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Last Sunday was one of the most exciting days to have been a Premier League fan. The tournament winners were still not decided until the last day of the League. Just one point separated both Liverpool and Manchester City in the final standings with Pep Guardiola's squad emerging as the champions for the second consecutive time.
Although this campaign was mostly about 2 teams, there were a number of performers across the 20 teams who made a mark this year. They have been suitably rewarded for the skills they have shown on the field and it is now time to know about the players who have not been up to their mark this season.
All these players have had an off-season and they would like to forget this campaign and come back fresh in August again. The teams they represented could have done better had they performed well and hence, their performances this season need to be introspected.
On that note, here is the Underperforming Team of this Premier League Season.
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
Despite a few mistakes in last year's FIFA World Cup, it was expected that David De Gea would pull up his socks and do better for Manchester United. However, the Spaniard has had a rare season where he has been out of form which has, in turn, affected the performances of the Red Devils this season.
Although the defensive department of the squad has been in disappointing form, De Gea was not able to repeat what he has been doing in the last few seasons to avoid the leakage of goals this season. However, it has been De Gea's errors at the front of the goal on many occasions which have cost Manchester United very dearly.
Hence, for having one of the worst seasons in his career, David De Gea makes it to the Underperforming XI of the season.
Defense: Kieran Trippier, Shkodran Mustafi, Harry Maguire, Alonso
Kieran Trippier had an excellent World Cup last year but was not able to replicate the performances with Spurs this year. Set-pieces was one strong-hold of the Englishman but he has failed to contribute in this department for his side this season. He has just 3 assists this season and has looked vulnerable on many occasions in the defense this season.
Mustafi is definitely one player who would be a unanimous pick with most of the Premier League fans to make it to this team. The German has suffered from his decision-making abilities at the back and has been distracted very often which made him leak a lot of goals this season.
Harry Maguire was expected to become one of the best defenders in England at the end of this season. However, the Leicester City man has been very inconsistent and has fallen way short of his expectations. He has made a few mistakes at the back and has hardly failed to contribute to his side in set-pieces and attacking scenarios.
Alonso has been a consistent starter for Chelsea in the last two seasons but the Spaniard has failed to set this season on fire. He became a liability at the back and had very less impact with his crosses. His performances in set-pieces were also way below the expectations.
Midfield: Nemanja Matic, Davy Propper, Mesut Ozil
Nemanja Matic was a major drawback for Manchester United this season. The Serbian struggled to contain the onslaught from the opposition attack on many occasions and was also involved in a number of bad decisions that led to goals. Despite having the better performing Pogba and Herrera with him, Matic proved to be a liability on many occasions.
Despite 30 appearances for Brighton this year, Propper has just contributed with a solitary goal. The 27-year-old Dutch footballer has almost zero impact on the team with his performances. His performances were well below of what is expected of a club-record signing.
Ozil quit his international career at the start of the season and was also good in the first few pre-season games he played for Arsenal. However, the German has failed to make an impact with the Gunner this season which also saw him being benched for many games. He could have prospered with the other attackers doing well in the team but the former Real Madrid player failed to deliver.
Attack: Anthony Martial, Gonzalo Higuain, Alexis Sanchez
Despite a few good games at the start of Solskjaer's tenure at Manchester United, Anthony Martial has had a disappointing campaign with the Red Devils. The Frenchman was given a lot of opportunities too but he failed to capitalize. Manchester United's inability to produce goals from the wingers can be attributed as one of the reasons for their failure this season and Martial is definitely one of the reasons for it.
Higuain moved to Chelsea in January this year but the Argentine has failed to solve the striker issues at Chelsea. Higuain did score a few goals at the start of his Chelsea career but has gone silent since then. With the likes of Hazard and Kante around him, Higuain could have definitely done a better job.
It was Alexis Sanchez's first full season for Manchester United and the Chile superstar responded with just one goal this season. Injuries also hampered his campaign but when he did get a chance, he failed to make use of it. He has hardly had any assists this year which has made him one of the biggest flop signings for the Old Trafford club.
