As the dust gradually begins to settle on a mesmerising season of Premier League football, we await the few remaining seasonal awards to be announced, including the much-coveted and anticipated PFA Team of the Year.
But whilst May/June is generally known as the time where the awards for the season are handed out, the ending of the campaign also means that the league’s usual monthly accolades are again overlooked for May, which seems a bit unfair. This final month turned out to be an action-packed few weeks much like any other in this season, a fitting conclusion to a thrilling ride that we’ve been on whilst following the 2021/22 Premier League season.
From those whose fate was undecided at the start of the Month, it’s easy for everyone to see that the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United and Everton emerged as the big winners, each of them achieving the crucial objective they were tasked with when the month began. Mid-table wasn’t short of some excellent displays either though, with the likes of Leicester City and Brighton and Hove Albion finishing the campaign strongly.
From the final few matches of an amazing season, here is our May Team of the Month.
Team of the Month: May 2022
GK: Nick Pope (Burnley)
It seems strange to start with a player whose season ended in relegation, but the fact of the matter is that Nick Pope did absolutely everything he possibly could to try and drag Burnley out of trouble.
Pope made four appearances in May, and although the month passed without a clean sheet, he made an incredible 22 saves in just four matches, performing magnificently in his team’s draw with Aston Villa and a narrow loss to Tottenham.
It’s unfortunate for him that the campaign ended in the ultimate disappointment, but with the strength of his performances in recent years, particularly this season, you’d imagine that there’ll be a long list of potential suitors wanting to acquire his services ahead of next season’s Premier League.
RB: Reece James (Chelsea)
A wobbly few weeks for Chelsea eventually ended on a high note, with the Blues getting two wins and two draws from their final four matches to finish the season in third.
It’s been frequently highlighted just how much of the season right-back Reece James has missed, and his impact during the final few weeks underlined once more just how crucial he is to this Chelsea team. The tenacious defender recorded an assist in each of Chelsea’s final three league games, and also helped his team earn a clean sheet on the road at Leeds United.
Already such a crucial asset to his team at such a young age.
CB: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
The impact Antonio Conte has had since taking up the reins at Tottenham has been obvious for everyone to see, but perhaps few would’ve anticipated the transformative effect that the great Italian has had on Eric Dier, who continued to excel in the final weeks of the season.
Often a source of frustration for the Spurs faithful in recent years, Dier was tremendous in May, playing every minute as his side won four times and conceded just twice. He maintained a high-performance level even in the absence of star defender Cristian Romero, looking comfortable in Conte’s usual back five system and playing a key role in helping his side achieve a top-four finish.
A terrific turnaround for Dier, could an England recall be on the cards in the near future?
CB: Joel Matip (Liverpool)
Liverpool may have fallen narrowly short of the title in the end, but their stellar second half of the season meant that the Reds finished with 92 points, one of the Premier League’s highest ever tallies.
As has so often been the case in recent months, Joel Matip shone at the back once again for Liverpool. The centre back featured four times in May, helping the Reds achieve 10 points from a possible 12. In addition to his stout defending, Matip also chipped in with two goals and an assist across these matches, helping his side to remain in the title race right until the very end.
His second half of the season has been simply magnificent.
LB: Marc Cucurella (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Brighton’s strong finish to the campaign ensured that 2021/22 would go down as their greatest ever Premier League season, smashing their previous record points tally by ten and finishing in ninth place.
Left back Marc Cucurella has enjoyed an excellent debut season in England, and kept that trend going right until the end with some excellent displays in May. The former Getafe defender scored his first Premier League goal and earned a clean sheet in Brighton’s 4-0 thumping of Manchester United. Across the three games he played in May there was also plenty of his fine defensive ability on display, making six successful tackles in total as his side picked up seven points.
It’s no wonder he was voted Brighton’s Player of the Season.
RDM: Rodri (Manchester City)
Manchester City’s record of three wins and a draw in May was enough to see them retain their title, the Citizens emerging victorious over Liverpool by a single point. Whilst Ilkay Gundogan understandably went down as the final day hero with his two goals, City’s biggest star in the centre of the park was instead defensive midfielder Rodri.
Having notched some crucial goals in April, Rodri continued this new habit in May, and to great effect. The Spanish international was once again on the scoresheet in a 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle, and his assist in the draw with West Ham was followed by a pinpoint strike against Aston Villa on the final day, hauling City level before their dramatic win.
In addition to that, Rodri’s passing accuracy was consistently above 90% in all four matches, a true cornerstone of his game.
LDM: Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur)
From one central midfielder to another, Tottenham also had a star player in the middle of the pitch during their successful push for a top four finish.
Their purchase of Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was certainly among the league’s more astute buys in the January window, and Bentancur really demonstrated his value to Tottenham once again in these final few weeks.
The new signing was very impressive in May, playing in all five of Tottenham’s fixtures and achieving a passing accuracy of over 90% in each of the last three. In addition to this, Bentancur also notched three assists, including one in the dominant derby victory over North London rivals Arsenal.
You feel like he will only continue to improve in this team as he heads into his first full Premier League season next time out.
RAM: James Maddison (Leicester City)
An up-and-down season for Leicester City ended in relative disappointment, with the Foxes dropping to an eighth placed finish this time around. That being said, the team finished the campaign strongly, scoring 13 goals and earning ten points in their final four matches.
In these matches, it was creative general James Maddison who showcased the very best of his quality. A goal against former club Norwich City was just the start, with the midfielder later bagging a goal and two assists against Watford and scoring a stunner at Chelsea, before rounding the season off with another goal and assist in the victory over Southampton.
This fine late form meant that Maddison finished the season with 12 goals and eight assists in the league, tallies that only a handful of Premier League players can match for the campaign just gone.
LAM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
We all know how good Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is by this point, with the mercurial midfielder standing as one of the driving forces behind City’s march to four league titles in five seasons.
It was no surprise then, to see the Belgian play a starring role in City’s successful run-in. De Bruyne began the month with an assist against Newcastle, before registering a stunning four-goal haul away at Wolves, including an incredible weak-foot hat-trick in the first half. He wasn’t done there though, and rounded off an amazing individual season by supplying Ilkay Gundogan with an inch-perfect ball to the back post for the title winning goal against Aston Villa.
Having already scooped the Premier League Player of the Season award, it seems that more individual accolades are destined to soon head De Bruyne’s way.
ST: Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) (C)
While it’s fair to say that Tottenham’s defensive solidity played a big part in getting the team over the line in their race for the top four, the true source of their success in the final weeks came from the attacking players, with Spurs netting 13 times in their five May fixtures.
Unsurprisingly, the usual culprits of Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane were behind the success, but let’s first focus on the former, who enjoyed the perfect ending to his best ever Premier League campaign. Son registered a prolific tally of six goals and two assists across five fixtures in May, scoring in every game except the 1-0 triumph over Burnley.
He ended the campaign as joint top scorer in the league, scooping the Golden Boot in the process, and impressively did so with zero penalties to his name. One of the best in the world without a doubt.
ST: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Of course, Son’s success wasn’t all down to the South Korean forward, as brilliant as he is, but was shared in conjunction with his long-time strike partner Harry Kane.
Kane’s contribution to Tottenham’s clinical month in front of goal wasn’t too far off Son’s, with the England captain scoring five goals and also claiming an assist. As has come to be expected by now, Kane was out to haunt North London rivals Arsenal once again, bagging a brace in the derby, and finished the campaign with 17 goals and nine assists in the league.
If he and Son are to remain at Tottenham for the upcoming season, you imagine that they could climb even higher in the league next time around.
Manager: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
In truth, there are a few worthy candidates for the final Manager of the Month award in this season, but how can one overlook Manchester City’s ever-brilliant Pep Guardiola after winning yet another league title?
Typically stylish victories over Newcastle and Wolves were contrasted with a gritty fight-back at West Ham to claim a point from two goals down, and Pep’s decisive substitutions on the final day made all the difference as City once again fought from two down to seal the title-winning victory.
By now, the great manager has already cemented his legacy in Premier League history, and there are no signs he’s ready to slow down just yet, a truth that must continue to strike fear into the league’s 19 other competitors.
