The 2021/22 PFA Premier League Team of the Year has been revealed. The team is voted for by members of the Professional Footballers' Association, the players' union. The full team is as follows:
Alisson — Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold — Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk — Liverpool
Antonio Rudiger — Chelsea
Joao Cancelo — Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne — Manchester City
Thiago Alcantara — Liverpool
Bernardo Silva — Manchester City
Sadio Mane — Liverpool
Cristiano Ronaldo — Manchester United
Mohamed Salah — Liverpool
There are 6 Liverpool players named in the team, which is surprising considering they did not win the Premier League title. No one can dispute the inclusion of Mohamed Salah, who claimed the Golden Boot award but there are some interesting selections elsewhere, with the inclusion of Thiago Alcantara raising some eyebrows.
Manchester City fans especially will be critical of the team, with only 3 players from their club in the 2021/22 PFA Premier League Team of the Year, with Liverpool having double that amount.
Manchester City won the Premier League title, they won the most games (29), scored the most goals (99), and conceded the joint-fewest goals (26). Manchester City were also top of the table for the longest amount of time over the course of the season.
One could argue for the inclusion of Aymeric Laporte in central defence, possibly at the expense of Antonio Rudiger. The Frenchman was the best central defender in the joint best defence in the Premier League this season.
Rodri was without doubt the best holding midfielder during the 2021/22 Premier League campaign and it seems strange to see Thiago in the team ahead of his fellow Spaniard.
Perhaps it pays to look the other way when passing the ball as this catches the eye more than doing the basics extremely well at the base of the midfield. In addition to his prowess as a defensive midfielder, Rodri scored some crucial goals for Manchester City in the Premier League, including one at home against Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
Perhaps Manchester City’ style of play counts against individual players. They like to keep the ball, with every player having a role in a system that works rather than a few standout individual players.
In terms of numbers, some of the Liverpool players look superior but in the overall functioning of the most successful team in English football this season, Manchester City can feel aggrieved many of their players were overlooked.
Son Heung-min can feel particularly disappointed he did not get in the 2021/22 PFA Premier League Team of the Year or win the PFA Player of the Year Award.
Son deserves to be in the team ahead of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane if statistics are a key factor as he finished joint top goal scorer in the league.
Salah scored the same number of goals as Son but not one of the South Korean’s goals came from the penalty spot. It seems strange the Spurs forward did not get in the team but both Ronaldo and Mane were selected.