WiNK

2020-21 Premier League Final Update

by: Ioanna Aspras

Now that the 2020-21 Premier League season has officially come to an end, I thought it would be appropriate to summarize all that happened this season.

COVID & FANS- Like many things this year, the Premier League was largely impacted by COVID-19. The majority of the season consisted of matches with no fans in the stands. However, as vaccinations started to be distributed, and restrictions were lifting, fans were slowly allowed back. By the final matches of the season, the stadiums were allowed to be filled to about 25% of its full capacity.

SUPER LEAGUE- Over a month ago, the owners from 12 of the most well known and biggest soccer teams in the world came together to organize a new league; the European Super League (ESL). These teams included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham from the Premier League; Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid from La Liga; and AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus from Serie A. In the end, the goal was to have 20 total teams with 15 Founding Clubs. The idea for this League was to have these 20 teams play mid-week competitions as well as the teams' domestic leagues. The layout would be more similar to American sports' competitions where there is a set number of teams in a league and by the end of the season there will be a declared winner with no relegations. However, this idea did not last very long. Nearly 72 hours after this announcement, the majority of these teams withdrew. This sudden and unexpected proposal turned the fans against the clubs. Many fans protested and rioted the stadiums; this put a pretty permanent wedge between the fans' and owners' relationships. The other championships also released statements about possible punishments and repercussions if they proceed with this 'Super League.' As of now, just Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid are remaining and can end up facing consequences from other Leagues and championships they are a part of.

TABLE UPDATE- Every year, the Premier League consists of 38 matchdays; each club plays 38 matches. On this 38th and final matchday, it is tradition for each match to be played on the same day at the exact same time. This causes much suspense and anticipation, especially if the team you support's result on the table relies on what happens in another match. This year, many of the clubs already had 'set and stone' placements on the table; if not, many, at least, knew if they qualified for the other championships for next year, such as the Champions League and the FA Cup. After all the games finished on Sunday, May 23, this is what the final table looked like:

Manchester City are the new title holders! The blues officially won the title on May 11, because their rival, Manchester United, lost to Leicester City which meant the reds wouldn't be able to get the points to be able to pass the blues before the end of the season.

Unfortunately, the bottom three teams: Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United were relegated. Three new teams will be joining next season: Norwich City, Watford and Brentford. These teams were the top three from the league just below the top tier, and have been officially promoted to the Premier League.

FA CUP- On May 15, Leicester City and Chelsea played in the FA Cup final. After 90+ minutes, Leicester City made history by taking home the trophy after winning 1-0, and it being the first time the club has ever won this award.

EUROPA LEAGUE- On May 26, Manchester City played against Villarreal, a Spanish team from La Liga, in the final for the Europa League. At the end of the 90 minutes, the score was 1-1. They remained tied throughout extra time which led to penalty shots. Eventually, Villarreal took the win on 11-10 penalties.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE- On May 29, Manchester City and Chelsea competed in the Champions League final. In the end, Chelsea came out on top with a well deserved 1-0 win against the light blue team.

MAKING HISTORY- Along with Leicester City winning the FA Cup for the first time, there were also a few other moments of history-making. One of which is from Liverpool's final meeting with West Brom. At almost the last minute of the match, Liverpool's goalkeeper, Alisson, came to the other side of the field during a corner kick. He scored a monumental header that won them the game. He also not only became one of the few goalkeepers in the Premier League to score a competitive goal, but he is the first ever Liverpool goalkeeper to score a goal in the club's history.

As this concludes this year's Premier League season, we can look forward to the national teams competing in the Euro 2020 this summer, and what's to come next season.