Season Review

Another English season draws to a close. Chelsea were crowned deserving champions, while QPR, Burnley and Hull face the disappointment of playing in the Championship next season. Let's look at the key performances that made this season so special.

The Champions

Chelsea record their fourth Premier League title and third under Jose Mourinho. Being honest, they were never really troubled in their victory with the competition dying in various stages of the league season. At the beginning of the season, Chelsea played some nice football to build up a bit of a lead. With Jose the master of defence, the title wrapped up once Mourinho deployed his conservative tactics. The whole Chelsea team did their bit this season. John Terry and Gary Cahill formed a formidable partnership at the back, while the void left by Frank Lampard was quickly forgotten with the signing of Cesc Fabregas. Nemenja Matic was the rock in the Chelsea midfield and played a vital role in Chelsea's success, the extra man in front of the defence repelled so many attacks, as well as launching some of his own.

The Runners up

Manchester City just weren't good enough when it mattered to challenge for the title, and at one stage, looked like it was possible that they were going to finish as low as fourth. City need a massive clear out of all the deadwood in the squad. Yaya Toure hasn't been the same player since the cake-gate scandal of 2014, and neither has Vincent Kompany. With an average age of 29, youth will be the starting point for the manager at City in the summer. While they do need to bring in players, splashing the money will not solve the void. Elaquim Mangala, Fernando are examples of money being spent poorly last summer while Stefen Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo were bought the season before but have sunk into the abyss through injuries and poor form. On loan at Valencia, I doubt Negredo will ever feature in a Manchester City shirt ever again, particularly with the arrival of Wilfried Bony in January. Now, City are in pursuit of Liverpool's Raheem Sterling in order to bring the average age down, among other young English hotshots.

Relegation

In my season preview, I tipped Aston Villa, Sunderland and Crystal Palace to make the drop, and I couldn't be further from the truth, with Palace breaking into the top 10. As for the unlucky contingent of Hull, QPR and Burnley, over the course of 38 games, they were the 3 teams that deserved to be relegated. Hull saw themselves hit 10th position at the end of October, but this took a turn for the worst and culminated in an 18th placed finish with 35 points. For Burnley, they were the favourites for the drop when the season commenced (except mine!) and they fulfilled everyone's prediction. As for QPR, they flirted with the danger zone for too long and were eventually sapped into a battle that they could not win. QPR where heavily reliant on Charlie Austin, who grabbed 18 goals - the fourth best in the league - which shows where the London side would be without their star man. Similarly, Burnley relied on the prowess of Danny Ings who netted 11 times this year. With Ings already sealing a move to Liverpool and Austin looking ever more likely to leave QPR, it could be a struggle to get back into the top tier of domestic football for both sides.

The Golden Boot

With 26 goals, Sergio Aguero leads the way for the first time since his arrival in England. Even with missing the majority of December due to a ligament injury, Aguero was able to help Manchester City secure their 2nd place spot. English protege, Harry Kane, came in behind with 21 goals, which isn't a bad way to introduce yourself to the English nation. A roaring start sent the young Spurs man on his way and he collected a staggering 12 goals in the winter months as his performances help secure notable wins over Chelsea and Arsenal. Diego Costa achieved third place despite only featuring in 26 games. We know Costa is a goal scorer, so when he features for a whole season, it'll be scary to see what the adopted Spaniard can do.

The Race for Europe

Arsenal and Manchester United completed the top 4, leaving Tottenham, Liverpool and Southampton to content with the Europa League. Arsenal finally broke their duck of being unable to break into the top 4, with thanks to world class performances from Alexis Sanchez. I've always said that if Arsene gets his summer signings spot on, then the team from North London could be in for a very special year. United achieved their goals, nothing more but nothing less. After spending £150m in the summer, a fourth spot was the bare minimum in terms of expectations. The wait for Champions League football continues for a another year at White Hart Lane. It will be an interesting summer for Mauricio Pochettino as he aims to clear out the deadwood in the Spurs squad. Liverpool endured a testing spell after selling their superstar for £80m last season and will be glad that this is over. Having already dabbled in the transfer market to buy Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, James Milner and Joe Gomez, Brendan Rodgers needs to have his signings spot on,

Notable Mentions

I purposely didn't mention Southampton under the previous heading as I want to focus on them now. Having sold key individuals last summer, many tipped them to struggle, with some thinking they will be doing well to survive relegation. Ronald Koeman took over as manager, and his signings have secured a memorable season for the southern side. Sitting inside the top 5 for a large chunk of the season, they surprised many people and fully deserve their season in Europe next year,

Both Swansea and Stoke achieved their highest position in the Premier League, finishing 8th and 9th respectively. Garry Monk is quietly building a strong squad off the back of the sale of Wilfried Bony for £28m. This year, Swansea became the first ever side to record away wins at both Manchester United and Arsenal in the same season. Having represented Swansea in 4 tiers of the English leagues, and also as a manager in the Premier League, Monk's regard for the club cannot be questioned, as he aims to push on for European spots in the next seasons.

A similar story is shaped at Stoke by Mark Hughes. His work at the Potters has largely gone under the radar. Largely inconsistent in the opening stages of the season, they recorded just one win in the month of November and also went on a 3 game losing streak at the end of March. Hughes has been shrewd in the transfer market and has acquired talent through former Barcelona man Bojan Krkic, who delivered performances until he ruptured his cruciate ligament against QPR and ruled him out for the rest of the season. Like Monk, Hughes is building a squad and will hope to maintain performances having sealed another 3 year contract at the start of the calendar year.

It has been a very intriguing year with many talking points occuring. Chelsea rule victorious while QPR get the wooden spoon along with Burnley and Hull. We can only hope for more thrills and spills to this calibre in the incoming season.

Dominant Barcelona Overpower the Old Lady

Luis Enrique's side completes the fabled treble and become the first side to do this twice. Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez netted with Morata equalising between before Neymar secured the victory in injury time. Max Allegri's side put up a brave fight but it was not enough to topple the quality of Barcelona.

It took Barcelona 4 minutes to find their rhythm in this year's final. Lovely intricate play between Neymar and Andres Iniesta allowed Ivan Rakitic to side foot into an empty net. It was definitely not the start Allegri had in mind and a reshuffle beckoned. As predicted, Barcelona had the possession in the opening stages and an early yellow card for Vidal left the Chilean on a tight rope for the rest of the game.

Juventus were being pulled apart by the heart of the Catalonian midfield. The loss of Giorgio Chiellini to injury showed in the early encounters as Juve lacked any leaders the back. With Vidal's early booking, Barca were keen to exploit this with the side utilising their full array of gamesmanship techniques. Allegri showed his faith with Alvaro Morata, and his counter attacking prowess was being used and was getting success out Javier Mascherano. On the counter, Juve were able to break and cause a moment of doubt in the Barca defence. Mascherano looked edgy, but Juve's attacks only culminated in shots easily dealt with.

As half time approached, it was vital that The Old Lady didn't concede another. In the midfield, they weren't able to hold the ball due to the extreme pressure put onto them by a dominant Barca triangle. They may play to the edge of the rules, but some of their passages of play were quite exquistite in the opening half. For the second period, Juve had to regain some of the possession in the middle of the park and, when on the counter, their passes had to find their team mate in order to keep the momentum.

Within the first 5 minutes Luis Enrique's men showed their potency on the counter with a five on three resulting in a fine save from Juve stalwart Gianluigi Buffon. Juve pounced after an intelligent back heel found Stephan Lichsteiner and the Swiss international squared to find Carlos Tevez. Tevez beat the defender before a shot was parried by Ter Stegen and Morata tapped into an empty net. Probably against the run of play, but it was the bit of luck that was needed by the Italian side.

The game descended into an end to end affair with both sides having attempts and one that was wonderful to the neutral. Barcelona restored their lead when Lionel Messi's shot and Buffon's save found the path of Luis Suarez and he finished to send the Catalonian crowd into raptures. Minutes later, Neymar had a goal ruled out by the assistant behind Buffon's goal for hand ball. With Barcelona on top and Juve rattled, a third goal would have effectively killed the game.

As 90 minutes approached, Juventus began throwing the kitchen sink at Barca. Fernando Llorente entered the fray and provided a target for the wide men. As they threw everything forward, Messi, Neymar and Pedro were able to catch the side on the break, and secure their 4th title in 9 years and coveted treble. Juventus fought valiantly but were unable to capitalise for the 5 minutes the game was tied up at 1 each.

For Juventus, they sorely missed Chiellini who guided them through their semi final. For the first goal, while the midfield were at fault, I would have had more confidence if he was on the pitch. For Barcelona, they fully deserved the win. Up front, Messi, Neymar and Suarez wreaked havoc in the Juve defence while the midfield predictably dictated the play. While they still were the victors, defensively Mascherano was exposed by Morata's pace. The defensive performance will not be picked apart by Enrique and his performance analysis team will not worry due to celebrations that will be taking place in Catalunya over the next few days.

Key Performances

While Barca's front trident will receive all the plaudits, Andres Iniesta showed his class as he has done so much in a Barcelona shirt over his career. The linchpin in the centre of midfield was able to invade the space left by their wayward counterparts before finding Ivan Rakitic who finished past the scrambling Gianluigi Buffon. The whole Barcelona midfield deserve praise, but Andres Iniesta looked a class apart throughout this match and the knock-out stage. I was critical of his inclusion in the Team of the Year at the beginning of January, but he will warrant a spot in the ceremony to take place at the beginning of 2016.

I was impressed with the efforts of Gianluigi Buffon. He ultimately kept the Italian side in the contest and a firm paw denied Dani Alves from the edge of the box. Another save prevented Luis Suarez from capitalising on a Barca counter attack. While there were times when the World Cup winner looked nervy in nets, he largely did his job and kept the game on a knife edge. Some will say he was at fault for the Suarez goal, but the Uruguayan's positioning made it impossible for Buffon to parry it away from danger. A solid all round game from the Italian veteran.

Lionel Messi also needs a mention. While he did not get on the scoresheet, his general all round play was exceptional and he was a nuisance for the Juventus defence. Other notable mentions include Neymar and Alvaro Morata who both posed different problems for their respective defences.

Another Champions League campaign has drawn to a close with Barcelona leaving as warranted victors. Luis Enrique emulates one Pep Guardiola by completing the treble in his first season. The events between Enrique and Messi seem to a distant memory, and it's looking more like as the season went on, both sides were rectified and this definitely reflected in some of the performances this year. It's not long to the first qualifying round of next year's competition at the end of the month. With the final in Milan, we can only expect another riveting journey. 

Champions League Final 2015

Certainly for the first time in my life, we have two teams in the Champions League Final vying for a treble. Barcelona are clear favourites, but Allegri's Juventus will be aiming to spoil the party in Catalonia come the 6th June. It promises to be a truly extraordinary and fascinating encounter.

Route to the Final
Finishing second in their group, Juventus conceded just four goals, one less than Barcelona, but only hit the back of the net seven times. Their opposition, Barcelona, netted 15 times, with only 4 teams scoring more. Barcelona defeated Manchester City in the last 16, while Juventus easily disposed of 2013 finalists, Borussia Dortmund with an aggregate score of 5-1.  In the quarter finals, Barcelona faced a tricky PSG side, coming off the back of an aggregate win over Chelsea in the previous round. Away in the first leg, Neymar netted and Suarez struck twice before a Jeremy Mathieu own goal gave PSG a glimmer of hope. A Neymar brace sealed Barca their semi final place. Juventus took a narrow 1-0 lead against Monaco back to Turin courtesy of an Arturo Vidal penalty and a scoreless draw was enough to send them through.

A big test awaited Juvenuts against the reigning European champions, Real Madrid. Juve took a slim 2-1 lead to the Bernabeu through goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, despite a disappointing performance from the Spanish side. In Madrid, Juve defended gallantly and Madrid old boy, Alvaro Morata netted and sent the Italians to Berlin. Barcelona v Bayern Munich was undoubtedly the glamour tie. Much was expected of Barcelona due to their excellent form and they duly delivered. An astounding 3-0 victory in the Nou Camp left Guardiola's side a mountain to climb. Munich collapsed and conceded 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to effectively seal the deal in this tie. Despite this, they gave it their best crack in Bavaria with fine attacking play, but their defence was their downfall and through to the final Barca went.

A forgone conclusion?
Nobody can argue that the Spanish side will be favourites for the match. They have been quite scintillating to watch at times this season, but Juventus should not be stroked off. They were severely written off in the semi final and triumphed, so it's not a foregone conclusion that they will lose. It is definitely matches like this where, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will make their money. In the away leg of the semi final, they repelled every cross that was sent into the Juve box with relative ease. Against Barcelona however, they face a team who is always reluctant to cross into the box. With the lack of pace at the back, a deep line will need to be held, especially with a Barca front three that have netted 120 goals between them. The Old Lady can take confidence from their excellent record this season, conceding just 24 goals in the league alone.

The Juventus midfield will need to help the defence and plug the space in the middle of the pitch, to prevent the unpredictable movement of Messi and co dragging the centre-halves out of position. Looking specifically at the middle of the park, Juventus are well equipped in an attacking sense with Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal. Defensively, they will be tested. The Chilean showed us what he could do against Real Madrid in the semi final, and he will need to replicate this if Juventus are to stand any kind of chance at leaving Berlin with their third trophy of the season. During the semi final, particularly in the second leg, Pirlo didn't look his orthodox composed self and conceded possession too often. On the other hand, from set pieces there is no one like him and he can open up even the most secure defences.

In an attacking sense, they are not be as well equipped as Barcelona. Saying that, they have useful operators in Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, who read each other extremely well. Vidal from midfield is also useful in his box to box role while Stephan Lichsteiner and Patrice Evra are widemen capable of delivering a quality cross. On the bench, they have Fernando Llorente to enter the fray and he offers a plan 'B'. Differing to Morata and Tevez, The Basque man is an excellent target man and provide a good platform for crosses. Expect Allegri to turn to him if Juve aren't singing to the correct hymn sheet.

Avoiding an upset.
Barcelona have been exceptional throughout this season and are deservedly fighting for a treble on Saturday. Luis Enrique experienced some difficult situations at the start of the new year but he has got his side back on track, scoring plenty of goals and winning matches in style. To beat Juventus they cannot allow themselves to become complacent. The coaching staff probably would have viewed Juventus as the easier option but a job still needs to be done.

The attacking strength of the Catalan side is something that teams from around the globe marvel at. They need no introductions and the success is largely brought down to this trio. With Juve having an ageing defence, quick passes and flicks will easily beat the defender and leave the Italian club side on the back foot. The roaming attack also has the potential to pull the defenders out of position leaving the midfield or wingers to run onto to through balls.

There will be no prizes for guessing that Barcelona will have the majority of possession, leaving the Juve midfield starved of the ball for portions of the game. A bright start and early goal will help unnerve their opposition who haven't competed in a Champions League final since 2003. For Barcelona, the majority of their team have experienced success in a European competition before, while only Morata, Pirlo, Tevez and Evra have tasted victory in the top club competition before. This is defintitely something which could swing in the Catalonians favour.

On Saturday we will be in for a real gem of a football match. Two teams are vying for the coveted treble and two managers are hoping to add optimum success to their first season in charge. It will not be a walk in the park for Enrique's side and Allegri is likely to have a few tricks up his sleeve. For me, the nail biter of a game will edge towards Barcelona. If the Old Lady are still in with a shout with 70-80 minutes played, anything can happen. I just hope it's a moment of sheer magic rather than a costly mistake that will win the game.