Chelsea finished 30 points worse than last year, Newcastle and Aston Villa were big climbers, while a 19-point swing was still not enough for Arsenal to dethrone Man City…
- Chelsea lost a whopping 16 games in a terrible season at Stamford Bridge
- Newcastle was the biggest standout with huge gains over last year
- Man United pip Arsenal with fantastic debut season for Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford
Chelsea’s miserable Premier League campaign saw them earn a whopping 30 points less than during the 2021/22 season.
The West Londoners amassed a measly 44 points in a campaign that featured four managers, hundreds of millions wasted and a humiliating 12th place finish.
Incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino will certainly have to do his job to make Stamford Bridge a cohesive team again.
Fellow Premier League big boys Liverpool and Tottenham also saw a huge drop in their production from last year, while Newcastle United, Brighton and Aston Villa were among the teams to show the biggest rise in form.
The league’s biggest improvers were Newcastle. Eddie Howe replaced Steve Bruce at St James’ Park in November 2021, taking the club to safety before embarking on a barely credible run to the top four this season.
Chelsea suffered 16 defeats in a horrific campaign that saw them finish in the bottom half of the Premier League
Eddie Howe guided Newcastle to a top-four finish in his first full season with the club
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have combined for 25 goals in the league this season
Standouts like Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Pope helped the Magpies collect an extra 22 points compared to last season.
Fellow top four finishers Manchester United were the second best team in terms of improvement. In Erik ten Hag’s first season at the club, the Dutchman has proven to be a savvy operator. He managed the fallout of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and led the club to the Champions League.
As well as winning the Carabao Cup ahead of a thrilling FA Cup final against Manchester City, United’s star player was undoubtedly Marcus Rashford, whose performance this season was in stark contrast to 12 months ago.
At the other end of the spectrum is Liverpool, who have only been saved from the infamy of last on this list by a truly historic Chelsea season.
Jürgen Klopp’s team battled for the trophies on all four fronts last season and came closer than any team had ever managed to in the pursuit of a quadruple.
Despite falling short in the end, expectations were high for a performance consistent with the 92 points they managed to collect last year, but after early season defeats to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United it became clear that the Reds not only would not compete for the title but could miss out on the Champions League altogether.
As it turned out, 25 points less for the Anfield club meant they could only manage fifth place, five points ahead of Brighton, who had been thrilled under Roberto De Zerbi.
Liverpool fell well behind their best for most of the season and failed to qualify for the Champions League
Aston Villa have been transformed into European football contenders since the arrival of Unai Emery in October
Showing no signs of missing out on Graham Potter, the Seagulls sealed their highest ever league finish, improving their impressive 2021/22 tally by 11 points.
Although that point left Brighton just missing out on a top five finish behind Brentford, who took 13 extra points, Arsenal, who took another 15, and Aston Villa, who took 16 points more than this. time last year.
Alongside Chelsea and Liverpool in the bottom five were Leicester City, whose loss of form led to a return to the Championship after a memorable nine-year spell in the top flight.
Dean Smith’s side were some 18 points worse off than last season’s Brendan Rodgers-led effort.
West Ham also suffered a worrying setback, gaining 16 points less than last year, while Southampton finished bottom of the Premier League with 25 points. 15 points less than a year ago.