Liverpool FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC - Premier League
Liverpool won their 20th English top-flight trophy to move level with Man Utd’s record total (Picture: Getty)
The curtain has come down on a truly brilliant and unpredictable Premier League season that will live long in the memory of fans of several clubs.
We entered the campaign thinking only Manchester City or Arsenal would get their hands on the top-flight trophy – but that wasn’t the case in the end.
Liverpool were crowned champions in Arne Slot’s debut season and no-one saw coming just how bad things would get for Manchester United.
Tottenham had one of the strangest seasons ever – finishing 17th in the top-flight but ending their 17-year trophy drought in the Europa League.
Chelsea enjoyed a resurgence, Crystal Palace and Newcastle taught a lesson to every other Premier League club and who would’ve thought Nottingham Forest would’ve qualified for Europe? Football pundit Jamie Carragher certainly didn’t, having tipped them for relegation in August.
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Here’s five things we learnt from a truly epic Premier League season…
Liverpool’s title means Man City’s period of dominance is over
Manchester City FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC - Premier League
The Premier League title race for 2025-26 appears to be wide open (Picture: Getty)
City’s reign as the best team in England appears to have come to an end, with the club going trophyless for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
It looks to be the end of an era, with players like Kevin De Bruyne leaving the Etihad in the upcoming transfer window after their third-placed finish.
‘This season has been tough,’ City striker Erling Haaland told the BBC this month. ‘It is not nice to lose so many games. It is boring and not fun.
‘When you have won four league titles in a row, if you don’t win five it’s not going to be a successful season.’
The 2024-25 campaign even saw Pep Guardiola threaten to quit due to concerns over City’s squad size – although he later softened his stance.
You’d expect City to bounce back in 2025-26 – but their drop-off has taught us that the next title race will be wide open – with many teams fancying their chances of landing the trophy after Liverpool clinched it this year.
Arsenal’s third runner-up finish has put pressure on Mikel Arteta
Arsenal FC v Fulham FC - Premier League
Arsenal once again failed to get their hands on the top-flight trophy (Picture: Getty)
Given City’s dip, many would’ve expected Arsenal to land the Premier League title in 2025 having finished as runners-up to them twice in a row.
Instead, the Gunners fell well short of eventual champions Liverpool, with their third successive second-place finish under manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal haven’t clinched the Premier League title in 21 years and pressure is finally starting to mount on Arteta after their trophyless 2024-25 season.
Arteta took charge of Arsenal in 2019 – but since leading them to glory in the 2020 FA Cup – they’ve only won two Community Shield titles since and club legend Paul Merson feels the Spaniard could be axed next term.
‘I’m trying to back them up and say they’re a good team but you’ve got to win something,’ Merson told Sky Sports this month.
‘For me, next year [Mikel Arteta has] got to be in the top two by Christmas or they’ll go for someone else, they will.’
Man Utd set for even more misery after disastrous campaign
FBL-ENG-PR-MAN UTD-WEST HAM
Ruben Amorim failed to turn things around after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal (Picture: Getty)
United performing below expectations isn’t exactly anything new – but even the most pessimistic fans wouldn’t have dreamed of it getting this bad.
Gary Neville predicted United to finish third in 2024-25 and tipped Erik ten Hag as one of his three ‘managers to watch’ at the start of the campaign.
Ten Hag was sacked in October and his successor Ruben Amorim failed to turn United’s fortunes around as they finished 15th in the Premier League to miss out on any form of European football for the first time in a decade.
After United lost the Europa League final, Amorim said he would walk away with no pay-off if the board and fans decided his time was already up.
United’s problems run much deeper than the manager, though, with the club firmly rotten to the core. Part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was initially seen as somewhat of a saviour when he took control from the Glazers, has done nothing to improve the mood by continuing ruthless job cuts.
It appears that things will only get worse for United – who have a number of flops in the squad on high wages they will struggle to sell – and they aren’t exactly the most exciting project for potential new players to join either. Even captain Bruno Fernandes, their best player, is rumoured for an exit.
Crystal Palace and Newcastle breathe new life into domestic cups
Crystal Palace v Manchester City - Emirates FA Cup Final
Premier League teams will be forced to start taking the cups seriously again (Picture: Getty)
’12th again who gives a f***, we’ve won the FA Cup,’ was the chant from Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson after the Eagles got their hands on their first-ever major trophy this season by beating City in the final.
The historic triumph for Oliver Glasner’s men – coupled with Newcastle ending their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy with their Carabao Cup win – should serve as a lesson to every other club in the Premier League.
Top-flight teams must learn to take the domestic cups seriously again and end the days of fielding weakened sides, especially in the earlier rounds.
At the end of the day – football is about winning trophies – and any top-half Premier League team who didn’t land one in 2024-25 has ultimately failed, especially the ones who crashed out early-on by prioritising the top-flight.
‘With such a long wait for a trophy, this will be a day that I’m sure everyone will never forget,’ Eddie Howe said after Newcastle beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
‘We will never forget it… We played a brilliant opponent, they’ve been the best team in the Premier League all season by quite a long way. And for me, we were the better team.’
Chelsea back after Champions League return
Chelsea FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League
Chelsea made their Champions League return with a fourth-placed finish (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea left it late and needed a result on the final day to do it… but they ultimately got the job done to make their return to the Champions League.
After finishing 12th and sixth in 2023 and 2024 respectively, any Blues supporter surely would’ve accepted fourth at the start of the season.
It’s fair to say that the west Londoners are getting back to their best and that will be cemented on Wednesday if they defeat Real Betis to get their hands on the Conference League title.
It would mark the club’s first major trophy under the ownership of BlueCo – who replaced Roman Abramovich three years ago – and earn Chelsea a slice of history as the first champions of all three UEFA club competitions.
Enzo Maresca has revelled in Chelsea’s Champions League qualification, telling those who have doubted him and his young side to ‘f*** off’.
‘They (critics) were saying we were not able to win on this pitch because we were too young and not experienced,’ the Chelsea head coach said. ‘Unfortunately for them they are all wrong, all the ones who have the truth and the answer for everything. So in English, I will say ‘eff off’ to them.’
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