Dan Bilicki selects his top players from the 2018-19 English Premier League campaign.
Alisson Becker, GK, Liverpool
He certainly had a couple of gaffes, but overall the Brazilian has supplied Liverpool with the stability it has needed between the sticks for years now. His 21 clean sheets led the league and made 16 more saves than Golden Gloves runner-up Ederson.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, RB, Liverpool
TAA didn’t make the original cut for our list, but now can’t be denied after setting the record for most assists in a season by a defender with 13. While he’s not as polished at defending as some of his counterparts, the 20-year-old should only grow in the years to come.
Virgil Van Dijk, CB, Liverpool
Many laughed at his pricetag when Liverpool bought him last winter, but he might be worth even more than the 75 million GBP paid for him now. The Dutchman won PFA player of the year and is unquestionably one of the best defenders in the world. He was the rock of the Reds back four, consistently breaking up runs and stopping attackers cold and even chipped in with four goals.
Aymeric Laporte, CB, Man City
It’s easy to slot Liverpool’s backline into our best XI, but City’s defence shouldn’t be overlooked. The champions allowed just one more goal than the Reds and Laporte was the most consistent member of Pep’s back line. The young Frenchman was one of the few players that wasn’t rotated by Guardiola, only missing three games this season.
Andrew Robertson, LB, Liverpool
Easily took over the mantle as the best offensive left back in the league from Marcos Alonso, racking up 12 assists, just short of his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold. With both Robbo and TAA on the team sheet, the Reds should be set with the wing backs for years to come.
Raheem Sterling, RM, Man City
For all the flak that the English winger takes from the British press, you often forget just how talented he is. Sterling was a piece to City’s title repeat, scoring 17 goals and 15 assists — which is actually a slight step down from last year.
Eden Hazard, CM, Chelsea
We’re cheating a bit on this one, but Hazard did play several games in an attacking midfielder role this season. The Belgian was the one of two Premier League players involved in 30+ goals this season, scoring 16 goals and tallying 15 assists. He also had a hand in 49.2% of the Blues’ attacking returns.
Bernardo Silva, CM, Man City
Oft-forgotten among City’s bevy of big-name stars, “Bilva†is arguably the hardest worker on the team — the type of player that never stops running. Of City’s outfield players, only Laporte played more minutes than the midfielder’s 2,849.
Sadio Mane, LM, Liverpool
After missing some time last season, Mane came back strong scoring 22 goals to tie for the Golden Boot. It’s his fifth straight 10+ goal season and a reminder that the Reds’ attack isn’t just about Salah on the other side of the pitch.
Sergio Aguero, ST, Man City
Believe it or not, this will be Aguero’s first time making the Premier League team of the season — despite scoring 20+ goals for the fifth season in a row and sixth time in his career. Kun is our player of the year, narrowly edging out Van Dijk. Kun was the best player on the best team and, now, squarely in the argument as one of the two best Premier League strikers ever.
Mohamed Salah, ST, Liverpool
Thanks to a scoring drought that saw him score just once in nine EPL games, some wrote off the Egyptian in team of the season talk. But with five goals in his past six games, Salah tied for the Golden Boot with 22 goals and also supplied 12 assists.
THE NEXT XI
Lukasz Fabianski may have allowed the second most goals this season, but he also made the most saves, repeatedly bailing out the Irons … Aaron Wan-Bissaka emerged from out of nowhere at Crystal Palace to lead the Premier League defenders in tackles with 124 and was one of the best in Europe against take-ons … There’s a reason that Wolves’ Conor Coady was the only player in the Premier League to play every minute for his team in every competition: He’s a great defender and worthy of this praise … Fabian Schar is one of the most underrated centre backs in the league, ranked only behind VVD by analytics site whoscored.com … Lucas Digne was excellent this season after coming over from Barca, it’s just a shame that he’s only the second-best LB on Merseyside … Jorginho was brought in to play Sarri-ball and that he did, leading the league with 3,118 passes completed … Ryan Fraser provided 14 helpers for a Bournemouth side that finished seventh in scoring … For all of the drama that Paul Pogba caused at United this season, he was still a great player when he was on his game — especially after Jose Mourinho left … Just imagine the type of season Heung-Min Son would’ve had if he didn’t have two tournaments to play with South Korea. Spurs’ player of the year notched 12 goals and eight assists in just over 2,033 minutes … Raul Jimenez did a brilliant job of leading the line for Wolves. His 13 goals and 10 assists help the promoted side finish an astounding seventh in the table … And the captain of the next XI is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is a bridesmaid despite tying for the Golden Boot. Even more impressive: Of Auba, Salah and Mane, the Arsenal attacker scored his 22 goals in far less time on the pitch.
WORST PLAYERS OF THE SEASON
Since joining Manchester United, the Red Devils have paid Alexis Sanchez for a whole lot of nothing. The Chilean has earned more than 30 million GBP and made just 31 starts for the club, failing to play a full 90 minutes since the first game of the season … Staying with United, Fred was about as average as his name despite costing 52 million GBP this past summer … Mesut Ozil is Arsenal’s highest-paid player, but was almost more likely to be seen streaming Fortnite. Ozil missed 14 games and played 45 minutes or less in five others … Joe Hart certainly isn’t the keeper he used to be. Filling in at Burnley while Tom Heaton and Nick Pope were injured, the former England No. 1 allowed 41 goals in 19 games.