Top 5 Moments of the Premier League Season So Far

Over the years, the Premier League has provided English football fans with countless moments of entertainment, drama and beauty. From a Wayne Rooney bicycle kick against derby rivals Manchester City, to Leicester City’s Wes Morgan and Claudio Ranieri lifting the Premier League title together after shocking everyone to win the league in the 2015/16 season.

Not to mention indescribable moments such as Sergio Aguero’s famous last-minute goal in the last game of the season to snatch the title from Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

The 2019/20 season has been another eventful season filled with moments that have surprised and amazed fans and pundits. Here, we take a look at the Top five Premier League moments of the season thus far.

Since Frank Lampard’s appointment as Chelsea manager at the beginning of the season, the Blues fans have seen a change in their club’s player ethos. Whereas Chelsea were once renowned for loaning out their talented English youth and spending massive amounts of money on transfers, it seemed that the appointment of Lampard would see a new era of football at Stamford Bridge, giving young homegrown players more of an opportunity.

The risk was hailed by pundits as an act of brilliance early on in the season, when Chelsea went on to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-2 away at Molineux. A sensational long-range strike from Fikayo Tamori opened the scoring, two minutes before the then 21-year-old made a run from his own half to assist Tammy Abraham’s first goal of the game.

Abraham went on to score another, four minutes from the half time whistle went, completing his hat-trick in the 55th minute to earn himself the match ball and Man of the Match award, despite scoring an unfortunate own goal 15 minutes later. Mason Mount then went on to finish off Lampard and Chelsea’s masterclass in the 96th minute. The selection of the three young English goal scorers was applauded by fans and pundits, showing a refreshing new approach from Chelsea to integrate English youth.

If you look back down the line to where it went wrong for the champions, Carrow Road on September 14 is a pretty good place to start.

Newly promoted Norwich City had won just one of their first four league games going into their third home game of the season, against Manchester City, beating only Newcastle United at home to earn Premier League points for the first time since the 2015/16 season.

Daniel Farke’s side had lost their previous game away to West Ham United, ending a difficult start to their top-flight return after losing to Chelsea and Liverpool in a tough first two games. The Canaries had little to no expectation going into the game against the league champions, who had not lost a competitive match yet and scored 14 goals in their opening four games.

However, an array of shocking defending from Guardiola’s men would see Norwich shock the league into beating the title holders, 3-2, and subsequently, begin the downfall of City this season. Alex McLean opened up the scoring after a quarter of an hour, scoring a header towards the near post after being completely unmarked from a corner.

England prospect, Todd Cantwell, doubled the lead just 10 minutes later after the Premier League Player of the Month, Teemu Pukki, unselfishly played a square pass across Ederson’s goal for Cantwell to finish into an empty net.

Despite a Sergio Aguero goal just before half time worrying the Carrow Road faithful, Pukki went on to finish into another empty net just five minutes into the second half, after more woeful defending from City centre back, Nicolas Otamendi.

The game ended 3-2 to the Canaries, shocking fans and pundits in the league into amazement and putting City five points behind an unbeaten Liverpool side early on. And ever since, the gap has continued to grow and City have fallen deeper into their own worries.

It all started here for City and Norwich are partially responsible for such a dramatic sequence of events at the top.

Because City have been so incredible and barely been touched over the last two years, sticking with them for another defeat is only a testament to how good they've actually been. But, for this one, it's a derby and one that was yet another shock.

The past decade has given Manchester United fans very little to celebrate when looking at their city rivals. Going into the 2019/20 season was no different for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, as City came into the season as champions, while United had to settle for Europa League football after finishing sixth in the previous season, losing both derby games to Guardiola’s side.

United’s first victory of the season over City came at a time when the champions desperately needed the three points to stay in reach of first place Liverpool, who were 11 points clear of the champions.

Solskjaer’s men made sure that did not happen in a sensational display of United-esque counter-attacking football, as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both scored in a 2-1 victory over Guardiola’s City, at the Etihad.

The double was complete in game week 29, as the Red Devils comfortably beat a poor Man City side who were now surely certain they had lost their title of champions to Liverpool who were 25 points clear at the top of the table.

Martial opened the scoring from a sneaky set-piece move orchestrated by United’s promising new signing, Bruno Fernandes. Scott McTominay, secured the win in the 96th minute after a wayward throw from Ederson left the midfielder to score from 40 yards out into an open net.

The last time United had completed the double over Man City was during the 2009/10 season, which included the famous Premier League classic that saw Michael Owen score a goal in added time to win the derby at Old Trafford for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. Although, that team had featured the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand against a City team that were nowhere near the team they are now, making this season’s double perhaps even more impressive and the first post-Fergie.

The 2019/20 season has seen Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side hailed as one of the best Premier League sides in history, with a debate over whether they are a better side than the United treble-winning side of 1998/99.

The Reds are currently 25 points ahead of titleholders, City, after a season which has seen Klopp’s men drop a total of just four points in the league thus far.

Liverpool have set Premier League records left, right and centre over their 44-game unbeaten run, such as the most points won over 38 matches, the biggest lead at the top over second place, and winning 22 home wins in a row – beating Man City’s 20 achieved in the 2011/12 season.

However, perhaps what makes this season an amazing moment for Liverpool fans is the fact of this being the first-ever Premier League title the Reds will win, and the first league title the Anfield faithful would have seen their side win in 30 years, should they attain the final nine points of a possible 33.

Whilst Liverpool's record-breaking status is more of an ongoing memorable topic, this one is a moment we will never forget.

At number one, it's the relegation battlers, Watford, who thrashed the league dominators, Liverpool 3-0 at Vicarage Road. Before this mismatch, Watford had won just five of their previous 27 league matches, losing a worrying 13 and only accumulating 24 points with 11 games remaining.

They had one foot in the Championship. No fan or pundit could have predicted the Hornets would have left victorious after 90 minutes at Vicarage Road, against a Klopp side that had not lost in 422 days in the top-flight.

Despite the 55-point gap between the sides (one point more than second-place Man City’s total for the season), Watford started the game as if they were equals to Liverpool, having the majority of chances throughout the first half.

Newly appointed manager, Nigel Pearson, saw his side continue to threaten Alisson’s goal, until Ismaila Sarr stabbed in an Abdoulaye Doucoure cross to open the scoring, nine minutes after the half time interval.

Sarr then doubled his goal tally after caressing a chip over the helpless Brazilian keeper. Liverpool’s misery was compiled with 20 minutes to go after Troy Deeney scored into an astounded Liverpool net. The Reds’ hopes for an invincible season and another record of the longest winning run in the Premier League were shattered by full-time, sending Vicarage Road into pandemonium and shocking the nation by beating the soon-to-be champions, 3-0.