Manchester City was once again above Liverpool in the final EPL standings. Instead of the expected and very real four titles, Jurgen Klopp’s side had to make do with two. And those, and we are talking about the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, were won in the penalty shootout after zero draws in regulation time. The opponent for the Reds in both finals was Chelsea from London – the winners of the Champions League the season before last. In the season that recently ended, Real Madrid won the title in the most prestigious club competition. Here Liverpool lost the final (0-1), although many football betting sites considered it the favorite for the decisive match in Paris.
Champions League zone in the EPL
The stigma of failure in the decisive games is increasingly attached to the Liverpool coach, even against the background of the new contract with improved conditions. It is just likely that if it were not for the persona of Klopp in the coaching bridge, the team with their current financial capabilities would have reached the finals much less often. In general, the Reds can be given a solid four for the season, their performance in the EPL was strong among other things. There was just a perfect team among the competitors who managed to hold the championship without any disruptions and win 29 matches out of 38. The Citizens also scored 99 goals, only one goal short of the Grand 100. Pep Guardiola’s team tried hard in the last five rounds, though, scoring an average of almost four goals per encounter!
Along with the top two teams in the EPL, Chelsea and Tottenham made it to the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal finished outside the top four once again. The Gunners were favourites in the race for a trip to the UEFA Champions League. Spurs and Manchester United were also in the race for fourth place. Trivial as it may seem, the coaching experience of Antonio Conte, who is superior to Mikel Arteta and even more so to Ralf Rangnick, was decisive. The latter, in principle, in recent years has been more engaged in the function of sports director than directly as a coach. The arrival of Eric Ten Hag as the new coach of the Red Devils confirmed this.
EPL underdogs: patterns and surprises
Speaking of the disappointments of the season, it’s impossible not to say a few words about Leeds United. Yet, the timely shock therapy in the form of the dismissal of Marcelo Bielsa has allowed the club with a history to retain its place in the EPL. Burnley, on the other hand, was less fortunate as the most British club with a traditional English style of soccer flew to the EFL Championship, although before the 38th matchday it was saving 17th place. A 1-2 home defeat at the hands of Newcastle United sealed the bleak fate of Sean Dyche’s side. Speaking of the Magpies, they should be the opener in the English league in the season 2022/23, at least due to competent spot work on the transfer market in the summer. Eddie Howe has already proved that with the coach the investors who came to the club guessed.
What to expect from the EPL new teams
Besides Burnley, Watford and Norwich, the typical ‘elevator teams’ who stopped fighting long before the end of the tournament, have also left the EFL. In their place will play in the elite division of English soccer Fulham and Bournemouth, who have played in the EPL for a relatively short time. The Cottagers go out and come back in phoenix mode almost every year! The same cannot be said for Nottingham Forest, who are returning to the English Premier League after a 23-year absence as a result of a Championships playoff win for themselves. Nevertheless, once the euphoria and emotion have worn off, the club will need to seriously work on strengthening the squad in order to meet the challenge of keeping their place in the elite. Otherwise, the example of Fulham is very quickly able to turn into a road map for the Foresters.
As a summary, the 2022/23 season in the English Premier League will be, as always, interesting and full of intrigue. Sensations are not excluded, as well as stories about “cinderella”, following the example of Leicester in the championship of 2015/16.