2020 has been a year with lot of ups and downs largely due to the pandemic situation caused by Covid-19 which has changed the lives of people globally and football was no exception. However, The Premier League saw a year with so many captivating moments to be cherished in the coming years.
Back in the early parts of year in the 2019-20 campaign Liverpool continued their excellent form under their inspirational manager Jurgen Klopp with youngster Trent Alexander Arnold alongside Andrew Robertson contributing largely to the goals scored . Together with the mercurial trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah upfront, the men from the Merseyside played with skill, energy, tenacity as well as spirit but with no less of art and creativity.
Finally, Liverpool won the 19th league title convincingly after 30 years, with 6 league games to spare, post EPL resumed after lockdown due to COVID-19 in UK. Jordan Henderson lifted the much anticipated EPL trophy on 25th June 2020, ending the EPL title draught for the club after 3 decades. Manchester City’s talismanic midfielder Kevin De Bruyne matched Thiery Henry’s record of registering most assists in one season, with Belgian going through the form of his life. Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City was relegated from EPL for 2019-20 season.
The new Premier league season kick started on 12th September 2020 with Leeds, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion as the newly promoted teams. Gareth Bale, Thiago Alcantara, James Rodriguez and Edison Cavani were some of the star players arriving in Premier league for the 2020-21 season.
Manchester City struggled with their form and consistency from the start of the season, standing at eighth place at the end of the year whereas Liverpool ended the year of 2020 topping the table finding their path again to successfully defend their title.
However Manchester United were going through difficult phase, as manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer was finding it hard to cope with quality of the oppositions. Bruno Fernandes was Ole’s blessing in disguise. Since his debut in February 2020, Fernandes have improved United’s attack and midfield woes, either by bagging goals or by providing brilliant assists. Such was his impact on the game for the Red Devils, that the side accumulated more points than any other team, Bruno scored 26 times and provided 17 assists since his debut for the club. Manchester United in the 2020-21 season continued to rise as they ended the year at the second place behind the league leaders Liverpool.
Another Inspirational story besides Bruno’s was Jamie Vardy, who won the award for the top goal scorer in the league netting 23 goals for 2019-20 season. A man who was playing non-league football with a nine to five job a few years back shook up the Premier League with his unconventional yet effective style of play. Vardy already scored 11 times in 15 games he appeared, for 2020-21 season and stand as the third highest goal scorer of the league. Leicester City also stands 3rd in the league, owing to the prowess of Jamie.
Another striker who found a new zeal under Jose Mourinho, is Tottenham’s Hary Kane. The English forward who was known solely for his goal scoring prowess was seen in a different role under Jose Mourinho ending the first half of the new season with 10 assists which was quite a surprise, with his partnership with Heung Min Son being great.
While there was the Red side of Merseyside lifting the title, the Blue side of town slowly raised their strengths. Everton under the new manager Carlo Ancelotti was a surprise package in the first half of the 2020-21 ending the year at fourth place largely due two crucial signings of Columbian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez and Brazilian central midfielder Allan both of whom were in great form along with a young and prolific Dominic Calvert-Lewin who thrived under the guidance of the Italian manager.
Chelsea despite spending millions in the transfer market struggled with their form. New signings Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz having a difficult first half of the campaign. The only exception being a veteran Thiago Silva whom Chelsea signed on a free transfer.
However, the inclusion of Leeds United under talismanic coach Marcelo Bielsa created patches of joy, thrill and excitement. The side played a certain style of football which was risky in his tactical ways but entertaining at the same time. Despite some bad results, Marcelo assured that his side would not stop playing their all-out attacking style of football which could be a matter of excitement for the neutral fans when the 2021 begins.
