It was a record breaking season in the Premier League last season, as Manchester City romped to the title, and in doing so, became the first team to win 100 points during the Premier League season.
It was a memorable season in so many ways. It also marked the final year for Arsene Wenger in the Premier League, as his reign at Arsenal came to an end after 22 years in charge of the Gunners. Chelsea joined Arsenal as one of the ‘big six’ to miss out on the Champions League places, and the Blues also changed their manager, replacing Antonio Conte with Maurizio Sarri.
At the other end of the table, all three of the promoted clubs, Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield, survived for just the third time in Premier League history. In the end, it was West Brom, Stoke City, and Swansea City, who suffered the fate of relegation.
But it wasn’t just the teams who put in some notable performances. There were also some excellent showings from individuals, particularly those who moved to the Premier League as part of the record billion pound spend by clubs before the season began.
Their task this season will be to avoid joining the list of famous ‘one season wonders’; players who sparkled in their debut season in the Premier League, but went downhill afterwards.
The most famous of these is undoubtedly Michu, who joined Swansea for just £2 million from Rayo Vallecano in 2012. He went on to score 18 league goals in his first season, but just two in the following campaign, at the end of which he left Swansea.
Salah was undoubtedly the standout player in the Premier League last year, netting 32 goals, breaking the record for most strikes in a 38-game season. After his move from Roma, he hit the ground running, and was a key part of Liverpool’s team who retained their place in the top four, and helped take them to the Champions League final, where they were beaten by Real Madrid.
On 25 November, Salah bagged his tenth Liverpool goal in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, equalling Daniel Sturridge’s record of scoring his tenth for the club inside his first 13 games. Honouring a pre-match promise, he swapped shirts with ex team-mate Eden Hazard afterwards.
He was sensational all season, but he has to now prove that he can do it long-term in the Premier League. He struggled with Chelsea in his time there, and must show that he can do it in a second year with Liverpool.
His overall tally of 44 goals in 52 matches was second only to Ian Rush’s 1983/84 tally of 47 in Liverpool’s history, and included 11 in the UEFA Champions League as Liverpool reached the final. Suffered a shoulder injury early on in a defeat by Real Madrid in Kyiv.
Not many have hit the heights that Salah has and then failed the next season, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Teams will be making plans to stop Salah by any means necessary, and that is something he is going to have to deal with. He is certainly capable of doing it, but it will be more of a test for the Egyptian in his second season.
