For years, fans of the English Premier League have taken pride in the competitiveness of the league and scoffed at the lack of parity in the other top European leagues. However, the past few seasons have seen the glory of the Premier League slip away to the point where it is just another league among many impressive leagues throughout Europe, with many of the perennially great teams losing their prior glory. The league would annually feature five or six teams in close competition for the title, but the past few years have seen one or two dominant teams annually, leading to an underwhelming finish to the season.
Whether it be a two-team race in Spain, only occasionally challenged by Atlético, or one team winning every year like France, Italy and Germany, the other top European leagues, with only one to three great teams over the past decade, do not have as many competitive teams as the English Premier League in a given season.
The Premier League, which produced a new champion for nine seasons in a row until Manchester City became the first repeat champion since Manchester United in 2009, has consistently led to better competition and rivalries with more great teams on an annual basis.
However, the point totals and goal-scoring totals made Manchester City the clearly dominant team within the Premier League, which created a strong sense of inevitability about each of their past two titles. In the 2017-18 season, Manchester City won the league by 19 points with 100 points total, a margin usually reserved by teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich who win their league almost every season. Last season, Manchester City put up 98 points while being pushed by runner-up Liverpool, who finished only one point behind in a title race. This close finish is reminiscent of ones in La Liga in recent years between Real Madrid and Barcelona, a sharp contrast from 2016, when Leicester City managed to win the title. Meanwhile Barcelona, in a supposedly less competitive league, has only reached the 100 point total in the Messi era, and won the last two titles with 93 and 87 points.
As these totals suggest, perceptions of the Premier League being the most competitive league in the world should be questioned by analysts and fans around the world. These perceptions were a result of the top teams in England being a tier below the top teams in other leagues, especially those in Spain and Germany, as demonstrated by disappointing performances in the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League.
However, in recent years, Manchester City and Liverpool have closed the gap and perhaps even surpassed teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona to become serious Champions League contenders and favorites. While this progress may be exciting for fans of English teams in Europe, it is creating a less exciting Premier League.
Even the perception of the league’s established Big Six, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, is starting to feel like more of a Big Two of Manchester City and Liverpool after multiple seasons atop the table together with the other teams markedly behind. This season, for the second time, has the feel of a two-team race, with Liverpool off to a perfect start, making the five dropped points by Manchester City feel more consequential than they would in seasons past.
While fans in England may bemoan the decreasing suspense each Premier League season brings, the success of Manchester City and Liverpool is actually an encouraging sign for English fans who want their league to be the best in the world. Liverpool was the first English European Champion since Chelsea in 2012 when they beat another English team, Tottenham, in the final. This season, Manchester City is the tournament’s betting favorite, showing that there is a chance for the Premier League to continue its latest run of Champions League success.
Fans cannot expect a league campaign full of 38 competitive matches where all 20 teams have unique budgets, while also seriously contending for the Champions League — something fans of teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona have realized. Fortunately for the Premier League, however, the top six, with possible exceptions of Tottenham and Arsenal, have roughly similar budgets, which is not the case in any other leagues. Therefore, teams like Manchester United and Chelsea have the opportunity to replicate the success of Liverpool and Manchester City with better management and planning.
While fans may not enjoy watching Premier League games as much as they used to, the increased domination of the top teams in England is a sign that the quality of play across the Premier League is actually improving.
