Premier League 2024-25 awards: From best game to worst signing
Published: May 26, 2025
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The best domestic league in the world didn't exactly enjoy its most thrilling season in 2024-25. The Premier League title and all three relegation spots were locked up before May, and while the race for UEFA Champions League berths went all the way to the end of the season, the only final-day drama we got revolved around a controversial refereeing decision. Hell, with Mohamed Salah's steady heroics -- at one point in the fall, he scored in seven straight matches and 11 of 12 -- even the league's player of the year honors were decided early.
Still, every season is a time capsule in itself, and this one still gave us an incredible Salah contract year, wonderfully intriguing charges by teams such as Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth and, indeed, a down-to-the-wire race for Champions League spots. A big-time league is always going to produce moments and players worth celebrating, so here are some of this season's most sparkling stats and superlatives.
Best XI
Goalkeeper: Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest suffered some of the worst goalkeeping you'll ever see last season; as I wrote in the season preview, Sels, Matt Turner and Odisseas Vlachodimos combined to allow over 17 more goals than expected based on the quality of shots they faced, and it prevented them from surging under Nuno Espirito Santo late in 2023-24.
With both Vlachodimos and Turner gone, the job was all Sels' this season ... and damn, if he wasn't spectacular. Forest did a good job of preventing too many high-quality opportunities from coming Sels' way -- the center back duo of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic was outstanding -- but his 4.3 goals prevented were fourth highest in the league, and his 13 clean sheets were tied for the most.
Backup: Alisson Becker, Liverpool
Left back: Antonee Robinson, Fulham
Robinson has been a solid Premier League full back for a while, but he shifted into a new gear. No one balances the demands of the position better than the 27-year-old, who somehow ranked first among all Premier League full backs in both assists (10 -- four more than even Trent Alexander-Arnold) and defensive interventions (496). He was second among full backs in progressive carries (284), too, trailing only Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol. He was almost literally everywhere for an overachieving Fulham.
Backup: Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City
Center backs: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool, and James Tarkowski, Everton
Like Robinson, Van Dijk has long been among the league's best defenders in two completely different ways: He starts the buildup game as well as anyone -- he was first among all defenders in touches, pass attempts and completions -- and he contributes to the attack in terms of both passing (10th among center backs with 12 chances created) and set pieces (three goals, 27 shot attempts). But then he's also still just about the best security blanket in the world: He ranked 11th among center backs in defensive interventions (despite Liverpool not needing as many of them as others), and he was second among regular center backs in aerial success rate (72.1%). At 33, he's still the total package.
Tarkowski, meanwhile, produced even better defensive stats, even if they came without as many offensive fireworks. Tarkowski and Forest's Murillo might have been the best defending defenders in the league, and we'll give Tarkowski the edge because of pure aerial prowess: Not only was he fifth among center backs in both defensive interventions and blocked shots; he also won 74.6% (first) of his 138 aerial duels (ninth). He's the most talented and effective tree in the league, and he gets bonus points for the fact that his only league goal of the season was a dramatic game-tying one at the Merseyside derby against Liverpool.
Backups: Murillo, Nottingham Forest, and Fabian Schär, Newcastle United
Right back: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool
The vibes were awkward as the best passing full back of the 2020s prepared to leave for (presumably) Real Madrid, but don't let that take away from the fact that Alexander-Arnold remains ridiculous in terms of ball distribution. Among full backs, only Robinson and Wolves' Rayan Aït-Nouri -- who was only partially a full back -- topped his six assists, only Gvardiol topped his 278 progressive passes, and no one topped his 7.4 expected assists from completed passes or his five successful one-on-ones in the box. Combine that with ever-decent defensive numbers, and it's pretty clear that Trent was still Trent in Liverpool's title season.
Backup: Pedro Porro, Tottenham Hotspur
Defensive midfielder: Youri Tielemans, Aston Villa
An A-grade attacking midfielder playing from defensive positioning. The 28-year-old Tielemans was decent enough in defense, blocking 16 shots (fifth among midfielders) with 331 defensive interventions (18th), but he was asked to do a ton in pivoting Villa into attack, and he was just brilliant at it: He was third among all midfielders in touches (2,526), fourth in progressive passes (285) and eighth in both assists (7) and chances created (61). He could force the issue, too, scoring three goals and winning nine fouls in the attacking third.
Backup: Enzo Fernández, Chelsea
Central(ish) midfielder: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United
Okay, we're certainly building a pretty attack-friendly XI here, but while Fernandes has done most of his work from attacking midfield positions through the years, he was asked to play further back once Ruben Amorim took over at Manchester United. Being Bruno Fernandes, he was excellent at it. He finished the year first among midfielders in progressive passes (364), second in assists (10) and first in chances created (91). He scored eight goals, too, and of the eight, three gave United the lead -- no small feat in a season in which they finished 15th in the table -- and two more tied the game.
Backup: Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal
Central attacking midfielder: Cole Palmer, Chelsea
Sure, he did a lot of his work early in the season, but 23 combined goals and assists is still dynamite output for someone typically based well outside the box.
In his first 15 league matches, Palmer combined 11 goals with six assists, producing two of the most staggeringly impressive performances of the season: a one-goal, three-assist effort in a 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in August, and a four-goal, four-chances performance in a 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. He had a spot in this XI locked up by December.
Backup: Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest
Left winger: Luis Díaz, Liverpool
For as good as Salah was -- and he was ridiculous -- Diaz's own improvement was an unfair proposition for opponents.
Diaz, 2022-23: 0.54 goals+assists per 90 min., 0.34 xG+xA per 90 min
Diaz, 2023-24: 0.44 G+A/90, 0.57 xG+xA/90
Diaz, 2024-25: 0.67 G+A/90, 0.62 xG+xA/90
After producing a solid eight goals and five assists in league play last season, Diaz went for 13 and five, while playing 235 fewer minutes, in 2024-25. Salah vacuumed up opportunities, but Diaz's 18 combined goals and assists still tied for 12th in the league and first among left wingers.
Backup: Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace
Center-forward: Alexander Isak, Newcastle United
You know it was a strange season for center-forwards when Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood nearly finished with the same number of goals as Manchester City's Erling Haaland. But Isak topped them both. He produced as many assists as both of them combined and scored only one fewer non-penalty goal than Salah in nearly 600 fewer minutes. He carries a lot of weight in the Newcastle attack, and he's constantly up for the challenge: He scored in 18 league matches this season -- the Magpies averaged 2.44 points per game (14 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) when he scored and 1.4 when he didn't.
Backup: Erling Haaland, Manchester City
Right winger: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Obviously.
Backup: Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford
Player of the season: Mohamed Salah
The big numbers are impressive enough: His 47 combined goals and assists matched the record set by Alan Shearer (1994-95) and Andy Cole (1993-94), and both Shearer and Cole did it in 42-game seasons. His 29 goals and 18 assists were each six more than anyone else. He attempted more shots than anyone (130) and created the third-most chances in the league. Ridiculous in every possible way.
Honestly, though, Salah might have produced an even more impressive number than any of that. Only two players won more than 15 one-on-ones in the defensive box this season: Manchester City dribble master Jérémy Doku had 18 ... and Salah had 28. Best scorer, best passer and best dribbler in the league? At age 32?? Come on.
Best XI
Goalkeeper: Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest suffered some of the worst goalkeeping you'll ever see last season; as I wrote in the season preview, Sels, Matt Turner and Odisseas Vlachodimos combined to allow over 17 more goals than expected based on the quality of shots they faced, and it prevented them from surging under Nuno Espirito Santo late in 2023-24.
With both Vlachodimos and Turner gone, the job was all Sels' this season ... and damn, if he wasn't spectacular. Forest did a good job of preventing too many high-quality opportunities from coming Sels' way -- the center back duo of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic was outstanding -- but his 4.3 goals prevented were fourth highest in the league, and his 13 clean sheets were tied for the most.
Backup: Alisson Becker, Liverpool
Left back: Antonee Robinson, Fulham
Robinson has been a solid Premier League full back for a while, but he shifted into a new gear. No one balances the demands of the position better than the 27-year-old, who somehow ranked first among all Premier League full backs in both assists (10 -- four more than even Trent Alexander-Arnold) and defensive interventions (496). He was second among full backs in progressive carries (284), too, trailing only Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol. He was almost literally everywhere for an overachieving Fulham.
Backup: Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City
Center backs: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool, and James Tarkowski, Everton
Like Robinson, Van Dijk has long been among the league's best defenders in two completely different ways: He starts the buildup game as well as anyone -- he was first among all defenders in touches, pass attempts and completions -- and he contributes to the attack in terms of both passing (10th among center backs with 12 chances created) and set pieces (three goals, 27 shot attempts). But then he's also still just about the best security blanket in the world: He ranked 11th among center backs in defensive interventions (despite Liverpool not needing as many of them as others), and he was second among regular center backs in aerial success rate (72.1%). At 33, he's still the total package.
Tarkowski, meanwhile, produced even better defensive stats, even if they came without as many offensive fireworks. Tarkowski and Forest's Murillo might have been the best defending defenders in the league, and we'll give Tarkowski the edge because of pure aerial prowess: Not only was he fifth among center backs in both defensive interventions and blocked shots; he also won 74.6% (first) of his 138 aerial duels (ninth). He's the most talented and effective tree in the league, and he gets bonus points for the fact that his only league goal of the season was a dramatic game-tying one at the Merseyside derby against Liverpool.
Backups: Murillo, Nottingham Forest, and Fabian Schär, Newcastle United
Right back: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool
The vibes were awkward as the best passing full back of the 2020s prepared to leave for (presumably) Real Madrid, but don't let that take away from the fact that Alexander-Arnold remains ridiculous in terms of ball distribution. Among full backs, only Robinson and Wolves' Rayan Aït-Nouri -- who was only partially a full back -- topped his six assists, only Gvardiol topped his 278 progressive passes, and no one topped his 7.4 expected assists from completed passes or his five successful one-on-ones in the box. Combine that with ever-decent defensive numbers, and it's pretty clear that Trent was still Trent in Liverpool's title season.
Backup: Pedro Porro, Tottenham Hotspur
Defensive midfielder: Youri Tielemans, Aston Villa
An A-grade attacking midfielder playing from defensive positioning. The 28-year-old Tielemans was decent enough in defense, blocking 16 shots (fifth among midfielders) with 331 defensive interventions (18th), but he was asked to do a ton in pivoting Villa into attack, and he was just brilliant at it: He was third among all midfielders in touches (2,526), fourth in progressive passes (285) and eighth in both assists (7) and chances created (61). He could force the issue, too, scoring three goals and winning nine fouls in the attacking third.
Backup: Enzo Fernández, Chelsea
Central(ish) midfielder: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United
Okay, we're certainly building a pretty attack-friendly XI here, but while Fernandes has done most of his work from attacking midfield positions through the years, he was asked to play further back once Ruben Amorim took over at Manchester United. Being Bruno Fernandes, he was excellent at it. He finished the year first among midfielders in progressive passes (364), second in assists (10) and first in chances created (91). He scored eight goals, too, and of the eight, three gave United the lead -- no small feat in a season in which they finished 15th in the table -- and two more tied the game.
Backup: Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal
Central attacking midfielder: Cole Palmer, Chelsea
Sure, he did a lot of his work early in the season, but 23 combined goals and assists is still dynamite output for someone typically based well outside the box.
In his first 15 league matches, Palmer combined 11 goals with six assists, producing two of the most staggeringly impressive performances of the season: a one-goal, three-assist effort in a 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in August, and a four-goal, four-chances performance in a 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. He had a spot in this XI locked up by December.
Backup: Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest
Left winger: Luis Díaz, Liverpool
For as good as Salah was -- and he was ridiculous -- Diaz's own improvement was an unfair proposition for opponents.
Diaz, 2022-23: 0.54 goals+assists per 90 min., 0.34 xG+xA per 90 min
Diaz, 2023-24: 0.44 G+A/90, 0.57 xG+xA/90
Diaz, 2024-25: 0.67 G+A/90, 0.62 xG+xA/90
After producing a solid eight goals and five assists in league play last season, Diaz went for 13 and five, while playing 235 fewer minutes, in 2024-25. Salah vacuumed up opportunities, but Diaz's 18 combined goals and assists still tied for 12th in the league and first among left wingers.
Backup: Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace
Center-forward: Alexander Isak, Newcastle United
You know it was a strange season for center-forwards when Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood nearly finished with the same number of goals as Manchester City's Erling Haaland. But Isak topped them both. He produced as many assists as both of them combined and scored only one fewer non-penalty goal than Salah in nearly 600 fewer minutes. He carries a lot of weight in the Newcastle attack, and he's constantly up for the challenge: He scored in 18 league matches this season -- the Magpies averaged 2.44 points per game (14 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) when he scored and 1.4 when he didn't.
Backup: Erling Haaland, Manchester City
Right winger: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Obviously.
Backup: Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford
Player of the season: Mohamed Salah
The big numbers are impressive enough: His 47 combined goals and assists matched the record set by Alan Shearer (1994-95) and Andy Cole (1993-94), and both Shearer and Cole did it in 42-game seasons. His 29 goals and 18 assists were each six more than anyone else. He attempted more shots than anyone (130) and created the third-most chances in the league. Ridiculous in every possible way.
Honestly, though, Salah might have produced an even more impressive number than any of that. Only two players won more than 15 one-on-ones in the defensive box this season: Manchester City dribble master Jérémy Doku had 18 ... and Salah had 28. Best scorer, best passer and best dribbler in the league? At age 32?? Come on.
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