The Premier League season came to a close at the weekend, with all eyes on the relegation battle as Newcastle beat the drop – eventually finishing 15th – courtesy of a 2-0 win over West Ham that rendered Hull City’s result against Manchester United, a respectable 0-0 draw, redundant. Chelsea were finally presented with the Premier League trophy, while Sergio Agüero reaffirmed his position as the top-flight’s leading goalscorer with a late tap-in against Southampton to take his tally to 26 for the season. Agüero was overlooked in the PFA’s player of the season nominations last month, with Eden Hazard deservedly scooping the top award. Here we look at WhoScored’s team of the season using their statistically calculated player ratings, featuring players who made at least 25 league appearances.

Costel Pantilimon, Sunderland, 7.12

No David de Gea is the headline here. The Manchester United keeper may have stole the column inches but, were it not for the heroics of Costel Pantilimon at the opposite end of the table, Sunderland may have lost their top-flight status. The giant Romanian was at his best as they secured their survival against Arsenal last week but that was just one of many heroic displays from the former Manchester City man. Pantilimon produced 109 saves over his 28 league appearances, with a save success rate of 78.4% by far the strongest in the Premier League. While De Gea undoubtedly pulled off some of the finest saves and goalkeeping displays of the season, his comparative figure of just 69.4% is evidence enough that the Sunderland stopper was the most consistent over the course of the campaign.

Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea, 7.25

The burly Serbian’s performances were hardly surprising given his consistency in recent years. He again had a significant impact going forward, scoring four goals and registering five assists, with an average of 2.3 tackles per game helping the 31-year-old towards a rating of 7.25.

Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal, 7.39

In at centre-back after another impressive campaign with Arsenal, Laurent Koscielny has become one of his team’s most important players over the past two years. Arsenal conceded almost half as many goals in the 26 matches he started this season (0.73) as they did in the 12 matches that he didn’t (1.42).



Chris Smalling, Manchester United, 7.35

There’s no doubt that Chris Smalling has made significant strides since the turn of the year under Louis van Gaal but he is perhaps the most controversial inclusion in the XI. The England international’s recent form has been mightily impressive in particular – in his 15 league starts in 2015 the centre-half has picked up just one WhoScored.com match rating lower than a 7 – boasting impressive seasonal averages of 2.4 interceptions and 2.8 aerial duels won per game.



Nacho Monreal, Arsenal, 7.33

Nacho Monreal is another defender who has come on leaps and bounds this season, firmly cementing his status as Arsenal’s first choice left-back in front of Kieran Gibbs. The Spaniard has enjoyed by far and away his best season since a move to North London, with averages of 2.3 tackles and 3.1 interceptions per game seeing his rating jump from 6.67 last season to 7.33 this year.



Alexis Sánchez, Arsenal, 7.33

In a sensational debut season at the Emirates, Alexis Sánchez scored 16 league goals and recorded eight assists, ranking among the top five players in the league for key passes (2.3) and dribbles (3.3) per game. He also showed tremendous work rate to finish the season with two tackles per game.



Santi Cazorla,Arsenal, 7.60

The fourth and final Arsenal player to make the best XI is Santi Cazorla, who pulled the strings in a deeper role than we have seen him since he moved to the Premier League. Cazorla scored seven goals and finished second in the league when it came to assists, with 11, while seeing his figures for both shots (2.5) and dribbles (2.4) per game rise from last season.



Cesc Fàbregas, Chelsea, 7.62

His season may have ended in ridiculous fashion with a red at West Brom but Fàbregas’ creative exploits helped him to secure his first ever Premier League winners’ medal in his debut season at Chelsea. He was the only player to register more assists than his aforementioned Spanish compatriot, Cazorla, with a huge 18, and while his form dipped following the turn of the year, a rating of 7.62 was thoroughly deserved for a player who had a huge bearing on the title race.



Eden Hazard, Chelsea, 7.96

Eden Hazard completes the midfield, having earned a league-high rating of 7.96. The Belgian scored 14 goals and registered nine assists but his dribbling figures truly set him apart. The winger completed 181 in total, a full 66 more than any other player in the top flight.



Sergio Agüero, Manchester City, 7.67

It’s only right that the league’s top scorer should appear in the team of the season, and Agüero does so here courtesy of a rating of 7.67. His 26-goal tally was accompanied by eight assists, with a direct hand in more goals (34) than any other Premier League player by a distance. He had the most shots per game (4.5) and completed 2.6 dribbles per game.



Diego Costa, Chelsea, 7.43

If Agüero’s goals meant little in the grand scheme of things, Diego Costa’s were absolutely vital. The former Atlético Madrid striker settled into life in England in some style. Despite injuries and suspensions limiting him to a 26-game season, the Spain international notched his 20th league goal on the final day as Chelsea ran away with the title. With just 2.9 shots per game, Costa’s conversion rate of 26.3% was nothing short of exceptional.

Premier League team of the week

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La Liga team of the week

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Bundesliga team of the week

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Serie A team of the week

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Ligue 1 team of the week

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All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings. You can follow all the scores, statistics, live player and team ratings with their new free-to-download app



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