5 things we didn't expect from the start of the 2015/16 season
Football. Bloody hell!,opined Sir Alex Ferguson, all those years back, after his teams famous Champions League triumph in 1999. The great, old veteran had seen everything the game had to offer. He had been there, done that. Yet, football has this habit of making a mockery of our predictions and chewing them up, spitting them out and trampling on them. The beginning of the 2015/16 season has been no different, with drama and surprises aplenty.Jose Mourinhos ill-advised clash with his medical team, John Terrys sudden dip in form, Udinese beating Juventus, Xherdan Shaqiris sensational transfer to Stoke City... I could go on and on. Yet, the season has only begun. And that is the beauty of this game. After all, it isnt called the beautiful game for nothing.Without further ado, we take a look at the five big surprises from the start of the 2015/16 season.
#5 Chelsea shipping 7 goals in 3 games
Before their opening match of the new campaign, nobody questioned Chelsea’s pedigree. They knew the Blues had what it took to defend the title at a canter. With a supremely talented attacking unit featuring the likes of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and now, Pedro Rodriguez, it was a question of how easily Chelsea would win matches, and not if they would. And this certainty came from the solidity of their imposing defence.
In Branislav Ivanovic, they had the league’s best full-back in their unit. In Gary Cahill and John Terry, they arguably had the best defensive pairing in the country. And in Cesar Azpilicueta, they had a solid, dependable player who was a Mourinho favourite.
However, things have unravelled, and rapidly. Ivanovic has been made to look like a lost schoolkid by Jefferson Montero and Raheem Sterling. John Terry has been hauled off during a game for the first time under Mourinho, and dismissed the very next game. Nemanja Matic has lost the presence he had in front of the defence last year.
The Blues have already conceded 7 goals in the league, with 4 of them being conceded to the likes of Swansea and West Bromwich Albion. It is time for them to take a long, hard look at themselves.