The European places were more attainable than they had been for years, with Aston Villa clinching Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher than the previous season, despite taking a point fewer. Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, with a points total of 60, the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years. Bournemouth and Sunderland also qualified for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.
The teams in the bottom half finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh. Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish, but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves did it at the turn of the millennium. The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years, and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.
Overall, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points last season – the most in a Premier League campaign since 2003-04. The question remains whether the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse, but what is clear is that four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 – champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest – took 79 points fewer between them last season.
This season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not. The Premier League has become less competitive at the very bottom, with two sides getting left behind, but promoted sides will be hoping to match the competitiveness of the league this season.