One stat that sums up each club’s 2024/25 season

Opta Analyst's David Segar and Oliver Hopkins pick out one amazing statistic for each Premier League club to highlight the story of their season.

The 2024/25 Premier League season is at an end, but we can’t bring ourselves to say goodbye just yet - not when there’s still some juicy data to go through.

Arsenal 

There were plenty of high expectations coming into this season for Arsenal. But ultimately, despite plenty of other positives, they had to settle for second place for a third season in a row.

Injuries didn’t help, but you’d have to go a long way to find someone talking about Mikel Arteta’s side who didn’t say “they need a No 9” within 10 seconds or so.

It can sometimes feel a little overdone as an argument, especially considering only Liverpool, with 86 goals, and Manchester City (72) scored more than Arsenal’s 69 goals in the Premier League this season, but there was another stat that many will point to as proof the team is crying out for a goalscorer.

Arsenal's top PL goalscorers 24/25

Kai Havertz finished the campaign as the Gunners’ top scorer in the league with nine goals.

That’s not just notable because the German only played 23 matches, but it was also the first season since 1923/24 in which Arsenal did not have a single player score at least 10 league goals.

Aston Villa

It was an agonising end to the campaign for Aston Villa, who narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification on the last day of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Manchester United.

That their heartbreak happened away from Villa Park was not all that surprising. Not because their away form has been particularly bad, but because they have been so comfortable on home soil.

After Unai Emery’s men lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup in late October, they went unbeaten at Villa Park for the rest of the campaign across 21 home games in all competitions (15 wins, six draws).

It is their longest run without defeat at home since September 1976 to May 1977, when they enjoyed a run of 24 matches unbeaten.

AFC Bournemouth

Bournemouth have been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Premier League this season, and that’s largely due to their aggression both on and off the ball.

Andoni Iraola’s men recorded the lowest PPDA (passes per defensive action) in the league, with 9.9. This means that they allowed their opponents on average fewer than 10 passes before they were challenged, or less time on the ball than any other team managed.

They tried to make it count when they won the ball back as well, with Bournemouth having the most shot-ending high turnovers in the Premier League this season (68), while no team scored more than their 10 goals from high turnovers.

Bournemouth's high turnovers 24/25

The opposition struggled to keep hold of the ball when playing the Cherries this season, which is why the club will be eager to build in the summer as Iraola has built something quite special at Vitality Stadium.

Brentford

While everyone seems to have a soft spot for Brentford (except maybe Fulham fans), they weren’t always seen as an "exciting" team.

However, that all changed this season as the Bees went hunting for goals. Largely thanks to the outstanding form of Bryan Mbeumo (20 goals) and Yoane Wissa (19 goals), the Bees scored 66 in the league.

Only four teams scored more, while it was Brentford’s best-ever return in a single Premier League season.

That was partly down to some sharp shooting, with Thomas Frank’s men boasting the best shot-conversion rate in the league this season (19.9 per cent)

The Gtech Community Stadium was the place to be to see goals, with more flying in than at any other stadium in the Premier League this season.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Under the guidance of Fabian Hurzeler, who will be wondering how old he needs to be before people stop mentioning his age at every opportunity, Brighton have remained a difficult opponent.

The 32-year-old had some doubters when he arrived last summer, but a very respectable eighth-place finish suggested the building blocks are in place for another shot at qualifying for Europe next season, after only narrowly missing out this time.

The Seagulls’ never-say-die attitude is summed up by the stat that they won 23 points from losing positions, with no team in the Premier League winning more (they were level with Liverpool).

That was in part aided by their head coach's choices from the bench, with Brighton having the most goal involvements from substitutes this season (25 goals - 15 goals, 10 assists).

Chelsea

It’s tricky to know how to judge Chelsea. They have undeniably spent a lot of money in recent years, but they have done so in order to put together what is a very young squad for the long term that is growing together, so it feels like time and patience should be allowed.

The Blues started their 2024/25 campaign well enough but, ultimately, their title challenge faded in the second half of the season.

Chelsea's final-day XI v Forest 

Click here to zoom in on the graphic

Chelsea still sealed UEFA Champions League qualification with an impressive final-day win at Nottingham Forest, though, so all-in-all their season has to be seen as a success, especially after they won the UEFA Conference League trophy on Wednesday.

That they achieved a fourth-place finish with an average starting XI age of 24 years and 36 days in the Premier League is particularly impressive, as it is the youngest ever by a team in a single season in the competition.

Even their line-up for that crucial match at Nottingham Forest had an average age of under 25.

Crystal Palace

They’re probably still partying in south London after Crystal Palace won their first major trophy in their 117-year history.

That famous FA Cup final victory over Manchester City at Wembley will live long in the memory, but it was no fluke, as their league form attests to.

Palace started the season with a wobble, not winning any of their first eight league matches and only one of their first 13, but Oliver Glasner soon got them back on track.

The Eagles ended up with 53 points in the league, their highest-ever points total in a single Premier League campaign.

Everton 

Speaking of teams who didn’t start the season well but ended it much better, Everton had a real campaign of two halves.

The Toffees won just three of their first 20 league matches, and when David Moyes arrived for a second spell at the club, they sat just one point above the relegation zone.

Most PL points won since 18 Jan 25

However, since the weekend of 18-19 January when Moyes won his first game back (v Spurs), only Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea won more Premier League points than Everton's 31.

The men’s team may have bid a tearful farewell to Goodison Park, but the optimism for the future is back under Moyes.

Fulham

It felt like a strong showing from Fulham this season, though they still ended up finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League.

That might be due to the fact they often seemed to save their best performances for stronger opponents on paper, such as beating Newcastle and Forest home and away, Chelsea away and Liverpool at home.

The Cottagers won an impressive 30 points from 20 games against top-half teams, only Liverpool, with 35, won more. However, as Fulham finished in the bottom half, they did play two more such games against the top 10.

However, only the three relegated teams had a worse record against bottom-half teams than Fulham’s 24 points from 18 matches.

They averaged 1.6 goals scored in games against top-half teams, and just 1.2 in games against the bottom half.

Ipswich Town

It was a fantastic achievement by everyone involved to get Ipswich back into the Premier League in the first place, but despite the odd chink of light, it felt for a while like it would be just for the one season.

What made things particularly tricky for them was their inability to keep a clean sheet.

PL teams with fewest clean sheets 24/25

Their total of just two shutouts across their league campaign was the fewest of any team, meaning in 36 of their 38 league games they would have needed to score at least once to take anything from it.

They didn’t concede the most goals (82), in fairness, with Southampton (86) seeing more go past them, but to fail to keep the score at zero so often was always asking for trouble.

Leicester City

It was also one and done for Leicester, who took evasive action fairly quickly. 

After they won just 10 points from their first 12 games of the season, they replaced manager Steve Cooper with Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Unfortunately for the Foxes, their form then got worse.

Leicester won just 15 points from their last 26 games, meaning their average points per game went from 0.8 to 0.6, while their average goals scored went down from 1.3 per game to just 0.7 under Van Nistelrooy.

That’s not to say it was the Dutchman’s fault but could perhaps go to show other clubs that changing managers isn’t always the miracle cure they might hope for.

Liverpool

What a season for Liverpool, who equalled Man Utd for most English top-flight titles won.

Some might think that stat alone is a nice summary for the Reds' first campaign under Arne Slot, but we have another for you.

For all the clamour for new signings from football fans, especially at this time of year, Liverpool built their success on continuity.

The only incoming player to Slot’s squad last summer was Federico Chiesa from Juventus, who only played a total of 104 minutes in the Premier League this season.

The Italy international also only made one league start, which came in the penultimate game against Brighton, with the title already won. 

It was the only start by a Liverpool player who didn’t also play in the competition for the club in the 2023/24 season, the fewest of any team. That continuity was surely a part of their success.

Manchester City

What is a successful season for some is not for others, which is why it’s difficult to call Man City’s 2024/25 anything other than a disappointment.

Of course, they still finished third and reached the FA Cup final, which many other clubs would be delighted with, but they came into it as overwhelming favourites to win a fifth consecutive Premier League title and fell well short of doing so.

City, of course, have had far worse seasons.

Fans will likely be more than satisfied if this is their low bar, and the long-term injury to Ballon d’Or holder Rodri was clearly a huge factor, but Pep Guardiola is not so used to it.

Not including the Community Shield, this is the first season since Guardiola’s debut campaign at City (2016/17) where they have been unable to lift a trophy.

Their second-leg defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout playoff was City’s 13th loss of the season across all competitions, the most ever by a Guardiola side in a single campaign in his managerial career. 

They ended up losing a further three, though did go unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League games (seven wins, three draws) to seal their Champions League spot.

Manchester United

What Man Utd would have given for a season as "disappointing" as their neighbours, City.

After their worst league finish in the Premier League era of eighth last season, the assumption was that things could only get better. They did not.

Man Utd PL seasons with most defeats

United ultimately finished 15th, with their 18 defeats the club’s most in a league campaign since 1973/74, when they lost 20 games and were relegated from the top flight.

On top of that, they also suffered defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final, meaning no European football next season.

Still, things can only get better…

Newcastle United

It was an enjoyable season for Newcastle fans, with Eddie Howe leading them not only to a first trophy in 70 years, but back into the Champions League with a fifth-place finish.

Beating Liverpool in the EFL Cup final will unquestionably be the abiding memory of 2024/25 for Newcastle, but the Magpies were also excellent in the league.

Their 20 victories were their most in a top-flight campaign since 2002/03, when they won 21 games under the guidance of Bobby Robson.

The mood at St James’ Park is arguably as good as it’s been since then.

Nottingham Forest

Bittersweet as the ending was, Nottingham Forest have to be delighted with their 2024/25 season. 

Many tipped them to be fighting relegation again, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s men spent much of the season at the other end of the table.

Forest’s improvement is shown in the fact they won 65 points, which was 29 more than they managed in the 2023/24 season (36), with no other team improving by any more than 17 (Brentford).

Teams with highest points increase from 23/24 to 24/25

Defeat to Chelsea on the final day denied them Champions League qualification, which will have been heartbreaking, but Forest will still be competing in Europe as they take their place in the Conference League next season.

They can consider themselves unlucky, too, becoming only the second team to win 19 games in a Premier League season but not finish in the top six (placed seventh) after Man Utd in 2013/14 (19 wins and finished seventh).

Southampton

Southampton had a torrid season back in the Premier League, finishing bottom after amassing only 12 points, scoring 26 goals (the fewest) and conceding 86 (the most).

On top of that, Saints lost a whopping 30 league games, making them the first team to do so in a 38-game season in England’s top flight.

With Will Still now in the dugout, though, they’ll be hoping to brush themselves down and go again in the Championship next season, eager to move on from this campaign to forget.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs finished 2024/25 with just 38 points, comfortably their lowest return in a single Premier League season. 

They lost 22 league matches, the most ever by a team who avoided relegation in a 38-game Premier League campaign.

And yet, they also broke their 17-year trophy drought by beating Man Utd in the final of the UEFA Europa League, and they did it with a completely different playing style.

Ange Postecoglou, usually so wedded to intricate passing and playing out from the back, changed his style at the business end of European competition. 

In the Premier League, Spurs went long with just 6.7 per cent of their passes this season. 

Only Man City went long less often (5.6 per cent). However, in the Europa League final in Bilbao, that figure shot up to 18.7 per cent.

Their highest percentage of long balls in a Premier League game in 2024/25 was 14.9 per cent against Liverpool, a game in which they were beaten 5-1. 

Might we see more "anti-Angeball" next season?

West Ham United

It was a fairly underwhelming campaign for West Ham. 

Even changing manager mid-season, going from Julen Lopetegui to Graham Potter in January, did not really move the dial much, though the former Brighton and Chelsea boss will be eager to have a full pre-season with his squad.

One player who did bring a constant verve to West Ham’s attack in 2024/25 was Jarrod Bowen, who basically led all of his team-mates in every attacking stat going.

Overall, he was involved in 46 per cent of the Hammers’ Premier League goals this season (21 out of 46 – 13 goals, eight assists), with only Mohamed Salah having a hand in a higher share for his side (55 per cent).

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Another inspired managerial hire came from Wolves. 

They failed to win any of their first 10 Premier League matches this season, and in mid-December parted ways with Gary O’Neil, with the club sitting 19th and four points from safety.  

Former Porto and Olympiacos manager Vitor Pereira replaced him, and proceeded to win his first two matches, before also earning a point away at Spurs in his third.

Only nine teams won more points than Wolves (33) from the point Pereira was appointed in December. They ultimately finished the campaign with 42 points. 

Only Newcastle have ever won more points having gone winless in their first 10 in a season (45 in 2018/19 and 49 in 2021/22).