Liverpool have one hand on the Premier League title as 2024 attracts to a detailed, whereas it was a primary half of the season to neglect for Manchester Metropolis and Manchester United.
A season of sudden twists has featured Nottingham Forest making an astonishing surge to second place, with United and Tottenham wallowing within the backside half of the desk.
AFP Sport seems to be at 5 takeaways on the halfway level of the 2024/25 marketing campaign:
No Klopp, no downside for Liverpool
The emotional departure of Jurgen Klopp, who earned legendary standing on Merseyside for profitable the Premier League and Champions League throughout his close to 9 year-stint in cost, had dampened expectations of a title problem earlier than the marketing campaign started.
However Klopp had crucially rejuvenated his squad earlier than passing the reins to Arne Slot, who has made a close to flawless begin.
The previous Feyenoord boss has gained 23 of his 27 matches in all competitions, which additionally features a 100% report to high the Champions League and progress to the League Cup semi-finals.
Mohamed Salah has been the catalyst with 17 targets and 13 assists in 18 Premier League video games.
Even hypothesis over the futures of Egypt ahead Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who’re all out of contract on the finish of the season, has not derailed Liverpool’s rampant run.
Arsenal, 9 factors again, seem their most severe challenger, however Liverpool are nicely on target to match Manchester United’s report of 20 English top-flight titles by Could.
Man Metropolis’s fall from grace
Metropolis’s run of two wins of their final 14 matches has been the story of the season to date, with Pep Guardiola admitting their report streak of 4 consecutive titles won’t prolong to a fifth.
The defending champions are 14 factors off the highest, down in sixth and look in want of an overhaul if they’re to return to their former glories.
“In some positions we want assist,” Guardiola mentioned after Sunday’s 2-0 win at Leicester ended a run of eight away video games and not using a victory.
The lack of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri to a season-ending knee damage in September has been pivotal to Metropolis’s collapse, whereas Guardiola’s defence has been ravaged by accidents.
Now they face a struggle simply to increase their 14-year run of qualifying for the Champions League.
Forest lead shock packages
Forest solely secured survival on the ultimate day of final season however are having fun with a dream marketing campaign below Nuno Espirito Santo.
Well-known victories at Anfield and Outdated Trafford have been the highlights because the two-time European champions have their eyes on a return to the Champions League subsequent season for the primary time in 45 years.
Solely Arsenal and Liverpool have conceded fewer targets, whereas journeyman New Zealand striker Chris Wooden has joined Salah, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak within the race for the Golden Boot.
The struggles of the normal giants has additionally opened the door for different unlikely contenders for Europe. Bournemouth sit sixth, with Fulham in eighth.
Man Utd sink to new depths
A lot has modified at Outdated Trafford over the previous 12 months, however outcomes have solely acquired worse.
Since shopping for a minority stake within the membership, Jim Ratcliffe has applied a brand new sporting construction off the sector, sacked supervisor Erik ten Hag and overseen one other costly spending spree within the switch market.
United’s eighth-placed end final season was their worst for 34 years.
After 19 video games they’re 14th and nearer to the relegation zone than the highest 4, with simply seven factors separating them from the underside three.
United have misplaced 4 successive video games in all competitions and 5 of their final six league matches, together with their final three at house.
Ruben Amorim has gained simply twice within the league since arriving from Sporting Lisbon within the worst begin of any new United supervisor in almost 100 years.
Promoted trio in hassle
For simply the second time within the historical past of the Premier League, all three promoted sides have been relegated final season.
That feat is on target to be repeated with Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester ending the yr within the backside three.
The development raises considerations over the rising gulf between the Premier League, which boasts the world’s most profitable TV income streams, and the second-tier Championship.
Southampton’s return of six factors is on target to interrupt Derby’s undesirable report from 2007/08 because the worst crew in Premier League historical past.
kca/smg/pi