Home » Dragon Feeds » Arsenal Dragon » 5 Biggest Upsets In EPL History Featuring, Manchester United, Chelsea And Arsenal

5 Biggest Upsets In EPL History Featuring, Manchester United, Chelsea And Arsenal

Everybody loves a good underdog tale, excepting the favored team and those who rightfully wagered on the powerhouse to earn a much-expected win. The world of sports features many of these cool stories, and the Premier League, despite the sky-high stakes, hasn’t avoided the occasional shocker. If anything, the past decade or so has witnessed several historic upsets, showing football fans why the game is played on the pitch rather than on paper.

Similar to most football fans, the staff at love a good upset, especially when the courage to bet on these scenarios has resulted in a sweet payout. In the most extreme cases, punters have won ridiculous payouts off small wagers, converting the tears of the losing side into currency. The following five upsets rank among the greatest in the history of the Premiere League, shaking the foundation of the EPL to its core.

5. Sunderland vs Chelsea – 2010

Will Chelsea throw their captain away?

Long-suffering fanatics of Sunderland AFC haven’t enjoyed much success in the Premier League over the past eight decades. The last time that the Black Cats managed to lead the table was 1936. In the meantime, the side has won a couple of FA Cups, and earned a spot in the finals of the Football League Cup twice before the name changed to the EFL Cup.

Compare this with Chelsea FC, who have started the millennium with a bang, including four Premier League wins, a UEFA Champions League win and five doubles. Of course, it helps to have a Russian billionaire like Roman Abramovich on your side, enabling record transfer fees for whichever player suits his fancy.

When the bookies sized up this match during November of 2010, they didn’t give much credence to Sunderland, who faced long odds of about 14-1 on that fateful afternoon. Despite an overwhelming talent deficit, Sunderland absolutely smoked Chelsea, running them off the pitch by a score of 3-0. This was Chelsea’s first loss of the season, and at the time, the Black Cats were well down the top division. Nonetheless, the combo of Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck tore through the disinterested Pensioners, embarrassing the heavy favorites on their home pitch.

4. Wolverhampton Vs. Manchester United – 2004

Top versus bottom matchups are supposed to be automatic in most gameday scenarios, which brings to mind an American proverb expressed in the hit Hollywood film, White Men Can’t Jump: “even the sun shines on a dog’s ass some days.” Firmly at the bottom of the table at the time, the Wolves desperately needed to feel the warm rays of the sun filtering towards their posteriors, especially considering their opponents.

Manchester United, helmed by Sir Alex Ferguson, were in the midst of a fantastic season, losing only three until this mid-January meeting. Similar to just about everyone else, they expected to pad their lead with another easy win over an overmatched side. With names like Keane, Ronaldo, Ferdinand and Van Nistelrooy, it appeared as if the Red Devils would be able to win even if a key player went on the limp.

Which is exactly what happened: Rio Ferdinand received a knock to the knees due to a collision with Kenny Miller in the 14th minute, forcing Ferguson to sub Wes Brown into the fray. Despite dominating possession for much of the match, Man U couldn’t solve the riddle, losing a stunning one-nil result. The man who delivered the knee-melting collision that forced Ferdinand off the grass also notched the decisive score, prompting Alan Green to state that “Kenny Miller made Wolves’ dream reality.”

3. Arsenal Vs. West Brom – 2010

Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger will aim for the gold after strengthening his squad

The West Bromwich Albion Football Club, similar to many ancient English clubs, have had difficulty competing at the top levels of the sport. They’ve performed well in the second division, winning a championship in 2007-08, along with a trio of finishes as runners-up in 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2009-10. These results have allowed them to move up to the Premier League instead of becoming stuck in a permanent relegation quagmire.

Arsenal is one of the most successful clubs in EPL history, having been relegated only once in 1913, enjoying the longest streak of participating in the Premier League. They’re also worth about £1.4 billion, which allows them to shower absurd amounts of liquid capital onto the pro footballer labor market, picking and choosing from many of the finest talents in the world.

All the talent in the world doesn’t make up for a complete lack of hustle, which the Gunners displayed in plentitude during late September of 2010. This allowed West Brom to leap out to a three-goal lead through timely strikes and poor defending. Arsenal would claw their way back into the game thanks to a quick double by Samir Nasri, but Arsene Wenger’s side still fell to the underdog Baggies. This also left quite a few punters in the lurch due to this unexpected road win for West Brom.

2. Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool – 2014

Nothing screams upset like grown men crying on the pitch, which is exactly what Liverpool striker and noted masticator Luis Suarez did after the referee blew the final whistle. Things started out very well for Liverpool, who took the middling Crystal Palace side by storm, opening up a three-nil lead by the 55-minute mark, aided by an own goal by Damian Delaney. During the previous few matches, the Eagles proved to be a surprising obstacle for other top clubs, but it looked like the Reds, led by legend Steven Gerrard, would waltz the rest of the way to a road win.

Enter reality, which has a way of screwing things up for even the finest of football sides. Crystal Palace suddenly went insane, scoring three goals in the final eleven minutes, earning the least likely draw in EPL history. Delaney made up for his previous gaffe by scoring at the 79-minute mark, and super sub Dwight Gale popped a pair in the 81st and 88th minute, causing Liverpool’s men to feel negative emotions of extreme intensity.

In the span of eleven minutes, Liverpool went from likely Premier League champs to chumps, essentially ceding the table to Manchester City. This early May 2014 upset prevented the Reds from collecting their first EPL title in 24 years.

1. Leicester Wins Premier League Championship – 2016

This has never happened before, and it will never happen again. When someone tells you that you have 5,000-to-1 odds of winning something, and you respond by saying “so… we have a chance?”, most people will look at you like you’re Jim Carrey from Dumb and Dumber. But it was Leicester City who made the EPL look inadequate, beating traditional favorites such as Man U, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in an unbelievable run on the table.

Numerous punters ended up winning the football wagering lottery, including a drunken £5 wager while on holiday that turned into £20,600 when the improbable actually happened. Another fan placed a £10 bet as a joke, turning the punchline into £50,000. Others picked up hundreds of thousands of pounds from bookmakers, while some cashed out a bit too early, dropping more than £100,000 in the process.

The internet’s filled with stories revolving around those who did, and didn’t, cash out on this once-in-a-century opportunity, making Leicester’s near-impossible win a permanent part of EPL lore.