The 2024/25 season had ended in dream fashion for Liverpool as the Merseyside club secured a record-equalling 20th English top-flight crown.
Any concern that the first campaign since the emotional exit of Jurgen Klopp might be one of transition was blown away as replacement Arne Slot guided his new club to the Premier League title at the first time of asking.
They finished 10 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table with Manchester City – who started the season dreaming of a fifth successive title – a further three points back in third.
“To replace Jurgen is a big job and the manager did it in his own way and deserves a lot of credit,” said captain Virgil van Dijk of Slot. “I don’t think anyone from the outside world thought we would be Premier League champions.”
“It feels great. I don’t think I want to say a lot. The only thing now is to send my appreciation to Jurgen Klopp,” Slot said after Liverpool’s 5-1 hammering of Tottenham Hotspur that sealed the title with four games to spare.
“So many moments in the season the two of us have had contact … but what mattered most is the team he left behind that was able to win the trophy.”
At the other end of the table, it was a grim time for newly-promoted trio Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton who hurtled straight back down to the second tier.
Third-bottom Leicester were 13 points shy of safety while sorry Southampton were left marooned at the bottom with a miserable 12 points from 38 games, only one point better than Derby County’s record low of 11 set in 2007/08.
The Saints also managed to achieve the miserable feat of having the division’s worst attack (26 goals scored) and worst defence (86 goals conceded).
Tragedy and turmoil for Liverpool
After the high of equalling fierce rivals Manchester United’s record 20-title haul, Liverpool then suffered two shocking lows in quick succession that would stun the football world as a whole.
First, there was a horrific attack on fans during the club’s victory parade and, barely a month later, Portuguese attacker Diogo Jota was killed in a car accident, along with his brother, at the age of 28.
The player’s number 20 shirt was officially retired by Liverpool while fans continue to mark the 20th minute of matches by singing Jota’s chant as a tribute to their much-loved player.
It was a summer of transition on the pitch with a large turnover of playing staff. The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarrell Quansah and Luis Diaz all left as Slot moved to put his own stamp on the squad.
Around £450 million was splashed out on new talent with Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and – after a summer-long stand-off between the player and his club Newcastle – Alexander Isak all arrived on Merseyside.
Liverpool’s title defence actually started well with five wins on the spin until they fell to a 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace on September 23. Few expected what would follow as Slot’s side fell to nine defeats in 12 matches across all competitions – their worst run since 1953.
The form and fitness of Isak in particular remains a concern with the Swedish attacker scoring just twice in the league, having been outshone and outgunned by eight-goal Ekitike. He now faces months on the sidelines after suffering a leg fracture while scoring against Spurs at the weekend.
Headline grabber of year: Mohamed Salah
The Premier League year of 2025 will be one forever intertwined with the exploits of Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian forward started the year seemingly heading for the exit before finally agreeing a new contract in April having enjoyed a sparkling season.
His 29 goals were crucial to Liverpool’s title charge and would secure Salah the Golden Boot, ending Manchester City striker Erling Haaland’s two-year grip on the trophy. Salah’s performances would also win him the PFA, Football Writers’ Association and Premier League player of the year awards.
The new season, though, has not gone to plan for player or club. Liverpool’s form has evaporated but a bombshell moment arrived following a 3-3 draw at Leeds United on December 7 when Salah – who had been substitute for three successive matches – let rip in a post-match interview.
After not even making it off the bench at Elland Road, he told a stunned media pack that people at the club wanted him out, that he had been “thrown under the bus” while saying that his relationship with Slot had broken down completely.
The explosive comments resulted in him being dropped from the squad for Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League win at Inter Milan before being recalled for the league victory over Brighton.
In typical Salah fashion, he came off the bench at Anfield and provided the cross for Hugo Ekitike’s second goal meaning he has now more goal involvements at a single club (277) than anyone in Premier League history. “To share the pitch [with him] is a blessing,” said Ekitike afterwards.
Disappointment of year: Manchester United
Ruben Amorim continues to roll with the punches as manager of Manchester United. Last season saw the Red Devils finish in a lowly 15th place, their lowest finish since spending one campaign in the old Second Division in 1974-75.
They also lost to Spurs in dismal fashion in the Europa League final as Amorim’s side failed to qualify for Europe for only the second time since 1990.
“First of all, I want to apologise for the season,” said the Portuguese coach. “Today after this disaster season, I want to tell you the good days are coming.”
United boosted their attacking options over the summer by bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, while the team is at least seemingly back in contention for a return to European football next season.
But erratic form and a lack of consistency remains a major problem as shown by their League Cup humiliation at fourth-tier Grimsby Town.
Performance of year: Crystal Palace
While Newcastle United managed to secure their first domestic silverware in 70 years by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final, Crystal Palace achieved an even greater feat in the FA Cup.
The Eagles’ 1-0 win over Manchester City – courtesy of Eberechi Eze’s first-half finish – meant they won a major trophy for the first time in the club’s history and sealed a place in the Europa League.
Palace win FA Cup – in pictures
It capped a remarkable turnaround for Oliver Glasner’s men who did not win their first Premier League game until October 27 but went on to finish comfortably in mid-table.
And the German coach’s reputation continues to grow with their victory over Fulham in December lifting Palace into the top four, despite selling key attacker Eze to Arsenal at the start of the season.
The only disappointment came during the summer when the club were demoted by Uefa from the Europa League to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
One to watch in 2026: Can Arsenal end title wait?
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride … is this finally going to be the year when Arsenal catch the bouquet and win their first Premier League title since 2004?
Having finished second for three successive seasons – behind Manchester City twice and then Liverpool – Mikel Arteta’s side look in a good place heading into 2026 having secured the Premier League’s Christmas No 1 spot.
Their squad looks stronger than ever following the acquisitions of Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eze with the Gunners currently top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables.
They will need Gyokeres to replicate the form that saw him notch 97 times in 102 games at previous club Sporting Lisbon, though. The Swedish striker has scored six in 16 league appearances so far and has yet to live up to his £63.5m price tag.
Scotland’s team:
15-Sean Maitland, 14-Darcy Graham, 13-Nick Grigg, 12-Sam Johnson, 11-Byron McGuigan, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ali Price, 8-Magnus Bradbury, 7-Hamish Watson, 6-Sam Skinner, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Ben Toolis, 3-Willem Nel, 2-Stuart McInally (captain), 1-Allan Dell
Replacements: 16-Fraser Brown, 17-Gordon Reid, 18-Simon Berghan, 19-Jonny Gray, 20-Josh Strauss, 21-Greig Laidlaw, 22-Adam Hastings, 23-Chris Harris
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18′, 24′)
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79′)
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
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How to apply for a drone permit
Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
Submit their request
What are the regulations?
Fly it within visual line of sight
Never over populated areas
Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
Should have a live feed of the drone flight
Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage’s dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Teachers’ pay – what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here’s a rough guide as of January 2021:
– top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month – plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘very good’, followed by American schools
– average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
– it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
– some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
– maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
– at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
– in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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Yahya Al Ghassani’s bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation’s knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user’s knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don’t attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network’s website.