As the end of the Premier League season is almost upon us, it means the player awards season is beginning. The PFA team of the season was announced this morning and has caused debate among fans. Only one player outside of Manchester City and Liverpool has made it into the team. As a result, Last Word On Football have decided to take a closer look at the announcement.
PFA Team of the Season
Goalkeeper
Manchester City’s Ederson has narrowly edged Alisson of Liverpool to the number one spot. Both have been integral to their teams and there surely could not have been much in it. Alisson has kept just two more clean sheets than Ederson. It would have been tough to pick between two excellent keepers.
Defence
The exclusion of the Liverpool goalkeeper is made up for by the inclusion of three Liverpool defenders. Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all been included. As a result, it means that Aymeric Laporte is the only other defender to be included.
Liverpool have been the best defensive side in the Premier League this season. They have kept a total of 19 clean sheets. Their improvement in defence can be put down to the signing of van Dijk. He is likely to win the PFA player of the year and therefore has been named in the team.
One player who can feel hard done by is Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Crystal Palace right-back has performed magnificently this season. To illustrate this point, he is statistically one of the best performing right-backs across Europe this season. However, Alexander-Arnold’s attacking statistics may be what edged it. Alexander-Arnold has nine assists this season, in comparison to Wan-Bissaka’s two.
Midfield
The PFA team of the season midfield includes two more Manchester City players. Both Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho have been integral for City this season. It is Fernandinho who gets more of the media praise. He breaks up the play in his natural position of defensive midfield and also starts off many of the City attacks. Bernardo Silva has also been praised throughout this season, which has lead to him being nominated for player of the year.
Paul Pogba has also been included in the team, to the surprise of many. The Frenchman has been heavily criticised throughout the season. He had a resurgence at the start of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign but has seen a dip in form as of late. Eden Hazard and Son Heung-min can perhaps feel hard done by, as they have performed consistently throughout this season.
Attack
It has been a fantastic year for strikers this season, so it was always going to hard to narrow it down to just three. Harry Kane, Mo Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have all had fantastic seasons, but have missed out on the team.
Instead, it is Sadio Mane, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling who have been named. It would be hard to argue the case for any of them not to be in the team of the season. All three have performed consistently this season. They have a combined 54 Premier League goals this season between them. There has not been many better players in the Premier League this season.
Overall Verdict
Overall, it is understandable as to why so many Manchester City and Liverpool players feature in the team of the season. Both teams have been fantastic to watch this season. However, several players can feel hard done by that they did not make it.
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