Skip to content

Top 10 Premier League moments of 2016

Carl Recine / Reuters

The spate of tragedies, questionable results in political democracies, and the deaths of some influential figures in culture and sport made 2016 a year that was difficult to stomach for much of the world.

Thankfully, something as simple and trivial as a few people booting around a leather spheroid can offer some respite from these woes. And over the calendar year, the Premier League abandoned the script and staged bigger twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

Here are the top 10 moments from the Premier League in 2016:

10 - Pogba returns to United

Pogback.

Although there was justified excitement surrounding Zlatan Ibrahimovic's entrance at Old Trafford, Paul Pogba's €105-million return broke a world record and ended the most protracted summer transfer tale on the planet.

The switch was written off by many, given that he left Manchester United in 2012 dismayed at the lack of playing time under Alex Ferguson. But under Jose Mourinho four years later, he was encouraged to leave Juventus and refamiliarise himself with the northwest.

"I feel the time is right to go back to Old Trafford," he said at his unveiling. "I always enjoyed playing in front of the fans and can't wait to make my contribution to the team. This is the right club for me to achieve everything I hope to in the game."

9 - Benitez gives Arsenal second place

Reeling after it relinquished the title to Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur travelled to already relegated Newcastle United on the final day needing just a draw to secure second spot. A runner-up position would've handed Spurs the consolation prize of finishing above archrival Arsenal for the first time in 21 years.

Instead, Rafa Benitez's side ran riot at St James' Park, sending Tottenham's red-faced players packing after a 5-1 humiliation.

To say shots were fired by the Gunners after that would be an understatement.

Related: Twitter erupts as St Totteringham's Day comes to pass in humiliating fashion

8 - Guardiola's introduction

Headlining a legion of box-office bosses in the Premier League this summer was Pep Guardiola, the suave ex-overseer of Barcelona and Bayern Munich who had been tempted to Manchester City.

He made it look easy in the early days. Guardiola steered City to six consecutive league wins - in addition to four victories in continental competition and the League Cup - to immediately put his new side, which was unfurling systems never seen before in the old country, atop the division.

Since the streak-ending 3-3 Champions League draw to Celtic, however, Guardiola has experienced some inevitable hiccups.

7 - Big Sam does it again

Before he sat down at Wing's restaurant in Manchester and talked his way out of the England job in a newspaper sting, Sam Allardyce produced wizardry on Wearside.

Overcoming inevitable murmurs upon his arrival as the first man to oversee both Newcastle United and Sunderland, he took the latter from 19th place in October to survival at the expense of its rival on Tyneside.

It was done in fine style too: a 3-0 win over Everton in the penultimate match of the season.

Allardyce now looks to repeat the feat at Crystal Palace.

6 - Mourinho gets the Blues

Mourinho's initial struggles at United were capped off in October, with his expensively assembled throng being shamed 4-0 at Chelsea, the capital outfit he guided to three league titles over two spells.

It took just 30 seconds for Pedro to give the host the lead before Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, and N'Golo Kante dealt their own blows to Mourinho's previously rock-solid ego.

5 - Klopp loses his glasses

Premier League fans quickly warmed to Liverpool's charismatic manager Jurgen Klopp in 2015-16, and although his celebrations and moments of anguish were often unintentionally hilarious, Christian Benteke breaking his manager's glasses in an encapsulating 5-4 toppling of Norwich City was Klopp's crowning comedy moment.

Related - Top of the Klopp's: Best pictures from the Liverpool manager's 1st season

4 - Farewell, Upton Park

One of the most iconic homes of English football closed its doors for the final time in May, and in true Cockney fashion, it ended with a proper knees-up.

The match was a cracker, with West Ham United storming back to win after being 2-1 down to Manchester United with 18 minutes left, and the after-party featured legends being driven around the pitch in taxis while a pyrotechnic display lit up the old Boleyn Ground.

Thanks for the memories, Upton Park.

3 - Rashford explodes onto the scene

In February, Louis van Gaal's United era was in its worst state of disarray. After Anthony Martial was injured in the warmup before a Europa League tie against FC Midtjylland, the Dutchman had to call on Marcus Rashford, an untried 18-year-old, to start the fixture.

He scored twice in a 5-1 win.

Rashford continued the sensational beginning to his professional career domestically, scoring twice in a 3-2 beating of Arsenal three days later, and shaming Martin Demichelis en route to being the match-winner in a Manchester derby in March.

Suddenly, amid the concern and upheaval in the youth academy, United fans had a homegrown product to call their own - and one that is likely to develop into a star.

2 - Battle of Stamford Bridge hands Foxes title

Jamie Vardy held a party in his kitchen, as he and his Leicester teammates watched an ill-disciplined Tottenham collapse and surrender a two-goal lead at Chelsea.

Hazard drew the Blues level with a sublime 83rd-minute curler into the top corner, but the most important takeaway was that it left Spurs an insurmountable seven points short of table-topping Leicester.

2014-15 champion Chelsea, which had been in crisis management under Guus Hiddink, handed over the Premier League crown to Leicester, much to the delight of a vast chunk of the world that had been following the fairy tale.

Related - Watch: Leicester players celebrate league title at Jamie Vardy's house

1- Leicester hoists the Premier League trophy

For all the unexpected moments Leicester gave us over 2016, Claudio Ranieri could've taken the whole top 10.

The Italian masterminded the first win of the year at Tottenham courtesy of a late Robert Huth header. In February, the Foxes beat Liverpool and Manchester City in the space of four days to go five points clear at the top, but then worried fans of the underdog with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Arsenal the following week.

March began a run of four consecutive 1-0 wins, and May's 3-1 triumph over Everton was a mere distraction from the spine-tingling vocals of Andrea Bocelli before kick-off and the fireworks and title celebrations after the final whistle.

Related: Leicester City's impossible triumph rewrites history

An historic season in an unforgettable year in football.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox