31/05/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 31, 2025

29

scorer with Matheus Cunha who is expected to leave in the summer. 17: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Ange Postecoglou delivered on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club as Spurs put aside a diabolical Premier League campaign to win the Europa League and end a 17-year silverware drought. Whether or not that momentous night in Bilbao saves the pugnacious Australian’s job is another matter. Twenty-two League defeats were embarrassing for a club with top-four pretensions. Postecoglou will point to a chronic run of injuries and the distraction of Europe as mitigating factors, but will need to convince the club’s hierarchy that it was an anomaly. Strangely, Tottenham’s Europa League success was ultimately achieved by the opposite of so-called “Ange Ball” – his team grinding through the knockout rounds to glory. The emergence of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray offer some hope of a better season next

international that they can take another step next season and challenge for the title. 6: ASTON VILLA Playing a swashbuckling style of football built on tough defence and fast attacks, Unai Emery’s side have had their fans in raptures at times this season but it ended in disappointment. Runs to the Champions League quarterfinals and FA Cup semifinals produced some great moments but they missed out on a top-five spot on the last day with defeat at Manchester United. Villa Park became a fortress in the Premier League with no defeats in their last 18 there and they also beat Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain on two famous European nights. Emery’s squad oozes so much talent it is hard to pick out the main star: from charismatic World Cup-winning shot stopper Emiliano Martinez in goal to Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers up front with 17 and 14 goals respectively in all competitions.

with three wins from 19 games under the cautious Sean Dyche. Moyes then returned after a 12-year absence and oversaw a remarkable nine-game unbeaten League run of four wins and five draws that ensured Everton would be in the top flight when they move into their new stadium next season. Beto somehow reached double figures in goals, with fans overlooking his rawness while celebrating his whole-hearted, battling approach. It helped that he scored against Liverpool, when James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute top corner rocket in front of the Gwladys Street End to secure a 2-2 draw was the club’s moment of the season. There was still time for an emotional farewell to Goodison Park, the club’s home for 133 years, as the Toffees signed off with a win against Southampton. 14: WEST HAM UNITED A lacklustre season for the London club whose decision to part ways with David Moyes

they punched above their weight. In two years, Iraola has transformed the club, playing with a risky high-intensity pressing style which earned them memorable wins over Manchester City and Arsenal this season. Ryan Christie, Evanilson and Justin Kluivert have been central to Bournemouth’s progress this season, but the rise of youngsters like Real Madrid-bound Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez has been equally vital. 10: BRENTFORD The Bees flirted with a first foray into European club competition but eventually fell short after a season in which they proved unpredictable but highly entertaining. Relegated Southampton and Ipswich were the only sides to concede more than Brentford at home, with the 35 goals the most they have let in at home in the top flight since the 1946-47. But then only Manchester City, Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool scored more goals than Thomas Frank’s team this season, seeing them

FROM LEFT: Emiliano Martinez, Chris Wood, Ange Postecoglou, Justin Kluivert, and Ruben Amorim. – REUTERSPIC

7: NOTTINGHAM FOREST Boosted by the goals of striker Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest mounted an unlikely challenge for Champions League football, putting behind them successive relegation battles. Despite being in the top three for much of the campaign, a late season slump in which they won two of their final eight games saw them finish in seventh to qualify for the Conference League, a return to European football for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo found the right formula for success with a solid defensive structure and an attack built around the play making talent of Morgan Gibbs-White and 20 League goals from a rejuvenated Wood. 8: BRIGHTON Brighton’s “Jekyll and Hyde” persona this season will have been frustrating for fans as while their eighth-place finish represents a solid return under 32-year-old manager Fabian Huerzeler, they would have been higher up the table without the inconsistency that dogged them all campaign. They managed wins against Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Chelsea, and drew twice with Arsenal, but a 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest was their worst League defeat in 67 years, and an eight-game winless run mid-season hurt their European chances. Winger Yankuba Minteh proved an astute signing from Newcastle, and Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro all reached double figures for goals but, as ever, their challenge in the next transfer window will be holding on to their leading players, with the latter tipped for an exit. 9: BOURNEMOUTH Bournemouth missed out on Europe but Andoni Iraola’s team achieved a club-record points tally for a Premier League campaign as

time while their unlikely Champions League qualification will be an easy sell to potential signings. 18: LEICESTER CITY The Foxes’ fate was sealed with five games to go and they make an immediate return to the Championship. Leicester set an unwanted record as the first team in the top four divisions to lose nine consecutive home League games without scoring. The die was cast early in the campaign with their failure to win any of their first six games. Manager Steve Cooper was sacked after 15 games with the team in 16th position, but turning to former Dutch international Ruud van Nistelrooy saw no improvement. 19: IPSWICH TOWN After successive promotions to return to the top flight it proved a bridge too far for Kieran McKenna’s side. Four wins all season tell their own story but despite their struggle, there is optimism that Ipswich will be in a strong position to challenge for promotion next season. They will probably have to do that without their stand-out player though as Liam Delap’s 12 League goals have attracted the attention of some of England’s top clubs. 20: SOUTHAMPTON Southampton were relegated with seven games to go in April, the earliest in Premier League history, but they at least avoided Derby County’s all-time low of 11 points from 2007–08 as they ended with 12. Two different managers, Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, could do little to lift the team’s form and 30 defeats was a new Premier League record. They conceded 86 goals in a torrid campaign and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale suffered his third relegation as a player but in truth it was his efforts that saved Saints from more humiliation as he made 125 saves, the second most in the League. – Reuters

to 10th place. Bryan Mbuemo netted 20 League goals and Yoan Wissa 19 while Danish international Mikkel Damsgaard was named both the Supporters’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year at the club’s end-of-season awards. 11: FULHAM Another solid season for Marco Silva’s side who spent the vast majority of the campaign in mid-table. An 11th-placed finish, after coming 13th and 10th in the two previous seasons since Silva took them back into the Premier League, represents stability after some yo-yo years. Losing to Crystal Palace at home in the FA Cup quarterfinals felt like a missed opportunity for the club and having established themselves in the top flight the key will be whether they can start aiming higher next season. Raul Jimenez (12) and Rodrigo Muniz (8) provided the goals while Emile Smith Rowe thrived in midfield after moving from Arsenal. 12: CRYSTAL PALACE Palace’s victory in the FA Cup final over Manchester City secured their first major trophy in the club’s history and ensured this season will go down as their finest despite winning only one of their opening 13 League games. They ended up with a club-record 53 Premier League points as manager Oliver Glasner moulded his team around the goals of talisman Jean-Philippe Mateta, the guile of Eberechi Eze and the pace and power of Ismaila Sarr. Europa League football next season could help Palace keep hold of their prized assets. 13: EVERTON David Moyes and Beto proved the unlikely duo who turned around Everton’s season as another battle against relegation loomed as they languished one point above the drop zone

and replace him with Julen Lopetegui always looked like ending unhappily. Despite West Ham spending £130 million (RM715m) on signings, Lopetegui’s style was bland and he was sacked after only 20 League games in charge, of which West Ham won only six. Graham Potter’s impact has hardly been spectacular with five wins in 18 but he will be judged next season when he has been able to put his stamp on the team. Jarrod Bowen was again West Ham’s outstanding player with 13 League goals. 15: MANCHESTER UNITED United staggered through their worst season in the top-flight since they were relegated in 1974 and a massive rebuilding job awaits Ruben Amorim. They jettisoned manager Erik ten Hag in October with United in 14th place and if anything they got worse under Amorim who struggled to implement his style on a mediocre squad. Even the salvation of a Europa League title was denied them as they lost to Tottenham Hotspur in a poor final in Bilbao and the lack of Champions League revenue will be a huge financial blow to a club already reeling from co owner Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting measures. 16: WOLVES Vitor Pereira secured top-flight status with five games to spare, overseeing a massive improvement after taking charge of the Midlands club in December when they were second-bottom. In contrast to his predecessor Gary O’Neil’s tinkering, the Portuguese manager stuck to a settled formation, improving Wolves defensively and taking them on a six-game winning run in the top flight for the first time since 1970. While their results tailed off with safety guaranteed, Wolves have shown they can challenge for a top-half finish next season, but they may have to deal with the loss of their top