The 2019/20 season isn’t officially concluded but given its suspension due to COVID-19, its continuation – should it resume – would almost feel like a new mini-campaign to check off the remaining fixtures. As such, it seems only fair to acknowledge the players who have performed admirably during the course of the normal campaign. We’re putting together the Team of the Season for each of Europe’s top five leagues. In this edition, we picked 22 of the best performing players in the Premier League and, with your help, narrow it down to the best XI. Using polls on our Instagram stories, we pit players in each position against each other and let you decide who deserves to make the cut. Runaway league leaders Liverpool dominate the team with six players featuring in our XI while two Manchester City names make it in too. Follow our Instagram page to get involved. Here’s what our Premier League Team of the Season looks like: He hasn’t been flawless but the more you watch Liverpool dominate, the more apparent it is that Alisson has a big part to play in helping them play out from the back and allowing for a high defensive line with his ability as a sweeper-keeper. He’s also remained a fine shot-stopper and leads the league with 12 clean sheets. It isn’t hyperbole to claim that Trent Alexander-Arnold is revolutionising the role of the full-back. He’s a midfielder by nature and it shows with his clever passes and switches of play proving key in Liverpool’s build-up. He’s a new breed of playmaker, behind only Kevin De Bruyne for assists with 12 and key passes with 75. His ability from set-pieces is a deadly bonus. Jurgen Klopp has built Liverpool’s commanding season on this absolute rock in defence. Virgil van Dijk was denied a Ballon d’Or for an outstanding 2019 but hasn’t let up one bit. Apart from his defensive responsibilities, he’s grown increasingly influential to his team’s build-up play, registering 2478 passes this season, more than anyone else in the league. A hefty transfer fee of £80m raised eyebrows when Harry Maguire joined Manchester United from Leicester City but it has not weighed down the centre-back. He’s immediately organised a creaking defence that’s kept the second-most clean sheets in all competitions across Europe, leading by example and even assuming the captaincy halfway through his first season at Old Trafford. He’s been slightly eclipsed by his team-mate on the opposite flank but Andy Robertson is undoubtedly among the elite full-backs in the game. His pace, stamina and attacking threat offers a different skillset to the one Alexander-Arnold brings to the table and makes for a nice balance in the team. With seven assists and a goal, the 26-year-old continues to impress. Mohamed Salah will always be measured against that phenomenal first season at Anfield when he scored 32 league goals and racked up 10 assists. His following two seasons, including this one, pale in comparison but he’s still been exceptional. Yes, he’s not as easy on the eye and is a little obsessed with scoring goals but he certainly delivers. He’s directly contributed to 22 goals this campaign. After an injury-ravaged season last term, Kevin De Bruyne has enjoyed his best yet. Currently on 16 assists, he’s well on course to smash Thierry Henry’s record of 20 if the season does resume. There’s no better midfielder in the league and perhaps even Europe. Despite City being a distant second to Liverpool in the table, he’s nevertheless a front runner for Player of the Season. Without Jack Grealish Aston Villa would likely be rooted to the bottom of the table with no hope of surviving. Thanks to their star playmaker though, they’ve got a shot at staying up. The Englishman has somehow managed seven goals and six assists despite the dearth in quality around him and his 2.7 key passes per game is second only to De Bruyne. No wonder United are desperate to sign him. With searing pace, ingenuity and an eye for goal, Sadio Mane is now very much among the elite wingers in the game. The Senegalese takes 2.3 shots per game compared to Salah’s 3.8 but still boasts a league-high ratio of 0.5 goals per game. His consistency has seen him notch up 14 goals and seven assists despite enduring a brief spell on the sidelines through injury. This season has been a tumultuous one for Arsenal with Mikel Arteta replacing Unai Emery halfway through but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been the one constant. Regardless of how the team has played, the Gabon international has always looked like scoring goals. His tally of 17 is just two shy of Jamie Vardy’s in the Golden Boot race. He’s only played 1402 minutes in the league this season but Sergio Aguero has scored at a remarkable rate to keep himself in the hunt for the Golden Boot. Averaging a goal every 87.62 minutes, City’s veteran striker has 16 strikes to his name. At the age of 31, his ability to keep scoring goals whenever fit enough to be on the pitch continues to astound.
