As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...
ing in football has become an obsession.
The tiki-taka style of Barcelona has now become the basis of managerial philosophies across the leagues and lands of Europe and beyond.
The problem is, few teams have the ability to execute it at the level required to make it effective.
Pep Guardiola took it to another level when he was in charge of the La Liga giants and it has served his Manchester City side well since he took charge in 2016 having won 18 trophies in the following nine years.
And, if the Premier League season had come down to how well teams the ball, unsurprisingly the eight-time champions would have been celebrating a ninth title.
With nearly 90% accuracy, they rarely put a foot - or - wrong.
And yet, in reality, it did not translate to success on the pitch this year.
Whether it was teams finally finding the chinks in the ing-machine armour or the side's misplaced es proving more costly than in previous seasons without key players, City could not take advantage of their dominance with the ball.
And for one of the most acute examples of ability with the ball not translating to on-the-pitch success, we only have to look at Southampton.
The Saints at one point looked set to break Derby County's record for the least amount of points in a Premier League campaign, and yet they were less than 1% behind actual league champions Liverpool when it came to ing accuracy.
While fans could have some appreciation for watching nice football, they might have appreciated some scrappy displays that resulted in hard-fought results and possible safety more.
In contrast, Crystal Palace had the least accurate ing of any team in the league.
And yet, Oliver Glasner's side ultimately finished 12th - just three points off a top-half finish - and won the FA Cup final against the club with the best ing ability of them all.
They are not the only team to have had successful seasons in their own right while being in the bottom six for ing accuracy.
Nottingham Forest were 19th in this table metric, but in reality were fighting for Champions League places.
Bournemouth and Brentford also battled for possible European spots into the final weeks of the season, and even Everton finished the campaign comfortably away from relegation that at one point they looked set to be in a battle to escape.
So what does this tell us? When it comes to winning football matches, ing the ball well is not the be-all and end-all.
*Table data from Opta
Brentford have rejected Manchester United's first bid for Bryan Mbeumo and want more than £60m for the forward. (Independent, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column
Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester United are in talks to sign Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo after submitting a bid of £45m and £10m in add-ons.
Despite that opening bid no agreement has been reached between the two clubs.
United are confident they can complete a deal to sign Cameroon international Mbeumo, 25, who scored 20 times for the Bees in the league last season, after receiving indications they are his first choice for a move this summer.
It is understood there is no release clause in Mbeumo's contract, which still has a year left to run, although there is the option to extend it by another year.
Wolves forward Matheus Cunha has already agreed a deal with United and will complete his move to Old Trafford once his international commitments with Brazil are over.