Top 10 EPL upsets of the 2015-16 season

Many will agree that this season has been a roller coaster of sorts to say the least with the underdogs outclassing the so called ‘giants’ and showing the total unpredictability of the game and the league, more importantly. As the league is halfway through, we take a look at the top 10 upsets in the EPL which will only prove how volatile and competitive the league actually is.

10. West Brom vs. Arsenal (2-1): 

West Bromwich Albion ended Arsenal’s six-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 win over at The Hawthorns after James Morrisons’ 35th minute goal and Mikel Arteta’s disappointing own goal was enough for the Gunners to lose the encounter.

9. Stoke City vs. Manchester City (2-0):

Marko Arnautovic’s brace gave Stoke City a well deserved victory as the visitors were lackluster to say the very least. Manuel Pellegrini’s team were fitful in attack, a far cry from Stoke as Arnautovic struck a post and passed up two further chances to claim the match ball but it all changed when he found the back of the net to open the scoring in the 6th minute and added a second one in the 14th minute as the game ended 2-0 at Britannia Stadium.

8.  Everton vs. Chelsea (3-1):

Steven Naismith was the hat trick hero as he scored 3 wonderful goals to plaster a win for the home side, Everton. Mourinho’s side continued to struggle against an organised Everton defence, but Matic got them back into the game with a spectacular 30-yard drive that bent away from the despairing Tim Howard but it did not help the Blues as they lost the game 3-1.

7. Chelsea vs. Southampton (1-3):

Southampton played Chelsea away and most of the football fans across the globe thought Chelsea would snatch away an easy win but as it has been established, this season is all about the underdog. Chelsea’s Willian scored the opening goal which sadly, in no way helped the team as the Saints continued to dominate the game. Southampton then open fired a bunch of goals as Steven Davis (43) Sadio Mané (60) Graziano Pellè (72) scored for the visitors handing Chelsea another defeat at home.

6.  Tottenham Hotspurs vs. Manchester City (4-1):

As Harry Kane shone again, Spurs beat City in a one sided match as Spurs dominated the game for most of the 90 minutes. City’s record signing Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring but Spurs persevered before firing one in at half time. Goals from Alderweireld, Lamela and Kane absolutely slaughtered the City backline. The game ended 4-1 which gave Tottenham something to celebrate about.

5. Watford vs. Liverpool (3-0):

It was almost as if Liverpool’s luck for the game was cursed as the game started off a mistake from Adam Bogdan which gifted Watford their first goal as Nathan Ake’s right footed shot was enough to go past the new Liverpool keeper. The game did not get any better for Liverpool as Odion Ighalo scored a brace and the match ended 3-0 with Watford taking 3 invaluable points home, and Liverpool were left disappointed.

4. Manchester United vs. Norwich City (1-2):

Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United suffered a painful loss as the Canaries defeated them 1-2 and took away 3 solid points whereas the Red Devils slipped down to 5 position on the league table. The game started off with the home side looking fresh and sharp, with adequate amount of possession but a shocking goal from Cameron Jerome left United trailing for points. At the 53 minute, Alexander Tettey scored again for Norwich City putting Manchester United at back foot as they could not recover from the two goals and ended the game 1-2 as Martial scored as a saving grace that didn’t work for the Red Devils.

3. Manchester City vs. Liverpool (1-4):

Liverpool has been a bundle of surprise this season with an inconsistent graph but they perform when they have to. They netted an important victory against the Citizens as Mangala scored an own goal and started off the night. What followed was sheer carnage by the Reds as Coutinho, Firmino and Skrtl scored for Liverpool, making it quite an embarrassment for the blue side of Manchester. Pellegrini replaced Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas with Fernandinho and Fabian Delph for the second half in a bid to add more solidity to his team but that saw no improvement to the team’s efforts as the full time whistle denoted the score to be 1-4 to the visitors running riot on the home side.

2.  Swansea vs. Manchester United (2-1):

It started off pretty well for the Red Devils as they scored the first one to start the ordeal of the day, Juan Mata scored a lovely right footed shot assisted by Luke Shaw. Sounds lovely but the trip to South Wales for the Devils would soon be ruined by Andre Ayew’s header who scored the Swans’ first goal and it was only downhill spiral for United as the second goal from Swansea came just 5 minutes later by Bafetimbi Gomis who was assisted by the previous goal scorer Ayew’s through ball. There was absolutely no chance left for the visitors as the home side looked sharp and polished after the lead they had picked up and left Manchester United waiting for a point against Swansea.

1. Manchester City vs. West Ham (1-2):

Slaven Bilic’s West Ham perfectly sums up the shocking nature of the league by taking over in the first 30 minutes of the game with Victor Moses scoring a sublime right footer right from the outside of the box. Payet had a wonderful game that night with assisting the first goal and then going on and attempting to assist and score on several other occasions. The second blow came to Manchester City when Diafra Sakho scored another beautiful right footer from a very close range and netted it right at the bottom left corner.

There was no turning back now as West Ham’s standout performers were the entire back line and Brazilian goalkeeper Adrián, who withstood more than 45 minutes of unrelenting pressure on goal in the second half. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne marked his first start for since his record signing and scored just before the half time as an attempt to save the game.  Although this game did not affect Manchester City’s league standings then but it surely put a very bold point across- the underdogs are not here to be stomped upon.