2019–20 in English football: Difference between revisions

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===Premier League===
Amid uncertainty and calls for the season to be rendered null and void in the midst of the pandemic, the FA voted for both the Premier League and the Championship to finish their respective campaigns – a decision that finally helped Liverpool, after decades of heartbreak, near-misses and rebuilding, to end their long wait and win their first league title since 1990, astaking wellthe aslead in mid-August and not surrendering it all season, holding a double-digit lead from Boxing Day and eventually breaking the record for the earliest top-flight win in history, whilst also extending their unbeaten league run at Anfield to a third successive season and 59 games – despite a succession of dropped points in their remaining games ensuring they would miss out on breaking any of the previously set title-winning records on top of an early exit in the Champions League knockout stage, the Reds won both the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in the first half of the season to mark one of their most successful campaigns since 2001. Finishing second were Manchester City, who had been widely tipped to build on their domestic treble the previous season – however, they endured arguably one of the most disappointing title defences in the club's history, losing ground on Liverpool as early as their second game and suffering a number of unexpected and poor defeats, including home-and-away to both Wolverhampton Wanderers and city rivals Manchester United, a decision ultimately put down to the club's failure to replace departing captain [[Vincent Kompany]] and then losing key players [[Leroy Sane]] and [[Aymeric Laporte]] to long-term injuries; despite this, City were at least able to earn silverware, winning their fifth League Cup in seven seasons.
 
In similar circumstances to the previous season, the battle for the remaining top-four spots went down to the final day – and saw Chelsea and Manchester United scrape through at the expense of Leicester City; Chelsea's first season under new head coach and former player [[Frank Lampard]] proved largely indifferent, conceding far more goals than all of the top ten, but they managed enough consistency to ensure Champions League football, whilst a largely underwhelming 2020 went against Leicester, who lost a winner-takes-all final day game against United, the Red Devils securing Champions League football despite an inconsistent 2019 – the arrival of midfielder [[Bruno Fernandes (footballer, born 1994)|Bruno Fernandes]] in the winter transfer window helping to reinvigorate the team. An uneven start to the season for Tottenham Hotspur ultimately saw manager [[Mauricio Pochettino]] sacked after five-and-a-half years at the helm; whilst the installation of [[Jose Mourinho]] helped push the club back up the table and into a late battle to ensure Europa League football for the next campaign, an early exit in the Champions League and poor performances across domestic cup competitions put paid to any hopes of Spurs winning a trophy – with similar performances in the league raising questions about Mourinho's long-term tactics.