In terms of quality, excitement, and unpredictability, the Premier League is just that.
A most unusual Premier League season ended last week. It’s safe to say the 2019/2020 season, which spanned almost 12 months, will live in fans’ memory–for good and bad reasons. But one thing is for sure: the Premier League proved that it’s the most competitive and best association football league in the world.
Liverpool were simply fantastic from start to finish as The Reds won their first top-division championship in 30 years.
In any other league, it’s hard to imagine a club as powerful as Liverpool going without a league title for three decades. That’s one reason why the Premier League tops other countries. No single team dominates the table year after year.
With Liverpool winning it this year, four different clubs have won the Premier League title over the past five seasons. That includes the 2016 fairy tale season enjoyed by Leicester City. When Manchester City won back-to-back league titles (2018 and 2019), it was the first time that a side had achieved that feat since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United won three successive titles from 2007-2009.
Premier’s competitive balance is not reflected in other European leagues. This year, Bayern Munich won its 8th consecutive Bundesliga title, Juventus won its 9th straight Serie A title, PSG sealed their 7th French title in eight years, and either Real Madrid or Barcelona has won the last six La Liga titles.
But in the Premier League, it’s anybody’s guess who will win the title. And no team can take any other side lightly. Consider what happened this year: eventually relegated Norwich City beat reigning champion Manchester City, 3-2.
But the unpredictable nature of the Premier League doesn’t come at an expense–the quality of play, that is.
Many of the world’s top stars play here, including Kevin De Bruyne, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, and Harry Kane. And many of the world’s top managers strut the sidelines, including Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Jose Mourinho.
English clubs also have had plenty of success in European competitions. In 2019, the Champions League and Europa League finals were all-English clashes. It was the 2nd consecutive Champions League final for Liverpool, and Chelsea’s Europa League win was the 2nd English winner in three years.
Even though arguably the best players of all time –Messi and Ronaldo–play elsewhere, in quality, excitement, and unpredictability, the Premier League is just that.
