5 biggest upsets in European football in 2016
As we come to the end of this calendar year, football fans have had a veritable buffet of exciting contests in Europe. Football is a game in which the underdog is often able to beat a superior team on their day, and upsets are the order of the day in the second half of the European season as the top clubs have to rotate their squads – mostly on account of fitness issues.
The Premier League title was won by Leicester City, who were rank outsiders at the start of the season. Therefore, many of their victories in their historic season hold less value as upsets – they led the league table from January without giving it up after that.
Therefore, we need to look to other competitions for such matches of note. The following is a list of the 5 most unexpected results from European football this year:
#5 Wolfsburg 2-0 Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League 2015/16
Wolfsburg are definitely one of the most dangerous opponents for any team on the planet on their night, and they proved their credentials with a 2-0 victory at home against Real Madrid in the quarterfinal stages of the Champions League last season.
Real Madrid went into the game on the back of a morale-boosting victory at the Nou Camp during the weekend, but the encounter had taken its toll on the fitness of its star forwards. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema struggled to find any kind of momentum, and they encountered some harsh luck with decisions during the game as well.
However, Wolfsburg truly deserved the victory, particularly due to their second goal scored by Maxi Arnold after some wonderful build-up play. The first goal came off a penalty earned by Andre Schurrle in the 18th minute. Star left back Ricardo Rodriguez sent Keylor Navas the wrong way with his shot to rouse the Volkswagen Arena, and the cheering went on till the final whistle in what was to be a famous victory.