Player of the week
Any concerns that it would be a nerve-wracking day for Manchester City were allayed by Phil Foden a minute after the title coronation. The Premier League Player of the Season delivered the performance of the week to give City their fourth consecutive title. It took 79 seconds for Foden to get the coronation underway.
Sheesh. Look at that thing. Every detail is magical: the way he lets the ball roll over his body, knowing the pressure is coming; the touch to remove it from his feet; the lack of backlift; the slice over the ball as it drifts away from the goalkeeper. Long-distance strikes have become Foden’s calling card; he has scored six goals from outside the penalty area this season, double the trio of second-place players.
Foden added a second before the end of the first half and Rodri scored the other City goal in a 3-1 win at the Etihad. With the exception of a tense twenty minutes either side of half-time, City cruised to another trophy.
Superstition of the week
Every season, Pep Guardiola picks up the team he uses during City’s inevitable end-of-season winning streak. There was the jacket vest. He didn’t change his shoes for two seasons. This year the City manager has stuck with a turtleneck, even in the heat of May, to help City get over the finish line.
It is extraordinary that Guardiola, for all his tactical intellect and all the talent in his squad, has a similar superstition to a fan wearing his ‘lucky hat’.
Despite the rumors of a poor season, a failing Erling Haaland and City’s more functional approach, they have still managed to win a fourth championship. No annoying problems occurred at the end of the season. They did what they always do: get wins. They were unbeaten in their last 19 league games of the season, winning 16 and drawing three. Regardless of the off-field questions – and there are hundreds – becoming the first team in Premier League history to win four titles in a row is an extraordinary achievement.
Goal of the week
How about saving your goal-of-the-year candidate until the last day of the season? Step forward, Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo.
Caicedo threw Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto from the halfway line, the furthest goal ever scored in the competition since Wayne Rooney for Everton in November 2017, according to Opta. High marks also to Caicedo for finishing his effort by making the splits.
Video of the week
A brief account of Jürgen Klopp’s tearful farewell at Anfield:
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Liverpool were at their best in a 2-0 win over Wolves.
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Klopp broke down in tears as he listened to his final rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone as a manager.
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He broke into an embrace with Virgil van Dijk after the whistle.
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He was treated to a few presents, including miniature replicas of the trophies he won as manager of the club.
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He offered his signature first pumps to all parts of the ground.
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He led the home crowd in a (semi-painful) rendition of a song for Arnie Slot, effectively announcing the new manager.
The best Jürgen Klopp is the Jürgen Klopp who radiates his love for football because he cannot comprehend it… which is actually always Jürgen Klopp.
With Guardiola you get the impression that if he wasn’t a manager he would attend matches with a notepad, then spend 45 minutes after the match searching the Opta database and bore his friends with an overview of how the full-back did not enough in the central areas (an almost identical scene is described in Pep confidential). It is sometimes difficult to know whether José Mourinho likes football at all. With Klopp you know he would be in the stands if he could.
In an era of pre-programmed tactical moves, of oligarchs and nation states, Klopp helped make football fun again – a reminder that winning trophies isn’t the most important thing (although there are plenty of trophies in Liverpool’s cupboard thanks to the German). He will go down as the man who won Liverpool’s sixth European Cup and broke a 30-year league title drought – one of only three managers to win the Premier League and Champions League with the same club. But his most lasting and impressive achievement will be as the man who rekindled the bond between Liverpool supporters and the club.
Disappointment of the week
There was a fleeting moment during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Everton when fans in the Emirates believed the title had been won. a there was a false rumor in the air that West Ham had equalized against Man City. There were cheers. Fans hugged each other. People were frantically scrolling social media. Some of the supporters turned to the press box for confirmation. no sorry.
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Quote of the week
“Don’t be satisfied, because we want much more than that, and we’re going to get it.” Mikel Arteta after Arsenal were pipped to the title on the final day of the season.
Arsenal came very close to winning the title. They finished with the most wins, most goals and the best goal difference. In the second half of the season they were almost perfect, winning 16 of their last 18 games and conceding only nine goals. They were solid defensively and fascinating going forward. Without a misstep against Aston Villa they would be champions.
But his almost Perfect isn’t enough against City. The only time Guardiola’s gang went off the rails was when Klopp’s Liverpool started the 2019/20 season perfectly, recording 18 wins to open the campaign.
Arsenal will compete again next season. They have a young core and can expand their roster this summer. It could be a (mild) summer of unrest in Manchester, especially if Kevin De Bruyne or others move to a sunnier country. But Arsenal will have to come out of the gate perfect to take the title from Etihad.
Statistic of the week
This season has been defined by many things: VAR decisions; points deduction; The endless tumult of Manchester United; injuries; the title race; the three promoted teams are relegated. But above all, this was the season of goals. With a glut on the final day, the 2023–24 season beat the 1992–93 season (when there were 22 teams in the division) for the most goals scored in a single season, with Jarell Quansah’s goal for Liverpool taking the tally to 1,123. .
And what a way to cross the line. This was also the case in addition to Caicedo’s commitment to Chelsea Free kick by Idrissa Gueye against Arsenal, Foden’s strike against West Ham and a stunning one Bicycle kick by West Ham player Mohammed Kudus.
Partnership of the week
Outside the title race, Crystal Palace handed Aston Villa a 5-0 draw at Selhurst Park. Villa looked exhausted at the end of a long season. It’s hard to imagine Unai Emery’s pre-match team speech going beyond handing out brochures in Ibiza.
Palace were the opposite: spiky and lively on the counter-attack. They punished Villa’s mistakes and produced another series of dazzling passing sequences. The regulars were all in: Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat-trick, while Eberechi Eze added a pair of second-half goals.
The Mateta-Eze combination was too much for a sleepy Villa, as has been the case for most teams since the arrival of Oliver Glasner in February. Mateta has scored more goals than any other Premier League player (13) since Glasner arrived at Palace, but his impact extends beyond the penalty area. It is Mateta’s versatile play that knits Palace’s attack together. As a hold-up player and facilitator, he has been crucial in getting Michael Olise and Eze into open space.
If Palace can keep their core together (a difficult task given the bloated transfer fees elsewhere) they should challenge for a European spot next season.