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The Premier League teams whose fortunes changed most dramatically this season (cont'd)
Improved – Leicester
2019/20 Standings - 5th, 62 points; 2018/19 Standings - 9th, 52 points
Leicester were in the top four for 325 days, 33 Matchweeks yet somehow managed to finish fifth in the Premier League. Despite the late-season implosion, Leicester City played an attacking brand of football led by the dynamic Jamie Vardy, who went on win the Golden Boot, if that offers any consolation.
The record-breaking transfer of Harry Maguire to Manchester United could have easily derailed Leicester’s campaign, but the Foxes had the sixth-best defensive record in the division. To put the improvement into perspective, Brendan Rodgers’ team climbed four places to fifth this campaign, garnering 10 more points in the process.
At one point in the Premier League season, Leicester won eight in a row, including a 9-0 defeat of Southampton back in October. Had it not been for the crippling injuries towards the end, Rodgers and his men would surely have qualified for the Champions League.
In hindsight, it feels like a huge opportunity lost, but on a whole, it was a great improvement from the previous campaign.
Declined – Everton
2019/20 Standings - 12th, 49 points; 2018/19 Standings - 8th, 54 points
On one end of Merseyside, we witnessed jubilation as Liverpool finally ended their 30-year wait for a league title. On the other hand, neighbours Everton finished 12th, their worst standing since finishing 17th in the 2003/04 Premier League season.
The first half of the campaign saw the club embroiled in a relegation battle and only after the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, the Everton supporters got some of their belief back. Recruitment hasn’t been great in recent years and Ancelotti will be looking to rectify this if he’s to please a demanding set of supporters.
Everton, under Marco Silva, finished 8th last year and were expected to push for the European spots this campaign. But the manner of some of the defeats this Premier League season would have been a worry for the fans, including the 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth on the final day being a case in point.
Overall, Ancelotti will have his task cut out next season if Everton are to qualify for Europe next year.
