Manchester City and Liverpool stars make Premier League best XI

 

And thus ends another Premier League season. Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the title, while Chelsea and Tottenham joined the pair in securing a top four finish. At the other end of the table, Huddersfield, Fulham and Cardiff were consigned to relegation. Here, we run through our team of the season based on our unique rating system… 

 

Goalkeeper: Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham) - 7.02 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £0.20 

 

After toing and froing between Adrian and Joe Hart as number one goalkeeper last season, West Ham elected to sign Lukasz Fabianski to take over at the London Stadium and the Hammers weren’t disappointed in his capture. Exploiting Swansea’s relegation, Fabianski would quickly become a fan favourite in east London as he made more saves (144) than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League to return a WhoScored rating of 7.02. 

 

Right-back: Ricardo Pereira (Leicester) - 7.34 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £0.56 

 

Leicester have enjoyed ample success in the transfer market of late, with Ricardo Pereira one of the star arrivals at the King Power Stadium. The Portuguese full-back quickly made the starting right-back spot his own in Leicester and eventually ended the season with a WhoScored rating of 7.34. Pereira forged a solid attacking understanding with Jamie Vardy, with four of his six assists coming for the Englishman to score, while returns of 3.4 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.9 dribbles per game capped a fine debut season in the Premier League. 

 

Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - 7.44 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £2.88 

 

The PFA Player of the Year, Virgil van Dijk was a colossus at the heart of the Liverpool defence this season. The reds conceded fewer goals (22) than any other Premier League team, of which Van Dijk was key. Dominant in the air - Van Dijk came away with an aerial success rate of 74.2% - as he was on the ground - the Dutchman famously returned a 100% tackle success rate - there are few centre-backs in Europe, let alone the Premier League, that can stake a claim to being the best in their position, but Van Dijk, with a WhoScored rating of 7.44, is arguably the top performing centre-back on the continent right now. 

 

Centre-back: Fabian Schar (Newcastle) - 7.30 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £0.33 

 

Little was made of Fabian Schar’s Newcastle arrival, outside of St. James’ Park of course, but the Swiss defender has been a revelation in England. Named the WhoScored man of the match in the Magpies’ 4-0 win at Fulham on Sunday for the sixth time this season, more than any other top-flight defender, Schar has been superb for Rafa Benitez’s side, returning a WhoScored rating of 7.30. Newcastle failed to win any of the Premier League matches Schar didn’t feature in this season as the 27-year-old chipped in with fine returns of 2.5 tackles, 2.8 interceptions and 5.7 clearances per game. 

 

Left-back: Lucas Digne (Everton) - 7.36 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £0.66 

 

Lucas Digne proved an inspired signing with the Frenchman having a direct hand in eight goals for Everton this season, scoring four, all of which came from outside of the box. The left-back has proven he is more than up to the task of succeeding Leighton Baines at left-back for the Toffees, with his attacking impetus drawing widespread praise. Indeed, no player made more accurate crosses from open play than Digne (48), while the 25-year-old made more key passes (71) than any other defender in the Premier League as the summer arrival returned a fine WhoScored rating of 7.36. 

 

Manchester City and Liverpool stars make Premier League best XI

 

Right midfield: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - 7.61 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £4.78 

 

Pipped to top spot in the player rating standings, Raheem Sterling is one of three Manchester City players to feature in the Premier League team of the season season. The PFA Young Player and FWA Player of the Year was one of only three players to register double figures for both goals (17) and assists (10) in England’s top tier this term as Sterling again demonstrated why he is one of the finest attackers of his generation. 2.4 successful dribbles and 1.9 key passes per game helped push his WhoScored rating as high as 7.61 with the England international more than deserving of his spot in the best XI. 

 

Central midfield: Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - 7.31 rating 

Football INDEX buy price - £7.75 

 

Paul Pogba enjoyed his most prolific league campaign to date as he scored 13, more than any other Premier League central midfielder, and assisted nine for a Manchester United side that very much underwhelmed under both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite a bright start by the latter. On the ball, Pogba was a driving force from deep where required as he completed more dribbles (60) than any other central midfielder in the Premier League this season, while respectable returns of 1.6 key passes and 1.3 tackles saw him return a WhoScored rating of 7.31. 

 

Central midfield: Fernandinho (Manchester City) - 7.31 rating

Football INDEX buy price - £0.26

 

It’s an all-Manchester central midfield pairing as Fernandinho joins Pogba in the middle of the park. The experienced Brazilian was the defensive shield upon which Manchester City’s successful title defence was built, even if injuries permitted the 34-year-old to just 27 league starts this season. Even so, off the ball Fernandinho was at his ball winning best as he averaged two tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game and recycled possession effectively as he returned an 87.5% pass success rate from 70.7 passes per game to, like Pogba, secure a WhoScored rating of 7.31.

 

Left midfield: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - 7.81 rating

Football INDEX buy price - £4.87

 

 

With a WhoScored rating of 7.81, Eden Hazard is our Premier League player of the season. The Chelsea winger was at his mercurial best for this underwhelming Blues side as he had a direct hand in more goals (31 - 16 goals, 15 assists) than any other player in England’s top tier. His 15 assists was more than any other player and that figure should have been higher, with only James Maddison (100) making more key passes than Hazard (98). He completed more dribbles (137) and won more WhoScored man of the match awards (14) than any other player as the 28-year-old enjoyed arguably his best campaign to date in a Chelsea shirt in what is rumoured to be his last at Stamford Bridge.

 

Striker: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 7.57 rating

Football INDEX buy price - £4.96

 

No player scored more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (22) this season as he shared the Golden Boot award with teammate Said Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. With an additional eight assists, only Hazard had a direct hand in more Premier League goals than Salah (30) this season. In addition, Salah ranked third for accurate through balls (11) and clear-cut goalscoring opportunities created (16) this term that saw him return a WhoScored rating of 7.57.

 

Striker: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) - 7.53 rating

Football INDEX buy price - £1.28

 

Rounding off the XI and partnering Salah in attack is Manchester City’s hotshot striker Sergio Aguero. The 31-year-old enjoyed another prolific campaign as he notched 21 goals and registered an additional eight assists. Injuries again hindered his impact, but the Argentine hitman fired on all cylinders when required. He was, along with Hazard, one of only two players to earn a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in at least three Premier League matches this season and it contributed to an average of 7.53.

 

Football INDEX prices correct at the time of publishing

Manchester City and Liverpool stars make Premier League best XI