Premier League
Another season and it was another masterclass performance by Manchester City, which saw the club clinch its third successive title and its fifth in six years. Pep Guardiola’s men finished the league, having scored the highest number of goals (94) and the joint-best defensive record along with Newcastle United, with just 33 goals conceded.
It had faced stiff competition throughout the season from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, and it looked like the Gunners would end their 19-year title drought, but they faltered at the fag end of the race allowing City to romp home.
Erik Ten Hag had his share of humiliating results with Manchester United in his first season, like the 4-0 loss to Brentford, the 6-3 defeat against City and the 7-0 drubbing against arch-rival Liverpool. But overall, the Dutchman ticked the main boxes in his first season with the Red Devils. They ended their six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and finished third to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle United’s journey is undoubtedly one of the major talking points across Europe’s top-five leagues. Even with the backing of the cash-rich Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), securing a Champions League finish was an impressive feat by the Magpies.
Liverpool had a terrible start to its campaign but made a solid recovery and even looked like making a late entry in the UCL slots. But it wasn’t to be for the Reds as Jurgen Klopp and his side would battle it out in the Europa League next season. The Reds would also bid goodbye to Roberto Firmino who confirmed his exit in the summer.
As far as other European slots are concerned, the Premier League saw the resurgence of teams like Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton and Hove Albion, and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, which qualified for the Europa League group stages and the Conference League qualifiers, respectively.
For Chelsea, ‘torrid’ would be the best way to describe its season. Despite heavy spending by its new owner Todd Boehly, the Blues never had things going for them in the season. From Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, and Graham Potter’s horrible run of results to a poor finish under Frank Lampard, it was a season to forget. It finished 12th — its lowest league standing since the 1993-94 season under Glenn Hoddle.
It was an underwhelming season for Tottenham Hotspur, which saw the sacking of head coach Antonio Conte. Harry Kane finished second in the Golden Boot race, with 30 goals, but overall, it was a disappointing season for Spurs, as they finished eighth and won’t play in any European competition next season.
In the relegation battle, Southampton was the first victim as it got relegated for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Leicester City, which created its own fairytale by winning the title in the 2015-16 season, also got relegated. Leeds United, which also saw an inspiring comeback to the Premier League season under Marcelo Bielsa in the 2020-21 season, was also sent back to the Championship.
La Liga
Barcelona secured its first La Liga title since Lionel Messi left the club, overcoming the challenge of defending champion Real Madrid with surprising ease.
Xavi Hernandez, who took over the club in 2021, revived the club’s fortunes with some astute signings, including that of Polish marksman Robert Lewandowski, who also claimed the Pichichi Trophy with 23 goals.
Barcelona’s success was built on its stingy defence, which conceded just 20 goals in the league. Its shot-stopper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen had a superhuman season, with the German’s save per cent of 83.9 the best in the league.
Real Madrid kept pace with the Catalonians for most of the season. But its inconsistency, marked by several defeats to lower-placed teams, meant Carlo Ancelotti’s men failed to retain the league title.
The Los Blancos saw Karim Benzema announce his departure from the club as its joint-most decorated player alongside Marcelo with 25 titles. Eden Hazard, whose Madrid career has been dismal, to say the least, would also leave after his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
Atletico Madrid found a late-season resurgence, which helped it to challenge its cross-city rival for the second spot and secure a Champions League spot in Diego Simeone’s last season as manager.
Real Sociedad rounded up the top four, which secured its return to UCL after a decade.
Traditional top-tier teams like Valencia and Sevilla had a disappointing season, as they finished in the bottom half of the league, with the former briefly flirting with relegation before bouncing back to survive.
Final flourish: Paris St Germains’ Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Sergio Ramos celebrate with teammates after winning the Ligue 1.. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Ligue 1
Lionel Messi became the highest goalscorer in Europe, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo with his 496th strike — coming against Strasbourg — sealing the Ligue 1 title for Paris Saint-Germain.
The title — his 43rd trophy — made him the joint-most decorated footballer in the world, level with his former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves. Messi remained the centre of attraction even after the match as he parted ways with PSG at the end of the season.
Having joined the club on a free transfer from Barcelona in 2021, Messi ended his two-year stint at the French capital, amassing 32 goals and 35 assists, including the top assist provided in the 2022-23 season.
But his final game for the club saw him leave with an unceremonious loss to Clermont Foot along with boos and jeers from PSG fans.
For PSG, an 11th league title meant it was now the most successful club in France’s first division, surpassing Saint-Etienne’s tally of 10 titles in the top division. But the club saw the exit of two World Cup winners, Sergio Ramos (2010) and Messi (2022).
The most inspiring story in the league, however, was that of RC Lens. The club, which returned to the top division in 2020, was the first team to beat PSG this season and finished second, securing Champions League qualification for the third time in its history.
It conceded just 29 goals in Ligue 1 this season — the best in the league and the third best in Europe’s top five leagues, behind Barcelona (20) and Napoli (28).
This season was also the last one in Ligue 1 with 20 teams, with the next season set to have 18. Metz and Le Havre have been promoted while Auxerre, Troyes, AC Ajaccio and Angers are the relegated sides.
Serie A
It had to wait patiently for 33 years, but that made the victory all the sweeter as Napoli won the Scudetto after a dominating Serie A campaign. It finished the season with 90 points — 16 ahead of second-placed Lazio.
It is safe to say that the league standings saw a lot of changes, owing to Juventus’ point penalty. After initially being deducted 15 points, the Bianconeri were temporarily handed a lifeline when the penalty was revoked, which propelled the club to a Champions League spot.
However, lightning struck twice for Massimiliano Allegri and his men after a fresh deduction of 10 points was announced by the Italian federation for false accounting, which sent the club out of the top four again. It finished the season in seventh and will play the Conference League qualifiers.
Inter and AC Milan did not have the most consistent of seasons in the league but managed to clinch third and fourth place, respectively.
Milan also bid Zlatan Ibrahimovic goodbye after the Swede announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 41.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma, which finished sixth, had the chance to secure UCL qualification by beating Sevilla in the Europa League final, but a loss on penalties meant that Mourinho would see his team battle in Europe’s second-tier club competition in the next season as well.
Last-gasp stretch: Munich overcame a last-mionute scare by Borussia Dortmund to win yet another Bundesliga title. | Photo Credit: AFP
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich, like most of us, expected its decade-long monopoly of the Bundesliga to end heading into the final day of league action, with Borussia Dortmund holding a two-point advantage after a late surge in form.
But in the end, it was the Bavarians who would celebrate, yet again, after Dortmund stuttered to a 2-2 draw against Mainz at home, while Bayern beat FC Koln 2-1, with it securing the go-ahead goal only in the 89th minute through Jamal Musiala.
Bayern, which seemed to have shot itself in the foot with an unexpected mid-season sacking of Julian Nagelsmann, benefitted from Dortmund’s inexperience. Nagelsmann’s replacement Thomas Tuchel steered his side to a dominant win against its title rival to start his spell with Bayern.
But Tuchel would hit multiple roadblocks, including defeats to Mainz and RB Leipzig, before landing on its feet at the very last minute. Major reforms are brewing for the German champion within, which has already started with the departure of club CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Leipzig continued to establish itself as a strong force in the league with a third-place finish while Union Berlin delivered the surprise element for the season, by finishing fourth and clinching a UCL spot, for the first time in club history.
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