It’s been a gripping year of football in 2015, with a long list of major records broken in the Premier League and abroad.
2016 promises to be a cracker as well, with one of the closest title races in years surely on the cards, but it would still do well to live up to the high standards set in the year just gone.
Here’s a look back at some landmarks and milestones reached in this calendar year.
1. Petr Cech’s clean sheet record:
Petr Cech in Arsenal’s last match win against Bournemouth broke the record for the most number of clean sheets in the Premier League with 170 clean sheets in 352 games.
The previous record was 169 held by David James. Incredible indeed!
2. Barcelona win a record second treble:
Barcelona were another club to make history in 2015 as they won their second treble – the only club to manage this feat.
A win over Juventus in the Champions League final confirmed a second treble in six years for Barca, with manager Luis Enrique following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola by winning all three major trophies on offer in his first season in charge.
Not bad!
3. Raheem Sterling transfer breaks two records:
One of the most talked about transfer sagas of the summer came to an end when Raheem Sterling left Liverpool for Manchester City in July, breaking two records in the process.
First, the England forward became the most expensive player of all time aged 21 or under.
At an initial fee of around £44million, believed to have potential add-ons to take it to £49m, Sterling also became the most expensive English player of all time.
Raheem Sterling swapped Liverpool for Manchester City in the summer.
4. Wayne Rooney becomes England’s all-time leading goalscorer:
It had been on the cards for some time, but in September Wayne Rooney finally broke Bobby Charlton’s record to become England’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The Manchester United captain has received plenty of criticism for his performances at club level this season, but he continues to do the business for his country.
Scoring from the spot in the win over Switzerland, Rooney made it 50 goals and counting cementing his place in the history books as one of England’s best ever players.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo breaks Real Madrid’s scoring record:
Another goal scoring record was broken as Cristiano Ronaldo’s fine strike against Levante saw him move above the legendary Raul in the Real Madrid scoring charts.
This was Ronaldo’s 324th official goal for the club and his incredible record stands at 336 goals in just 322 matches.
6. Jamie Vardy scores for 11 games in a row:
Beating Ruud van Nistelrooy’s long-standing record, Jamie Vardy scored for 11 consecutive Premier League games, a run stretching from the 29th August to 28th November.
The 28-year-old has 15 goals in 16 league outings, and must be considered a serious contender to win the Golden Boot this season.
7. Mesut Ozil assists in 6 consecutive matches:
Another of this season’s in-form players, Mesut Ozil, made a little piece of history as well, managing to bag himself an assist in 6 Premier League games in a row for Arsenal.
The Germany playmaker had his doubters after a low-key first two seasons in England, but is now firmly established as one of his club’s most important players and indeed one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe.
Ozil is also unsurprisingly the top assist maker in the Premier League and Europe so far this season with 16 assists.
8. Chelsea make their worst ever Premier League start:
Chelsea have made their worst ever start in the Premier League era, and their worst start overall since they were relegated all the way back in 1979.
The Blues won the title comfortably last season, but now look to have a very slim chance of even making the top four this term after losing nine times already.
What has gone so badly wrong at Stamford Bridge? No one really knows, but it is the most breathtaking collapse by a reigning champion in living memory.
9. Jose Mourinho reaches record-breaking number of defeats:
As well as being a dire season for Chelsea, it’s also a real career-low for Jose Mourinho, who in 2015 lost nine league games in one season for the first time in his entire career.
The Portuguese is seen as one of the finest coaches of his generation, having won a host of major honours since his time with Porto.
However, one has to wonder if his methods are starting to wear off, with various rumours that he lost the dressing room this season, failing to turn things around before being sacked on 17th December.
10. Arsenal win record 12th FA Cup:
Arsenal’s long trophy drought almost seems forgotten now, with the Gunners retaining the FA Cup and winning it for a record 12th time, overtaking Manchester United as the most successful team in the history of the competition.
Arsenal were in total control in this final, beating Aston Villa 4-0 without ever really breaking a sweat.
The pick of the bunch was undoubtedly this sublime long-range strike from Alexis Sanchez.
SOURCE: Metro News
