Best 2020 XI of the English Premier League by the BBC

The BBC, one of the most known and respectable media outlets of the United Kingdom, published what they consider the best 2020 XI of the Premier League. And as it can be expected, there are many different topics worth discussing in this particular situation.

At goalkeeper we have Brazilian Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker, who has become a constant symbol of safety for the Reds. We also have a back four with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tyrone Mings, Fabinho and Andrew Robertson, with the two Liverpool full-backs being an obvious choice, but there are a lot of valid questions about Mings and Fabinho’s performances in the entire year as a whole, especially when you leave out Virgil Van Dijk.

On midfield we have Jordan Henderson, Bruno Fernandes and Jack Grealish. Henderson has been a bit underrated at Liverpool and both Fernandes and Grealish have been two of the most consistent and most influential players in the Premier League in the entirety of 2020.

The likes of Son and Sadio Mane on the wings are very hard to debate, but to have Dominic Calvert-Lewin as best striker the choice might be debatable considering the quality and level of Harry Kane. And you could also consider Mohammed Salah, a player that no coach in the world would ever leave him on the bench, unless injured.

Overall, the XI makes sense and you can make a solid argument for all these choices, but I personally think they are mostly chosen based on the ongoing season. And this could be a bit controversial since it is supposed to be the best XI of 2020, not August-December 2020. For example, Tyrone Mings was not so good last season as well as Calvert-Lewin. Who would have left Van Djik and Kane on the bench for Mings and Calvert-Lewin last year? Come on, guys! Such a short memory…

Another example is Fabinho at centre-back, which is a position he only played recently. That I think is unfair on other great CBs of the last season. But overall, that is a good and fair XI, all things considered.