any player they want to attract, Brighton had to take a gamble on cut-price punts to supplement the squad that gained promotion to the top flight a year ago. In came the likes of Mat Ryan, Pascal Gross, Jose Izquierdo and Davy Propper, not quite household names but all valuable additions to a Brighton squad that played some fine football as they soon found their feet at this level. When they lost, they rarely lost heavily - two thrashings by Liverpool and a 0-4 to Chelsea aside - although the repeated concession of key goals from set pieces let them down in several games. Still, they never looked in serious danger of going down and Hughton has moulded a team in his own image - smooth, unspectacular, dignified, effective. The understated manager probably didn't get due credit for the job he has done at the Amex Stadium not just this season, but since he took over at Brighton. Famous wins at home to Arsenal and Manchester United will not soon be forgotten by their loyal fan base. They seem well placed to continue the upward curve again next season.
High point: The win over Man Utd which ensured their Premier League status for next season
Low point: Becoming the only team to lose to Alan Pardew's West Brom in the league
Pre-season prediction: 18th
Season rating: 7.5/10
HUDDERSFIELD
As other Premier League first-timers have done before them, Huddersfield rode the tidal wave of post-promotion euphoria into this season, picking up some stunning results early on to make this whole top flight lark look easy. The highlight was definitely the home win over Manchester United two months into the season, although the winter slog burst the bubble and brought with it a downturn in form that dragged the Terriers into uncomfortable territory. However, they proved capable of picking up vital wins and perhaps none were more vital than the 4-1 hammering of Bournemouth in February which lifted them out of the drop zone, where they never returned. A home defeat to Everton in the later weeks of the campaign left them peering very nervously over their shoulders, but incredible draws away to Manchester City and Chelsea made sure of their place in the Premier League again next season. The affable, attack-minded David Wagner has fostered a 'band of brothers' spirit within his squad and they repaid him with a season that every Huddersfield fan will cherish for years.
High point: A famous victory over Man Utd in October
Low point: The home defeat to Everton which took them perilously close to the drop
Pre-season prediction: 20th
Season rating: 7.5/10
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| Mauricio Pellegrino was not a success at Southampton. Pic credit: Getty |
SOUTHAMPTON
Perceived as too boring under Claude Puel last season, Southampton turned to Mauricio Pellegrino to reverse the slide for 2017/18. Instead, the Argentine proved to be just as dour and uninspiring as his predecessor, while failing miserably to address the goalscoring epidemic that has dogged the Saints since Sadio Mane's departure in 2016. Their signings largely flopped while the lack of quality in the squad at St Mary's became apparent, especially after Virgil van Dijk moved to Liverpool in January. With relegation becoming a real possibility, Pellegrino was sacked and the club turned to an old reliable in Mark Hughes, himself fired by Stoke midway through the season. Their top flight future remained in the balance right to the end, but Hughes instilled enough fighting spirit in the team to claw out crucial wins over Bournemouth and Swansea to see them cling to safety. It has undoubtedly been their worst season since returning to the Premier League six years ago, though, and the squad badly needs investment if they are to avoid another year as tough as this one.
High point: The win at Swansea which effectively made sure of safety
Low point: They were catastrophic in the 0-3 defeat at West Ham at Easter
Pre-season prediction: 13th
Season rating: 3.5/10
SWANSEA
Having been a progressive mid-table club earlier in the decade, a rot had begun to set in at Swansea in the last couple of years and they were expected to be in for a tough campaign. So it proved, with a run of just three wins in 20 games leaving them rock bottom of the league at Christmas and costing Paul Clement his job just under a year after he took charge at the Liberty Stadium. The club turned to Carlos Carvalhal to get them out of the mire, a surprising appointment but one that paid instant dividends. Four wins from his first seven, including the scalps of Liverpool and Arsenal, lifted them clear of the drop zone and Swansea looked like they were pulling away from the quagmire. After thrashing West Ham in early March, though, they failed to win any of their last nine games and a glaring lack of penalty box potency, allied with inexplicable caution from the personable Carvalhal, ultimately cost them dearly. A demoralising defeat at home to direct relegation rivals Southampton in the final week of the season effectively sent them down and in the end they didn't have the stomach for the fight. Carvalhal, who got Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-off final two years ago, won't get the chance to guide the Swans in their bid to win immediate promotion, having parted company with the club on Friday.
High point: Being the only team outside the top 5 to beat Liverpool in the league
Low point: Losing to Southampton on the night when relegation was practically confirmed
Pre-season prediction: 19th
Season rating: 2/10
STOKE
Stoke had assembled what seemed a fairly strong squad at the outset of the season, with alumni from Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. The talent was there, but the cohesion wasn't. Some players came to the fore, like Xherdan Shaqiri and Jack Butland. Others were an embarrassment to the shirt, including Kevin Wimmer, Ibrahim Affelay, Saido Berahino and, to a lesser extent, Erik Pieters, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Mame Biram Diouf. The lack of commitment from players who ought to have done so much better eventually cost Mark Hughes his job after a pathetic FA Cup loss at fourth tier Coventry. The Welshman was replaced by Paul Lambert, with ex-Limerick FC boss Stuart Taylor as his assistant, and although the Scot won his first game in charge, the Potters did not win again until the final day of the season, by which stage their relegation had been confirmed. That pitiful win ratio ultimately left Lambert out of a job within days of the season's conclusion, while honest players like Butland and Charlie Adam called out a few of their underperforming team-mates afterwards, a violation of the dressing room code perhaps but their objections certainly weren't unfair. Now comes the unenviable process of shipping out high earners and attempting to get back into the Premier League with a less exciting squad, although that did Stoke no harm at all for many years under Tony Pulis.
High point: Another bet365 Stadium victory over Arsenal
Low point: The home defeat to Crystal Palace which ended their faint hopes of survival
Pre-season prediction: 15th
Season rating: 2/10
WEST BROM
After winning their first two games, West Brom were third in the table, two points ahead of Manchester City. That was mid-August; they would not win again until mid-January. The agricultural tactics of Tony Pulis are fine when they get results, but once that no longer became the case, the Welshman's departure was inevitable. Alan Pardew did not seem an inspired replacement and it became apparent that the abrasive manager's methods were not rubbing off on the players, whose own commitment to the Baggies' cause also deserves to be called into question. By the time they dumped Pardew and invited Darren Moore to take temporary charge, the damage was well and truly done, although the popular ex-West Brom defender coaxed a strong finish from the team that took them stupendously close to climbing out of the bottom three. It was too tall an order in the end, but Moore has surely done enough to deserve a full-time crack at getting them back into the top flight at the first attempt, just as the Baggies did in 2004 and 2010.
High point: Their fully deserved FA Cup win at Anfield
Low point: The pathetic home defeat by Burnley in March, their eighth in a row in the league
Pre-season prediction: 11th
Season rating: 2/10
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| Liverpool and Man City served up a thriller at Anfield. Pic credit: Daily Post Nigeria |
Goal of the season: It might not have made the Match of the Day shortlist, but my pick is Christian Eriksen's thumping equaliser in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Chelsea
Game of the season: Liverpool 4-3 Manchester City
Manager of the season: Sorry Pep, but this goes to Sean Dyche for getting Burnley into Europe with comparatively meagre resources
Player of the season: Mohamed Salah
Young player of the season: Leroy Sane
Team of the season (3-4-3): David de Gea - James Tarkowski, Harry Maguire, Marcos Alonso - Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Christian Eriksen, Wilfried Zaha - Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Leroy Sane
Honourable mentions: Nick Pope, Ederson, Andrew Robertson, Alfie Mawson, Toby Alderweireld, Virgil van Dijk, Fernandinho, Jonjo Shelvey, Nemanja Matic, Raheem Sterling, Son Heung-min, Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Barnes, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Marko Arnautovic
Flops XI (3-5-2): Joe Hart - Kevin Wimmer, Michael Keane, Shkodran Mustafi - Ibrahim Affelay, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Granit Xhaka, Renato Sanches - Davy Klaassen, Christian Benteke
Season best bits:
- 13 goals in the first two games of the season
- Charlie Daniels' stunner against Man City
- Liverpool's scintillating 4-0 destruction of Arsenal
- Manchester City at their sublime attacking best
- Kevin de Bruyne's winning goal at Stamford Bridge
- Philippe Coutinho's howitzer at Newcastle
- The positivity of Huddersfield and Brighton in their debut Premier League seasons
- Sofiane Boufal's magnificent solo effort to beat West Brom
- Everton 3-2 Watford
- Wayne Rooney's goal from his own half against West Ham
- Newcastle 2-3 Leicester
- Mohamed Salah's delightful derby goal
- Mohamed Salah - full stop
- Manchester City's awesome performances in both games against Tottenham
- Ragnar Klavan conjuring an injury time winner at Burnley
- The seven-goal thriller between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield
- Brighton's immense performances against Arsenal and Manchester United
- Arsenal Fan TV
- Nemanja Matic's stunning strike to beat Crystal Palace
- Jamie Vardy's volley against West Brom
- Salah's epic individual four-goal performance that sent Watford packing
- Christian Eriksen's beauty of an equaliser against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
- The dramatic Manchester derby at the Etihad
- The emergence of Declan Rice as a centre-back of real substance at such a young age
- The appreciation offered by supporters of Arsenal, Manchester United and Huddersfield in particular to Arsene Wenger in late-season matches
- Chris Hughton keeping Brighton up
- The joyous scenes as Huddersfield secured their survival at Stamford Bridge
- Burnley securing European football
- Salah beating Harry Kane to win the Golden Boot while also winning every Player of the Season award going
Season worst bits:
- A spate of managers getting sacked prematurely, especially Frank de Boer, Marco Silva and Mark Hughes
- Liverpool's horror shows away to Manchester City and Tottenham
- Joselu's pure fluke of a goal against Liverpool
- The non-event that was Liverpool v Manchester United at Anfield
- Jose Mourinho's negativity in both tactical and press conference terms
- Southampton and Swansea being soft as kittens in front of goal
- Sam Allardyce's self-gratification amid his constant throwing of players under the bus
- The stupid penalty given away by Dejan Lovren in the derby at Anfield
- Christian Benteke's shocking penalty miss against Bournemouth
- Adam Lallana being injured for most of the season
- Tiresome transfer sagas (Alexis Sanchez and Riyad Mahrez in particular)
- The departure of Philippe Coutinho
- James McCarthy suffering a broken leg
- Swansea beating Liverpool with only one effort on target
- The charitable penalty awarded to Spurs at Anfield to make it 1-1
- Crystal Palace getting nothing from their admirable performances against four of the top five in February and March
- Some Arsenal players turning in performances which suggested they were trying to get Wenger sacked
- The disgusting scenes at London Stadium during West Ham's 0-3 thrashing by Burnley
- The drab derby at Goodison Park
- Harry Kane selfishly claiming Christian Eriksen's goal at Stoke and the ridiculously-named Goals Accreditation Appeals Committee ludicrously awarding it to him
- Talented youngsters like Renato Sanches and Sadio Berahino throwing their careers away
- The involvement of Jon Moss and his team of officials in Everton's incredibly contentious 96th-minute equaliser against Southampton
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