The Premier League's Overachievers, Underachievers and Those on Par

 The Wolves’ players celebrate a goal, Sheffield United’s John Egan in action with Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Spurs’ Harry Kane. Photographs: AP, Getty and NMC Pool. Composite: Jim Powell
The Wolves’ players celebrate a goal, Sheffield United’s John Egan in action with Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Spurs’ Harry Kane. Photographs: AP, Getty and NMC Pool. Composite: Jim Powell
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The Premier League's Overachievers, Underachievers and Those on Par

 The Wolves’ players celebrate a goal, Sheffield United’s John Egan in action with Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Spurs’ Harry Kane. Photographs: AP, Getty and NMC Pool. Composite: Jim Powell
The Wolves’ players celebrate a goal, Sheffield United’s John Egan in action with Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Spurs’ Harry Kane. Photographs: AP, Getty and NMC Pool. Composite: Jim Powell

League tables may never lie, though everyone knows they can be economical with the truth. By Sunday evening we will have our final Premier League table, after an extraordinarily difficult season is played out to a compromised but fair conclusion. Yet what the record books and finishing positions never quite reveal is what was expected of teams beforehand.

Some teams in the top half of the table will be disappointed with their place in the order of things, whereas some teams in the bottom half will be relieved. What follows is an attempt to break up the table into three groups: those who have done better than anticipated, those who have done worse and those who have simply completed the course with an acceptable but unspectacular score.

Overachievers

1) Liverpool Cynics might argue they have underachieved for the past 30 years, though when they finally got it right they blew everyone else away. Consistency is what marks out Jürgen Klopp’s side: they would have won any other Premier League title with the 97 points they gained last year. This time they were confirmed champions with a ridiculous seven matches still to play, an outstanding achievement that deserved better than being witnessed by empty stadiums.

2) Sheffield United Simply never looked like a promoted team. If the key to Premier League success is adapting quickly and looking like a side that truly belongs in the top flight, Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds could do a lot worse than asking Chris Wilder for a few tips.

3) Wolves Cannot reach the Champions League now, but they gave it a good go. Play the sort of football Arsenal and Everton fans would die for, and should take credit for finishing comfortably above those two clubs. Still in Europe and may even spring a surprise at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

4) Leicester Will be disappointed if they cannot seal Champions League football, though being in a position to claim it is an improvement on the drift of the post-title years. Even under Claudio Ranieri Leicester were never seen as a long-term top-four team; at present they are very close to achieving that goal.

5) Chelsea Perhaps not the greatest season, though factor in a new young manager, a transfer ban and the excellence of Liverpool and Manchester City and steady progress has been made with some statement signings already in the bag for next season. Frank Lampard says Champions League qualification is not the be-all and end-all, though it may not feel that way against Wolves.

6) Newcastle Controversial this, because Toon fans want to do better than lower mid-table, but considering everyone had Newcastle down as relegation candidates at the start of the season, Steve Bruce has done a fair job. Not great, but better than expected.

Par for the course

1) Manchester City Should not be too downhearted about finishing second to Liverpool, especially as they are still in with a shout in the Champions League. Not quite as imperious as in the recent past but still terrific on their day. Success in Europe, given their record, would nudge them into the overachievers class, though inevitably people would point to their spending and say about time.

2) Manchester United A satisfactory season for Ole Gunnar Solskjær in the end, even if an awful lot still rests on Sunday’s result. At the beginning of the season, with doubts over the manager’s future and questions over the club’s transfer policy, most United fans would have gladly accepted third place on the final day. Well done Bruno Fernandes.

3) Burnley This is meant as a compliment, honestly, Mr Dyche. It is too easy to say Burnley punch above their weight – they have been doing it for years. A solid, mid-table Premier League outfit, they don’t need patronising any more. Finishing around 10th is what is expected.

4) Southampton Thank goodness for Danny Ings. Turned round a disastrous start to the season but cannot be regarded as overachievers for that alone. While Ralph Hasenhüttl seems well suited to the job, Southampton seem keen to recommence their (highly successful) sideline in selling players.

5) Norwich Did not spend a great deal of money, which is fair enough, and did not adapt their game in any way to Premier League demands, which is harder to understand. Seemed happy enough to accept the quick return to the Championship that beckoned for most of the season.

6) Crystal Palace Too good to go down, not consistent enough for a top-half finish. Beating relegation while retaining a degree of dignity now seems their station in life, in addition to getting a decent price for Wilfried Zaha.

7) Brighton Same as Palace, though their relegation worries lasted a little longer. Decent first season for Graham Potter, even promising at times, but Brighton need to strengthen if this is not to be the story of every season.

8) Aston Villa Easy to say they have underachieved considering the money spent last summer, but when you come up via the play-offs a chance of last-day survival is about as much as can be reasonably asked. Deserve credit for sticking with their manager when others might have pressed the panic button.

Underachievers

1) Tottenham Last season’s Champions League runners-up will not even qualify for next term’s competition and José Mourinho cannot conceal his disdain for the Europa League. Or some of his own players, for that matter. Fair to say the club have failed to build on the promising foundations laid by Mauricio Pochettino.

2) Arsenal Going into the last game five points behind Tottenham, who are themselves five points off the top four, is simply not acceptable, FA Cup final or not. There is an enormous amount of youthful potential in the squad, but it has not been properly exploited this season.

3) Everton Some would say the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti represented staggering overachievement, and they might even be right, but in terms of results and the overall look of the side this has been one of the most disappointing of Goodison seasons.

4) West Ham Such consistent underachievers, a fight against relegation going into the last couple of weeks of the season might even be considered par for the course, but when the fans eventually come back it will be clear their dissatisfaction with their ground, their owners and their manager has not gone away.

5) Bournemouth Still in with a fighting chance of survival – anyone would be at Everton – but this has been a much harder season than previous ones in the top flight. Even Eddie Howe is finally beginning to look old.

6) Watford Where to begin? Seemed to have rescued themselves by bringing in Nigel Pearson, only to shunt him out with two games to go. Will need to improve on their body language from the last game to get a result at Arsenal. Possibly the club worst affected by the coronavirus shutdown.

The Guardian Sport



'Not at the Level': Atletico Left to Ruminate after Club World Cup KO

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and his team-mate Julian Alvarez react after Club World Cup elimination on Monday. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and his team-mate Julian Alvarez react after Club World Cup elimination on Monday. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
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'Not at the Level': Atletico Left to Ruminate after Club World Cup KO

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and his team-mate Julian Alvarez react after Club World Cup elimination on Monday. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and his team-mate Julian Alvarez react after Club World Cup elimination on Monday. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

For all the excuses -- and there have been many -- one line from Antoine Griezmann cut straight to the heart of the matter after Atletico Madrid's Club World Cup elimination.

"We have to look at ourselves and see that there are times when we are not at the level and we have to resolve that," said the veteran French forward.

Griezmann's goal earned Atletico a 1-0 win over Botafogo on Monday but the Brazilian side progressed ahead of the Spaniards on goal difference to reach the Club World Cup last 16, reported AFP.

Atletico were left licking their wounds, just like they were after failing to win a major trophy this season.

Their controversial Champions League last 16 elimination by Real Madrid after Julian Alvarez's "double-touch" penalty left Atletico raging at referees, UEFA and their arch-rivals.

They spiraled and blamed that for their capitulation in La Liga, which they led at Christmas, while Simeone insisted a Copa del Rey semi-final defeat by Barcelona was something the club had to accept.

"We are trying to keep improving to get closer and closer to the teams above us and to accept the place we are," said the Argentine coach.

However Atletico, who won La Liga in 2014 and 2021, and finished runners-up in the 2014 and 2016 Champions League final, have been far closer to the elite than they are right now.

Some players at the club understand that, like Griezmann and goalkeeper Jan Oblak, while others do not seem to.

"We'll keep rattling the cages of those at the top," pledged Marcos Llorente after the group stage elimination in the United States.

Atletico were upset that some penalty appeals were ignored during the win over Botafogo in Pasadena.

"I've never seen anything like it, to be honest, I think we should have been awarded two penalties," complained winger Giuliano Simeone, the coach's son.

"I think the decisions are not favoring us at all -- in all the debatable ones, we have to play against that."

'It takes work'

It was Atletico's opening 4-0 thrashing by Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain that cost them qualification and also showed how far they are from the game's peak.

Simeone has been in charge since 2011 and many would say he is the greatest coach in the club's history, but in recent years questions have grown around whether he is the man to drive Atletico further.

The last trophy they won was La Liga four years ago.

"I'm sad to be eliminated, we got six points from three games. We won two," said Simeone.

As has so often proven the case in recent years, it was not enough.

In some quarters of the Spanish media, former Rojiblanco defender Filipe Luis, coach of Brazilian side Flamengo -- who have made it through to the last 16 -- has been linked as a future Atletico coach.

"They've had a long season... let's hope the next one is better for them," said retired Atletico great Sergio Aguero, but with the team not progressing, some fans are losing their hope.

Griezmann, who signed a new contract with Atletico at the start of the summer and ended a 18-game goal drought against Botafogo, believes it will take elbow grease.

"It takes work, and it's a problem deeper and more to do within the team than the referees," he added, as Atletico packed their bags for home.

"We have to focus on what we have to improve, on what we have to do to win these games."