We are at the mid-way point of the 2024-25 Premier League season and have had some noteworthy performances.
It’s time to see who gets what at this season stage.
Team Of The Season: Liverpool
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter the departure of Jurgen Klopp, you wondered how quickly the Reds would adapt to a different philosophy and style of football under Arne Slot.
So far, it has gone exceptionally well for Liverpool, which sits eight points at the top of the League.
They also find themselves at the top of the Champions League stage table, with six wins from six games.
What is so terrifying about this Liverpool side is how ruthless they can be once they get on top of the opposition.
What’s also impressive is how defensively solid they have been as a unit, conceding just 17 goals in their 18 games.
Credit must go to Slot for continuing to install the winning mentality left by Klopp into his players.
Filling the shoes of not just a great manager but a club legend takes some doing, and so far, the Dutchman is quietly making a name for himself at Anfield.
“A great year. “Working at a great club at Feyenoord I was wondering, ‘Can I find another club where I can have a better time now? “At the moment I can say it’s definitely not less or not as good as my time at Feyenoord, it’s probably even better because it’s special to do this in another country as well.
Slot: This Is Anfield
Should the Reds go on to win the Premier League, this would be a tremendous achievement not just for the club but for someone still relatively young in their managerial career.
Manager Of The Season: Enzo Maresca
Embed from Getty ImagesWho would have thought that a Manager who just promoted Leicester City back into the Premier League would be succeeding at an elite Premier League club?
Chelsea’s decision to appoint Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor has been nothing short of a success thus far.
The Blues are fourth in the Premier League with just four defeats in their last 19 games.
The last two defeats may have dented their hopes for the Title, but the way Maresca has handled not just the team. But the media has been nothing short of outstanding.
The Italian may not have the same charisma as Jose Mourinho or Thomas Tuchel, but the one important thing he has is honesty.
“Not one of us in this room expected us to be where we are now,” “This means and shows that we are in the right direction, as I’ve said many times, but also shows that we are far from competing [with] consistency and to be there with the best teams in England.”
Maresca: The Guardian
This is what fans want to see from their Manager, particularly when things are not going well regarding results.
However, Maresca must find a couple of victories in the next few games just to keep the fans on board with his philosophy and his team.
Player Of The Season: Mohamed Salah
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Egyptian could possibly be one of if not the best, player in the world right now. Salah has 17 goals and 13 assists for Liverpool this season and seems to get better and better season after season.
Surprisingly, he hasn’t won at least one Ballon d’Or in the last five years, as his consistency of scoring goals and creating assists for The Reds is quite outstanding.
Of course, his main focus is solely on winning the Premier League, but surely the Ballon d’Or would be the cherry on the cake.
With 20 goals in all competitions so far this season, he is still 54 from reaching Roger Hunt’s 285 goals and 108 from Ian Rush’s 339 goals for Liverpool.
Given that he is 32 and has yet to decide on his future at the club, it is touch and go as to whether he can surpass either of those two club legends.
Flop Of The Season: Manchester United
Embed from Getty ImagesThings seem to get worse for the Red Devils, no matter who the Manager is.
It seems as if Ruben Amorim has found out the whole club’s reality.
In the summer transfer window, the club were the second-highest spenders with a total of £205.9milion on Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yorro, Joshua Zirkzee, and Noussair Mazraoui.
Yet the club is 14th in the Premier League, with just six wins from 19 games. It is nowhere near good enough for a club of this magnitude.
You must sympathise with Amorim, as he has walked into a real mess.
He also has had just four full training sessions with the squad.
The major concern is the midfield duo of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, who do not have the legs to compete with the other 19 teams in the league.
This is why you must say that Appointing Amorim at this stage of the season seems a bit dicey, as he has only been at the club for just two months.
The fact that the Portuguese admitted that his side was in a relegation battle shows the depleted mindset of the players.
“The team is not improving. It is a little bit lost in this moment and it is a bit embarrassing to be Manchester United coach and lose a lot of games.
Amorim: BBC Sport
The more sensible thing to do would be to wait until the end of the season and have a real clear out in the summer.
It could include moving on players such as Marcus Rashford, whose performances in the last few seasons have been underwhelming.
Thus, you can’t argue that this season has been a real flop for Manchester United.
Signing Of The Season: Jadon Sancho
Embed from Getty ImagesSancho’s career at United took a massive toll following a fallout with Erik Ten Hag.
Yet It seems as if the England winger has found a new lease of life at Stamford Bridge.
Sancho is second behind West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus for the most dribbles of the season so far.
His confidence in his game is so high that it wouldn’t be surprising if Thomas Tuchel gives him an England recall for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia in March.
It looks like he has proved a point to Manchester United and Ten Hag.
Can he keep up the good work for Chelsea?
So these are World In Sport’s Mid-Season awards for 2024-25. Who would you give what?