TAlthough this is not the 2015-16 season in which Leicester City won the league, there are certain similarities to this season. After 22 games that season, Arsenal lead Leicester on goal difference, with Manchester City one point back and Tottenham four points behind. It was the following weekend that Leicester began to take control of the league, as Leicester won against Stoke, Manchester City drew with West Ham and Arsenal lost at home to Chelsea. Victories over Manchester City and Liverpool in the next two games cemented their lead, which they would never relinquish.
Pointing out that they benefited from a number of elite teams who had disappointing seasons does not diminish Leicester's achievements: Arsenal finished second. With only 71 points. The theory then was that, using the Premier League's general wealth, i.e. Deloitte's 2024 figures, Aston Villa, Brighton, Fulham, Leeds, Crystal Palace and Everton would be the 30 richest clubs in the world by revenue. The idea was that the fact that it was included in the list meant something. Elites face the continued challenge of scoring 85 points or more in a season, which means it's not a viable goal every year. The idea occurred to me that the prosperity of the middle class might have helped level the league, at least at the top end.
After all, Leicester's success shocked the big clubs. They won the league with 81 points. Since then, no team has won by fewer than 86 points. Since then, the champions have only won by fewer than 90 points twice. In the 2017-18 season, City collected 100 points. The following season, Liverpool took 97 points, lost only one game, and still finished in second place. This means it's wise not to reach too sweeping conclusions based on one season. But this feels like nine years ago.
The big difference, and the reason why Nottingham Forest are unlikely to play Leicester, is that despite Liverpool's lack of investment over the summer, they still have six points against Forest and Arsenal with games left. It's about having a lead. This season hasn't been perfect, dropping points in four of the last seven games, but they've developed a happy habit of drawing draws from games they could have lost and winning games they could have drawn. There is. Saturday was a case in point, with Darwin Nunez scoring twice in stoppage time to defeat a clingy Brentford side.
Arsenal, on the other hand, had a habit of doing the opposite, drawing games they should have won and inadvertently giving Aston Villa a 2-0 lead at home, as they did against Everton and Fulham. They are on track for 76 points, which would be their lowest score in the last four seasons. Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham have all had unexpectedly poor seasons, Chelsea are yet to find consistency among their vast squads, and Villa are struggling with the dual demands of domestic competition and Europe. The story of this season has been that of the Premier League, with the Reds struggling to cope. Intermediate.
Forest were clearly the standout, playing without the ball and hilariously upsetting their more admired opponents, with Chris Wood enjoying the best season of his life. There is now a clear possibility of qualifying for the Champions League. Brighton overcame a bit of a tough patch, in part due to the worst injury crisis in the league, to follow up their win at Ipswich with victory at Old Trafford on Sunday. But perhaps the most impressive is Bournemouth.
They are facing an injury crisis, with his benching against Newcastle on Sunday taking his total to 39 Premier League appearances, with reserve goalkeeper Mark Travers making 23 of those appearances. Still, they overwhelmed a tired Newcastle side 4-1. The main concern at the beginning of the season was how to deal with the release of centre-forward Dominic Solanke, but Evanilsson quickly resolved that. He had broken a bone in his foot and was ably deputized by Dango Ouattara, normally a wide player. Antoine Semenyo is a constant threat from wide, but the key on Saturday was Justin Kluivert, who scored his second hat-trick of the season.
The performance of Dean Huisen and Milos Kerkes at the back was exceptional. Bournemouth have a good mix of talent and manager Andoni Iraola appears to be improving every player in his team with his controlled pressing. Bournemouth join Brighton and Brentford as role models for all but the elite clubs. Recruit wisely, play the system and reap the benefits – in Brighton's case, they incurred huge spending last summer and reinvested record profits.
Whether that means the days of needing 95 points or more to win the league are over is another matter. For now, suffice it to say, the Premier League has an insane number of teams that are competitive and fun to watch. Even if the top teams are not at the level they have been, that should be a good thing for the league as a whole.
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On this day
Along with Pele, Garrincha is one of the two most beloved players in Brazil's history. He was the star of the 1962 World Cup and Brazil never lost when the two played together. But while Pelé handled celebrities relatively well, Garrincha was an outcast. Many of the legends about him were exaggerated or false. For example, he had no idea that the radio he bought in Sweden only worked in Swedish. But equally his life was incredibly chaotic. When journalists heard that he was suffering from financial problems, they visited him in the village of Pau Grande and found banknotes of various currencies stuffed in drawers and fruit containers, some of them rotten. Some were no longer legal tender. Still, in today's money, there was still about $250,000 left.
He was a gifted, instinctive player who was born bowlegged, making it almost impossible for defenders to read his feints. However, he struggled desperately with alcoholism. He killed his mother-in-law while driving drunk, and then drunkenly attacked his wife, singer Elsa Soares. At the age of 49, he became unwell after drinking heavily, was hospitalized, fell into a coma, and died the next day, January 20, 1983.
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This is an excerpt from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, the Guardian's weekly coverage of matches in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com. We'll get the best answer in a future edition.
