Now and again, a team steps onto the pitch and completely obliterates the underdog odds that a bookmaker has slapped on them. Big upsets are always major talking points. This is part of the brilliant entertainment and fun that the Premiership delivers.
While it’s only on the rare occasion that the underdog has their day, of course, that just makes it more spectacular when it does come along. The FA Cup and its famous giant-killing acts are one of the most popular areas for football upsets.
However, upsets have happened in the Premier League too. Here, we take a look back through five of the best Premier League upsets that were executed by so-called smaller football clubs when they were mixing it up with the big boys in the Premier League.
Liverpool 1-2 Blackpool
In the 2010/11 EPL season, the newly-promoted Blackpool pulled off a shock victory at Anfield against Liverpool. The Seasiders weren’t given much of a chance by the bookies and had been a long odds-against quote pre-match for their visit to Anfield.
During the match, Blackpool raced ahead to a 2-0 halftime score, thanks to goals from Charlie Adam and Luke Varney. They dug in during the second half as Liverpool, under manager Roy Hodgson, tried to get back at them. The Seasiders held on, though, for one of the club’s most famous victories.
Ultimately, Blackpool only enjoyed the briefest of stays in the top flight but they won a lot of neutral fans over, thanks to their attacking style.
Saints rule the Red Devils
Manchester United’s defence went AWOL in back-to-back Premier League matches in 1996. Straight after losing 5-0 to Newcastle, the Red Devils went down to the south coast to face Southampton.
The Saints struck the opener after just six minutes. A fightback from United was made all that much tougher when only 14 minutes later, Roy Keane was sent off after a second yellow card.
The goals came thick and fast in the fixture, in which Southampton ran out 6-3 winners, helped by a burst of three goals in 10 minutes. It’s remembered as one of the classic Premier League matches, with tackles flying in, great finishing and just sheer excitement.
Canaries sing in North London
In the 1992/93 season, Norwich City produced a fantastic result away at Arsenal. The Canaries had finished 18th in the previous season’s top flight and more struggles were expected to follow for them. When they were 2-0 down at Arsenal, that looked to be the case.
The Gunners had finished fourth in the final edition of the old First Division and looked set to romp to three points. However, a hot burst of three goals in a quarter of an hour in the second half saw the Canaries take the lead. They completed a 4-2 comeback victory and went on to remarkably finish third in the first-ever Premier League season.
Brentford string the Gunners
In their very first Premier League match, Brentford put an impressive three points in the bag. In their 2021/22 opener against Arsenal, the Bees defied their underdog odds as they hassled and harassed their established opponents.
Goals from Sergi Canós and Christian Nørgaard gave the Bees an impressive opening-day victory over one of the Premier League’s Big Six. Brentford went on to defy expectations, finishing 13th in the standings, while Arsenal just missed out on a UEFA Champions League spot by finishing fifth.
Swansea embarrass Liverpool
During the 2016/17 EPL season, Swansea were having all sorts of struggles at the foot of the table. Boss Paul Clement was brought in during January 2017 to try and get the club out of the top flight mire.
Sitting bottom of the pile at the time, the Swans rocked up at Merseyside and a brace from Fernando Llorente put them 2-0 up early in the second half.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino levelled the match with a brace of his own before the Swans stole the show with a goal from Gylfi Sigurðsson. An end-of-season burst of form saw Swansea stay up while Liverpool finished fourth.
Bantams pull off great escape against Liverpool
This was a tremendous underdog success and it was made that much better for Bradford fans because of what the three points meant on the day. On the final day of the 1999/2000 season, Bradford had to defeat top-four side Liverpool to stay at the highest level.
After David Wetherall struck early for the Bantams with a tremendous header, it was all pretty much one-way traffic from Liverpool, but Bradford defended with their lives and held out for an unlikely three points that kept them up in the top flight.
