AFP, London
Manchester City cruised to their third Premier League title in four seasons, but Pep Guardiola’s side are likely to face a tough defence of the crown next season.
Liverpool and Manchester United look capable of pushing the champions, while Chelsea should be in the mix after Thomas Tuchel’s impressive impact on the Champions League finalists.
Manchester United
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer survived some rocky spells to establish his side as genuine title contenders heading into next season.
Solskjaer led United to a second place finish — 12 points behind City — and the Norwegian has a chance to win the first trophy of his reign in the Europa League final against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Portugal star Bruno Fernandes has been the catalyst, providing on-field inspiration and dressing room leadership in equal measure, a stark contrast to the gifted but temperamental Paul Pogba. keeping Edinson Cavani was a wise move, but Kane has also been linked with a move to Old Trafford with Solskjaer needing a world-class striker in his prime to really worry City. Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish are also reportedly targets to add extra creativity and goals from the wide areas.
But bigger questions remain in defence with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof not always convincing at centre-back, while Dean Henderson and David De Gea battle to be number one goalkeeper.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp’s often tetchy demeanour reflected the stress of an arduous campaign as Liverpool failed to build on last season’s first English title in 30 years.
But a strong run of eight wins in their last 10 league games earned a third-place finish, providing optimism for next term.
Chelsea
When Frank Lampard was sacked in January, Chelsea were languishing in ninth place as a troubled season threatened to spiral out of control.
However, the decision to hire Thomas Tuchel as Lampard’s replacement proved inspired and the German has fourth-placed Chelsea nicely positioned to push on next season.
To truly turn Chelsea into a force, the former Paris Saint Germain boss must solve the problems posed by the erratic form of expensive signings Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
