This past weekend, Manchester City defeated Brighton 4-1 to retain their Premier League trophy and bring to an end one of the most thrilling seasons in Premier League history.
The past nine months have been full of twists and turns and once the dust has settled on the result, fans will look back on this season with great fondness.
It is not just the top flight that has had an exceptional year though, with the 2018/19 season turning out to be a bit of a landmark season for English football on the whole.
From thrilling promotion races to incredible European comebacks, this season has been an incredible time to be a fan of the beautiful game in England, let’s take a look at four reasons why that is the case.
#4 Southgate’s lions march on
The 2018 World Cup was a special time for English football fans. After over two decades of under-performing on the big stage, Gareth Southgate’s young English team, ironically the only team to enter a tournament with zero weight on their shoulders, made it all the way to the semi-final of the tournament in Russia, losing to eventual runners up Croatia.
The team’s performance has provided the country with a renewed hope in their national team, and that sense of optimism has carried forward into their qualifying campaign and the inaugral Nation’s League tournament.
After finishing ahead of Spain and Croatia and gaining some revenge over the team that has caused them heart-ache in Russia, England will travel to Portugal to take on The Netherlands in the semi-finals of the tournament next month, with many fans expecting them to be crowned victors.
With Euro 2020 just over a year away, can England position themselves to enter the tournament as one of the favorites and finally end their 50+ year wait for an international trophy?
#3 European success
Regardless of your own loyalties in the game, it was difficult not to take your hat off for the spirited and quite exceptional performances put on by both Liverpool and Tottenham to secure their places in the 2018/19 Champions League final in Madrid.
Both teams pulled off exceptional comebacks and secured the first all-English final in a decade, a fine testament to the quality of the Premier League this season.
As if that weren’t enough though, Chelsea and Arsenal also both secured their place in the Europa League final in Baku, defeating Frankfurt and Valencia respectively.
This means that, for the first time in history, the Europa League and Champions League final will both be contested by teams from the same country, which is quite the achievement for the Premier League.
Whoever walks away victorious from Baku and Madrid, one thing is for sure, and that is that English football is the real winner this year.
#2 Thrilling Football League
While much has been said about the Premier League this year, those who follow the three divisions that make up the English Football League will also tell you that they have been equally, if not more, exciting.
The Championship featured a thrilling promotion race between Norwich, Sheffield United and Leeds, one which saw the latter two engage in a thrilling game of cat and mouse in the final weeks, while League One had a relegation battle that at one point, separated 12 teams by 3 points with only seven games left to go.
As for League Two, Lincoln City comfortably took home the League title but the battle for the final promotion spot came down to the last day, with Mansfield Town taking on MK Dons in a straight out battle for promotion.
The excitement of the Football League is paying off as well, with the divisions recording record attendance numbers for the season. Perhaps the most astonishing crowd of the season came at Sunderland on Boxing Day, where 46,039 fans turned out to see them take on Bradford, a truly incredible attendance for a third division tie.
#1 Greatest title race ever
Of course, the most exciting thing to have happened in English football over the last 12 months is the incredible title race between Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Premier League.
Heading into the campaign, many had expected Klopp’s side to provide a challenge for City, but no-one had expected it to be quite as incredible as it was.
After months of twists and turns, the race came down to the last day, with the reigning champions defeating Brighton away 4-1 to retain their trophy, though, Liverpool played their part, beating Wolves 2-0 and ensuring that they finished only one point their rivals.
Klopp’s team finished on an astonishing 97 points and only lost one game all season, a points tally that would have seen them win the Premier League every single year in the competition’s history except for the last two when Pep’s team have been champions.
While Liverpool fans will no doubt be dissappointed, football fans the world over can be grateful that they have got the chance to witness such an exceptional title battle.
[Sportskeeda]
