The Premier League was dominated by Arsenal and Manchester United in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, such duopoly has not been witnessed. The dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool this season raises the question though and perhaps the English giants can dominate the Premier League for the years to come.
Manchester City and Liverpool Can Maintain Their Dominance For Years To Come
Current Dominance
Manchester City won the title having amassed a mammoth 98 points. Liverpool, on the other hand, racked up 97 points and lost only once the whole season but yet were unable to win their first league title in 29 years. 97 points would have been enough to win the title in all but one season in the history of the Premier League which was in 2017-18 where Manchester City collected a record 100 points.
Both Manchester City and Liverpool were evidently extremely dominant this season. From quite early in the season, it was quite clear that it would be a two-horse race for the title. Tottenham Hotspur tried to stay in the race but injuries and fatigue caught up with them. Eventually, they got dragged into the top four battle and managed to secure the fourth position by just one point.
Squad Strengths & Potential Improvements
Manchester City
Manchester City have world class players in every position. They had quite a lot of injuries this season. One of their key players Kevin De Bruyne was injured several times and missed large parts of the season. Benjamin Mendy again missed the majority of the season due to injury. David Silva, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Fabian Delph, and John Stones’ attendance in the season too was inconsistent. Despite that, Pep Guardiola’s men retained their dominance throughout. They had a tough time in December-January when they lost to Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle United. However, they managed to recover really well and came back from seven points behind to overtake Liverpool to win back to back titles.
Manchester City have already established their dominance over the Premier League. Their squad is formidable. If they can add an able replacement for the injury-prone Benjamin Mendy and a midfielder to provide backup to Fernandinho, they will have a near perfect squad. Manchester City fans must be happy with the recent rumors linking Rodri to their club. Their captain Vincent Kompany is leaving as well and so, a defender will be required to at least provide bench strength. One thing is for sure, Manchester City will fight for the title again next season.
Liverpool
Liverpool splashed out more than £170 million last year to bring in Alisson Becker, Naby Keita, Fabinho, and Xherdan Shaqiri. With the return to full fitness of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, Jürgen Klopp’s squad will see an automatic improvement. It is quite difficult to see Liverpool signing someone who will walk straight into the starting 11 though. In fact, it would be tough to improve a squad that is as strong as Liverpool’s already.
Liverpool finished the season with a stunning 97 points. Their records were pretty similar to Manchester City’s in terms of the number of goals scored and conceded. However, some would argue Liverpool’s aura of dominance was not as strong. They got quite lucky in some games thanks to goalkeeping errors and individual mistakes. They also needed quite a few late goals to register victories. So, there is a question mark whether they can replicate this season’s brilliant performance next season.
The Competition
Chelsea
Chelsea finished third in the end with 72 points, a whopping 25 points behind Liverpool. They are in the final of the Europa League and have also secured Champions League football for next season through the top four. Despite that, their fans do not seem to be happy. A transfer ban looms large and their talisman Eden Hazard might also leave for Real Madrid. In addition, Maurizio Sarri and his ‘Sarriball’ philosophy have come under quite a lot of criticism. If the transfer ban is applied, it will have a massive impact on Sarri’s plans. It would be quite amazing to see the Blues mount a serious title challenge next season.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the end. However, they held the third place for most of the season. It was really impressive considering the fact that they did not make a single signing. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have reached the final of the Champions League for the very first time in the club’s history. Unfortunately for their fans, there seem to be some doubts around Pocchettino’s future. Daniel Levy needs to keep him and provide him with an adequate transfer budget. If that happens, there is an outside chance of Tottenham Hotspur to really go for the title next season.
Arsenal and Manchester United have too many internal problems at the moment to be part of this conversation.
There is a good chance that the top two of this season will be top two next season as well. However, it is also entirely possible that Manchester City win the title quite easily and Liverpool finish a distant second.
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