Manchester City retained the Premier League title on the final day of the season with a 4-1 win at Brighton
The Premier League is done and dusted for another season and what a nine months it has been. Manchester City retained their title and in doing so, become the first club in 10 years to win back-to-back Premier League titles.
City finished up on 98 points, one ahead of Liverpool and both clubs were relentless down the stretch. City's response to a 2-1 loss away to Newcastle at the end of January was to win their last 14 league games. Liverpool needed to finish the campaign with nine consecutive wins just to stay in touch with City.
Pep Guardiola's side could complete a domestic treble next week when City face Watford in the FA Cup final. There's no doubt City will be the team to beat once again next season but Liverpool look like the only side that could challenge the champions unless the rest of the chasing pack recruit well in the summer.
City have accumulated 198 points over the past two seasons and have won 32 of their 38 league games on each occasion. Guardiola won't rest on his laurels before the new campaign kicks off in August. Liverpool need to win a first trophy under Jurgen Klopp in the Champions League final on June 1 to end the conversation about no silverware since the German took charge in 2015.
The Premier League meeting in January turned out to be a defining game and I wonder will such a fixture take place on the 21st week of the campaign next season. City's 2-1 home win closed the gap on Liverpool to four points and it ended up being Liverpool's only top-flight loss in their 38 games.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri was brought in to get the club back into the Champions League and the Italian secured a third-place finish in his first season but it's still not clear if he'll be in charge at the start of next season. Sarri has also led his side to two cup finals, not bad for the first season as he looked to mold a squad to suit his style.
Tottenham claimed yet another top-four finish under Mauricio Pochettino despite losing 13 league games. However, Spurs could end the season as European Champions which seemed unthinkable after a poor start to their Champions League campaign.
Arsenal had a chance to finish in the top four but their dismal form away form proved to be a major obstacle. Unai Emery has one last shot at earning a place in next season's Champions League when the Gunners face Chelsea in the Europa League final at the end of the month. Should Arsenal win, it would be seen as a very good first season for the Spaniard.
Manchester United changed manager in December after parting company with Jose Mourinho. When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over he was a breath of fresh air and always spoke with such positivity but the wheels came off emphatically, not long after the Champions League win over PSG. Solskjaer was given the job permanently and things went from bad to worse. The United manager needs a major clearout in the summer and the club also needs to recruit well before the start of the season.
