Big six back on top
For large parts of the last Premier League season, it seemed certain that the “Big Six’s” vice-like grip on the Champions League places was to end. Leicester City were flying high and offering the closest challenge to the top two; Wolverhampton Wanderers were building on their impressive debut season; new boys Sheffield United were breathing down everybody’s neck. Meanwhile, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United all had problems of their own, and when Manchester City were banned from European football, it seemed that a thorough shake-up was on the way.
In the end of course, it was normal service resumed. CAS overturned Manchester City’s ban, and they and Liverpool were joined in the top four by Chelsea and Manchester United, who capitalised on Leicester’s postlockdown implosion. Tottenham completed the top six, while Arsenal, the one side to miss out, leapfrogged Wolves into the Europa League by virtue of winning the FA Cup. The top six’s dominance was re-established.
How they will stack up in 2020-21 will be intriguing. As it stands, there is an almost rock-paper-scissors quality to them: all just as capable of beating one as they are losing to another.
In the FA Cup final, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta outthought Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, who in turn has outfoxed his old mentor, Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, twice. Spurs themselves pulled off a counter-attacking masterclass in July’s North London derby, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also countered his way to a Manchester derby double. As Jonathan Wilson points out in his column (page 16), City often came unstuck against fast, direct counters, though they may take encouragement from their 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool – even if the Reds had already won the league at that point. In the same period, the champions also came unstuck against Guardiola’s former understudy, Arteta.
Nevertheless, it is fair to say that Jurgen Klopp’s side are an exception to this rule, on the evidence of last season. They lost just once before the title was sealed – a rare off day away at Watford – and won 11 out of 14 games against their top eight rivals. Undoubtedly, they are still the team to beat.
If they have a weakness, it is that they thrive so much on momentum. In the relentless nature of the Premier League where the games come thick and fast, this is usually a positive, particularly in a season where the games will need to be
There is an almost rock-paper-scissors quality to the top six: all just as capable of beating one as they are losing to another