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With what has been the longest Premier League season to date, it's time to take a look at the top 4 teams and single out each club's best and worst players of the season. These views are based on statistics and overall impact or lack thereof.
Liverpool
Let us start with the champions Liverpool, who finally got their hands on that elusive Premier League trophy. As a team, they exceeded all expectations clinching the league title from a Manchester City side that looked almost unstoppable in the previous two seasons.
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It's extremely difficult to pick out just one player with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mane, Henderson and Mo Salah in the team.
But I have gone with Trent Alexander-Arnold. With Liverpool's style of play and their huge reliance on wing-backs, Alexander-Arnold has hit the heights this season contributing defensively and helping Liverpool have the best defensive record in the league, while also contributing in attack with 13 assists and 4 goals. Many have compared his abilities to the likes of David Beckham due to his great dribbling, crossing and free-kick abilities.
Picking their worst player is almost as difficult as picking their best and not many names come to mind. But just based on the lack of minutes they've racked up this season despite being available for most games, I've gone with Xherdan Shaqiri who has played just 181 minutes all season, scoring just 1 goal.
Manchester City
Next, we move on to Manchester City who have had a disappointing Premier League season by the standards they set in the previous two years under Pep.
Choosing their best player though is an absolute no-brainer, contributing to 33 goals in 35 appearances and equaling the record for most assists in a season with 20, it's Kevin De Bruyne. He has dominated the midfield and shown his class throughout the Premier League season.
City's major reason for inconsistency this season has been their defense. So for their worst player of the season, I have gone with John Stones.
At 26, the English international should be entering the peak of his career, but this Premier League season has been a disappointing one for the defender and, having made just 16 appearances all season, he looks like he might be on his way out of Manchester.
Manchester United
Moving on to the red side of Manchester now. It has been a pretty good Premier League season for Manchester United finishing in the Champions League positions with a fairly young squad and playing some exciting football.
As tempting as it is to go for the January signing Bruno Fernandes, who had a huge impact on results after his arrival, looking at the season as a whole it's between the number 9 and the number 10 who have had the greatest impact.
Despite Anthony Martial having a great end to the Premier League season, I've gone with Marcus Rashford who has had 25 goal contributions, one more than the Frenchman. Rashford has impressed on and off the pitch this season and seems to be improving day by day.
There have been a couple of players who have had below-average seasons with the club. But I'm going with Andreas Pereira. The Brazilian is playing his second full season at the club and has failed to impress despite featuring in 25 games this Premier League season. He's failed to nail down any position in midfield or the attack and, at 24 years of age, his time seems to be running out.
Chelsea
Now we move on to the London club, Chelsea. Frank Lampard's team managed to seal a Champion's League spot on the last day of the Premier League season and, like Man United, have had a pretty good season with their young exciting squad.
Their attack looks very exciting especially with Christian Pulisic coming to life at the end of the Premier League season. But I've gone for a player who has anchored their midfield this season and that player is Mateo Kovacic.
The 26-year-old has made 31 appearances for the Blues this season and has been the standout player in midfield, especially with Kante having long spells on the sidelines with injuries. His ball progression is second to none and he has been consistently good for the Blues.
For the worst player, I don't think there's too much of a debate to be had. After moving to Chelsea in August 2018 for a world record fee of €80 million (₹6.67bn) Kepa Arrizabalaga had a very mediocre first Premier League season.
But surprisingly, his second season has been even worse than the first one. He has a save percentage of 54.5%, by comparison, Allison, Ederson, and De Gea have a save percentage of 72.2%, 72.8% and 73.6% respectively. He has been one of the main reasons Chelsea have had the 8th worst defense in the Premier League this season.
