The coronavirus pandemic interrupted the Premier League in March as it neared the business end of the campaign. So, when the policies and protocols were finally ironed out by the league and government, the players had to hit the ground running for the mid-June return.
Here, theScore looks at the six players who have impressed the most since England's top flight returned.
Michail Antonio
The former non-league grappler is an irreplaceable part of David Moyes' XI, nudging aside £45-million striker Sebastien Haller as the focal point in West Ham United's attack.
Antonio has scored eight times since the resumption - only 11 clubs have registered more goals over that spell - to successfully drag the Hammers to safety. His experience as a winger in the Championship and for West Ham seems to help him in his duties as the lone forward. He has a knack for drawing defenders out of position and seamlessly links up with the midfield.
The 30-year-old should look to become one of the key figures in the West Ham dressing room and influence the next generation at the London Stadium, including the ever-improving Jarrod Bowen and promising right-back Ben Johnson.
Mason Greenwood
Greenwood's emergence in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's lineup is no great surprise - he's caused a stir since his early teens - but that doesn't make it any less exciting.
The young marksman has starred alongside fellow academy graduate Marcus Rashford and the rejuvenated Anthony Martial in Manchester United's frontline, delighting viewers with his two-footedness and poise in front of goal. Greenwood doesn't play like a novice with only 33 top-flight appearances to his name - Alan Shearer has already tipped the United prodigy as a serious candidate to break his record of 260 Premier League goals.
Greenwood has netted on five occasions over seven starts since the return, taking his total into double figures for the 2019-20 Premier League campaign. Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen are the only other players to reach 10 goals in a single season when they were just 18 years old.
Danny Ings
Southampton appear ready to challenge the Premier League's top six next season with Ings forging a crucial part of Ralph Hasenhuttl's ensemble.
After scoring for Liverpool in October 2015, the 28-year-old suffered a 1,113-day stretch without a professional goal while he rehabilitated two career-threatening injuries. His resurgence this season has been phenomenal; a post-hiatus haul of six has lifted his individual record to 21 league goals, which account for 44% of the Saints' tallies in the 2019-20 term. Only Leicester City's Jamie Vardy has outscored Ings this season.
But Ings does so much more than just register goals. He's completed more tackles than Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen, which demonstrates the effectiveness of his press and his overall comprehension of Hasenhuttl's game plan at St Mary's.
Nick Pope
Pope is in a two-way battle with Manchester City's Ederson for the Premier League's Golden Glove award with 15 shutouts. Alisson missing nine matches through injury or suspension has aided Pope's pursuit for the crown, but Burnley face more shots per game than 13 other Premier League clubs. Pope is a busy goalkeeper.
"There were moments when it was Liverpool against Nick Pope," Jurgen Klopp said after his team was frustrated by the 28-year-old in a 1-1 draw at Anfield earlier this month. Pope made eight saves to deny the Reds their 25th consecutive league win at home, including two remarkable stops from point-blank range to thwart Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Pope, who was similarly unaccommodating in the Clarets' recent narrow wins over Watford, Crystal Palace, and West Ham, should expect to add to his two England caps off the back of his recent form.
Christian Pulisic
It took some time for Pulisic to establish himself at Chelsea. But now, after overcoming injuries and his manager's tendency to prioritize youth-team graduates in the starting XI, the American winger is making it harder to keep him out of the lineup with each passing week.
Pulisic's 32-minute cameo against Liverpool on Wednesday was further evidence of what the 21-year-old can provide for Chelsea next season. He didn't misplace a pass, completed all three of his take-on attempts, assisted for Tammy Abraham following a mazy run, and displayed excellent composure before he rifled an effort into Alisson's top corner.
The class of 2020-21 at Chelsea could be devastating in attack with Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, and Callum Hudson-Odoi competing for berths either side of Timo Werner, Abraham, or Olivier Giroud. Oh, and Kai Havertz is reportedly on his way from Bayer Leverkusen.
Raheem Sterling
Sterling admitted his motivation behind asking Kevin De Bruyne if he could take a penalty against Watford on Tuesday.
"As a winger, to score 20 goals in the Premier League is a great achievement," he told Sky Sports after he reached a personal best of 19 in the match.
Few would bet against Sterling reaching his target as City prepare to sign off on their campaign against Norwich City on Sunday.
Phil Foden and Eric Garcia have strengthened their claims for minutes since the resumption with a series of fine performances in sky blue, but it's Sterling who's captured the most headlines. The attacker ended nearly six months without a goal in City's first game back against Arsenal and promptly added seven more league conversions, hitting form ahead of August's crucial second leg with Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.
