Another exciting and dramatic season has come to a close, and with it came the emergence of new stars, promising managers, and stunning moments. If you missed out on all the fun, no worries - we got you. Here is a review of the rollercoaster that was soccer in Europe, including the leading storylines from each of the major European Leagues.

City Makes History

Heading into the 2017/2018 season, pressure was beginning to build for mastermind Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. After a massive summer spending spree that included Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernando Silva, and Ederson, it was clearly title-or-bust for the Citizens. Not only did they win their first title under Pep, but it was not even close. Kevin De Bruyne was the best attacking midfielder in the world over the course of the long season, racking up 8 goals and 15 assists in the Premier League and adding 4 more assists in the Champions League.

Complimenting De Bruyne going forward was Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Leroy Sane, Kun Aguero, and Gabriel Jesus, who combined created beautiful and swift attacking play. Though more talented up front, City won the Title by addressing their previous shortcomings: goalkeeper and depth in defense. Ederson recorded the second most clean sheets (16) in the league and Kyle Walker proved to be well worth the large transfer fee that Tottenham set for his services. Throw in the arrival of talented french defender Aymeric Laporte in January, and Manchester City had finally assembled a stout defense. City finished the season leading the league in goals (106) and least goals conceded (27) - an illustration of their dominance all over the pitch.

Gabriel Jesus' winner against Southampton on the last day gave City three final points - bringing the total to a historic 100. Hitting the century mark makes this Manchester City team one of the best Premier League teams in history. Their Champions League run fell short due to an unraveling against Liverpool, but this team is now set up for years of success under Guardiola.

Nearly for Italian Teams

By the tail end of the season, only one major European league title was up for grabs - the Serie A in Italy. Looking to end Juventus' run of six straight titles, Napoli emerged as their primary contenders. The club of Diego Maradona fame was arguably the best team in Europe up until December, as Maurizio Sarri's run-and-gun style of play made them difficult to defend and to predict. Full of underrated stars (which sounds like an oxymoron) such as Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, and talisman Marek Hamsik, Napoli seemingly had put all the pieces together during the 2017/18 campaign.

Ultimately, it was Napoli's unpredictability which proved to be their downfall in the second half of the season. Inconsistency handicapped the squad in the late stretches, best illustrated by their performances against Juventus and Fiorentina in April. Kalidou Koulibaly broke the deadlock in the dying moments to defeat Juventus - breaking the title race wide open - just to lose 3-0 to Fiorentina the following weekend. Unfortunately for Napoli, Juventus added their 7th straight Serie A title to their expanding trophy case, and Sarri, Mertens, and Koulibaly could all be gone by August.

While Juventus and Napoli finished first and second respectfully, only one Italian team made the Champions League semi-final: Roma. Lacking any discernible star player, the Romans scrapped their way through the group stage and past Shakhtar Donetsk to a quarterfinal bout with giants Barcelona. After a frightful first leg at the Camp Nou in Barcelona which included two Roma own goals, advancing appeared impossible. However, of the five goals scored in the game, the final goal scored by Roma striker Edin Dzeko would prove to be the most important. A valiant effort by Dzeko and the ageless Danielle De Rossi during the second leg in Rome gave Roma a 3-0 win, advancing on Dzeko's away goal at the Camp Nou. Mayhem ensued, giving the viewing public some fantastic scenes from the Stadio Olympico. Below is user-created cinematic movie of both games, featuring excellent commentary by Peter Drury.

Roma were upended by Mo Salah and Liverpool in the semifinals, but their victory against Barcelona will go down as one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history.

King Salah

Talk about a bargain. Liverpool signed Egyptian winger Mo Salah for 42 pounds over the summer from Roma, adding the final piece to their already dynamic attack. Thirty-two goals and ten assists in the Premier League later, Liverpool seem to have pulled off the smartest steal the transfer market has ever seen.

Few things are left to be said about the year Salah has had. He scored goals in all sorts of fashion, by curling in shots from outside the box, dinking the ball over the keeper, and dribbling through all opposing defenders - just to pass the final touch past the hopeless keeper. The latter scenario resulted in one of the goals of the season against Tottenham - seen below. For a period of time, it seemed that Salah literally could not miss.

His league-record thirty-two goals were more than enough to hand him the Golden Boot award - to go along with his hardware for the PFA Player of the Year, African Player of the Year, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. With his bushy hair and Messi-like style of play, no other player was more fun to watch. His integration with Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane up front for Liverpool made fans dream and believe again at Anfield. The three-headed-monster up top was nearly unstoppable, leading Liverpool all the way to the Champions League final in Kiev. Their play inspired some fantastic renditions of You'll Never Walk Alone, along with other fan-created songs:

As of the end of the season, Salah is now in the conversation as one of the most talented players on the globe. If he is able to push Liverpool past Real Madrid in the CL Final his name will begin to be legitimately linked with the Ballon d'Or - an inconceivable notion at the start of the season. Luckily for us, we get to watch more of Salah when he leads Egypt to the World Cup in Russia,

Rising Stars in France and Germany

Instead of spending time on reviewing the uncontested title wins by Bayern in Germany and PSG in France, attention needs to be directed to two players that emerged as stars in each of their leagues.

If you have played career mode on FIFA in recent years, you know Nabil Fekir. Playing for french side Lyon, the little frenchman tapped into his well-documented potential during the 2017/18 season. Players such as Neymar, Thomas Lemar, Mbappe, and Edison Cavani may dominate the media in France, yet Fekir has been much more exciting to watch. He did not lead Ligue 1 in goals or assits, but no other player in Europe has quite the highlight reel that he produced.

Featuring fancy dribbling, precise passes, clinical finishes, and dead-ball accuracy, Fekir's playmaking ability is well-rounded and world-class. The attacking midfielder finished the Ligue 1 season with eighteen goals and seven assists for Lyon, catching the attention of some of the bigger clubs in Europe. Liverpool in particular have been rumored to have interest, but how he fits into their squad is a fair question to ask. Regardless, we will probably see him in a kit other than Lyon's next season. He will be a player to watch during the World Cup in Russia, and could have a breakout tournament similar to James Rodriguez in 2014 if he gets playing time.

One country over, Bayern dominated the German Bundesliga for the sixth straight year, but it was a player on Bayer Leverkusen that turned heads. At only 20 years old, Jamaican attacker Leon Bailey helped propel Leverkusen to a 5th place finish in the Bundesliga, missing out on a Champions League spot on goal difference.

Though he lacks the elite dribbling and ball skills of Fekir, Bailey is a natural attacker. With marauding runs, lightening speed, and smooth step-overs, the young Jamaican racked up nine goals and six assists. His stellar first full season has raised the eyebrows of German giants Bayern, who, according to ESPN's Raphael Honigstein, has already offered 60 million euros for his signature. Hopefully, if Bailey does move on, it will not be to Munich - a giant whale that has been swallowing up all the smaller fish in the Bundesliga as of late.

Icons Move On

At the close of each season, one of our toughest tasks as soccer fans is to reconcile with our favorite players moving on to greener pastures. This year saw the end of eras for Gianluigi Buffon and Andres Iniesta at their clubs, along with manager Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

Juventus has dominated the Serie A for years, and Buffon's role between the posts has been crucial to their success. Equipped with cat-like reflexes and fueled by passion, the old Italian has aged like fine wine. Few goalkeepers have had the career of Gigi's, making him quite possibly the greatest player to play at the position. A runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006, and the first ever keeper to win the Serie A Footballer of the Year, he established a new standard for the modern-day keeper. After over 500 appearances

for Juventus and nearly 200 for Italy, the only trophy that has eluded the shot-stopper was the Champions League. Buffon helped Italy win their 4th World Cup in 2006, ushering the team against Zinedine Zidane and France. Even with his 23 trophies and his illustrious career, Gigi will be remembered most for his fiery charisma, on-field passion, and boyish charm. Though he is not retiring, his move away from Juventus - to potentially PSG - surely feels like it. There will never be another footballer like Buffon.

One-half of the dominant "tiki-taka" midfield of Spain and Barcelona of the 21st century, Andres Iniesta is also ending a historic career with Barca. Along with Xavi, Iniesta propelled Barcelona to numerous La Liga and Champions League titles, two Euro Championships for Spain, and Spain's first World Cup title in 2010. Delivering passes as if they were on a string and seeing passes that no one else can see, the Spaniard serves as the creative midfielder prototype. Though not large in stature or particularly quick, Iniesta's style was to lull defenders asleep with short passes to Xavi and Busquets, just to pick out a defense-splintering pass to Messi at a blink of an eye.

A true orchestrator and leader on the pitch, watching him play feels more like art rather than a game - it appears easy and natural. In a open letter to his friend, Xavi described Iniesta's brilliance: "It seemed at times as though he could hear your thoughts. Later he did it with such ease that it gave the impression he didn't even need to think." You can read the full letter here: http://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona/story/3506194/xavis-open-letter-to-andres-iniesta-the-most-talented-player-in-the-history-of-spain.

Iniesta's final Barcelona game over the weekend was an emotional affair, and afterward he spent hours on the Camp Nou pitch (pictured above). His influence at Barcelona and on the players around him cannot be overstated, as players like Lionel Messi would not have been as successful without him. At 34 he may have a few years left, but it will feel wrong to view him in anything other than red and blue. Although they lost the final game of the season and their chances of finishing La Liga undefeated, Barcelona clinched another title - sending Iniesta off on top.

A man synonymous with his club, Arsene Wenger has finally managed his last season with Arsenal. Joining the London club in 1996, Wenger turned Arsenal into a global powerhouse. Known for his investment in youth development and the beautiful style of play his teams display, Wenger is a true trailblazer. His implementation of a team diet, use of data and statistics, and frugal spending policy were techniques that had not been widely used in England or Europe. In the early 2000's, Wenger's teams were some of the strongest across Europe, featuring Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Patrick Viera. Arsenal's success culminated in their 2003-04 undefeated "Invincibles" season, a feat never achieved by another club.

However, in the latter years of their marriage, Wenger and Arsenal began to hit turbulence. While the other big clubs in England flaunted large sums of cash to improve their squads, Wenger stuck to his passive transfer policy - instead selling some of Arsenal's top players. His stingy spending philosophy, along with a lack of trophies and poor Champions League performances, contributed to a growing frustration at the club.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Wenger and Arsenal would be parting ways. Though clearly against his wishes, Arsene delivered a thoughtful and classy letter to the club and Arsenal fans, showing that his love for the club never faded. Sadly, it was past time for Wenger to leave, and those at the top of the club should have pulled the trigger earlier. Despite his lackluster final years at the helm, Arsene Wenger needs to be remembered at Arsenal for what he was: an innovative football genius.

Thank you for reading! Make sure to make a note of these important games coming up:

5/26 12:00: English League Championship Playoff Final, Aston Villa vs Fulham

5/26 2:45: UEFA Champions League Final, Liverpool vs Real Madrid\

6/14 11:00: FIFA World Cup opener, Russia vs Saudi Arabia

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