There has been no shortage of drama — both on the field and off — in the Premier League in 2015.
From splashy manager hires to shocking manager firings, goals at the death and goals that send fans into rapture, there are far more than 10 such moments from the last calendar year.
The headline says I have to choose 10, though, so let’s dive in:
10. Charlie Adam scores from the halfway line — Chelsea may have won the game, but Stoke’s Charlie Adam stole the show with a 65-yard strike that left Thibaut Courtois flapping:
9. Jermain Defoe wins a derby — There are goals, there are important goals and there are wonder strikes that win derby matches. Defoe’s stunner against Newcastle in early April falls into that latter category:
8. Return of the Jack — Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere spends a lot of time on the training table, but when he does play, he’s pretty good. This thundering volley on the last day of the 2014-2015 season is exhibit A:
7. Leaving it late — Glenn Murray started Bournmouth’s game against Chelsea on the bench, but his goal in the 82nd minute powered the Cherries to a massive Premier League win against the defending champions:
6. Welcome to Manchester — Anthony Martial’s transfer fee raised some eyebrows, but then again, so did this goal in his Manchester United debut — against Liverpool, no less:
5. Coutinho strikes again — Philippe Coutinho has a habit of banging in spectacular goals, and this effort against Southampton in February was no exception:
4. Klopp comes to Liverpool — After the Brendan Rodgers era fizzled out in early October, Liverpool turned to highly regarded former Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp as its new manager.
Let’s just say that he’s still working the kinks out of his new team.
3. Maybe not so “special” — Less than seven months after winning the EPL title, Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho was fired at Chelsea last week. “The Special One” is already being heavily linked with Manchester United, so he doesn’t seem likely to be out of the headlines for very long.
2. Running, then scissors — Manchester United’s Juan Mata is a highly skilled player (most of the time), and that skill was on full display with this stylish effort against Liverpool in the spring:
1. Jamie Vardy powers Foxes to top of the table — Leicester City sits atop the Premier League table as I write this, and Jamie Vardy’s early season goal binge is a big part of the reason why. The Englishman set a new league record with a goal in 11 straight games to spark the Foxes’ amazing rise to the top of the standings.
Here are all 13 of his goals during that impressive run:
