2022: A Review of the Year

2022 has come to an end and what a year it was. Loads of great games, lots of controversy and many great goals. Football delivered throughout the year and it's time to take a look back.

JANUARY:

The year kicked off with a classic from the Premier League between two of the league's biggest giants in Chelsea and Liverpool. Both sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with the reds going 2-0 ahead before Chelsea some how drew level before half time. It was a great game for the fans but for the teams involved it was two crucial points dropped with Man City leading the way by a staggering 10 points after their win over the Arsenal the day before.

The clubs from the Premier League and Championship joined the FA Cup at the 3rd Round where we had an early shock with Nottingham Forest beating record holders Arsenal 1-0 at the City Ground four years after their classic win over them at the same stage.

The Premier League returned with the title appearing to look done and dusted with Kevin De Bruyne handing leaders Man City a 1-0 win over Chelsea and a comfortable 13 point lead at the top of the table. That very weekend we saw the first managerial casualty of the year with Rafa Benitez being sacked by Everton after their defeat by bottom of the table Norwich leaving the Toffees in 15th.

The Carabao Cup final was confirmed with Liverpool beating Arsenal in their delayed semi final to join Chelsea at Wembley the following month.

Two new managers returned to the top flight with Roy Hodgson becoming the latest through the revolving door at Watford with his job to keep the Hornets in the Premier League. Frank Lampard also returned as he became the new boss at Everton a couple of weeks after the departure of Rafa Benitez.

Throughout January clubs dipped into the transfer market in an attempt to strengthen their squads. Whilst Salah and Mane were at AFCON, Liverpool reinforced their attack with the signing of Luis Diaz for £37 million from Porto not long after the player turned down a move to Spurs. Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho were reunited at Aston Villa with Brazilian arriving on a loan deal from Barcelona whilst Dele Alli was given an apparent career lifeline as he joined Everton from Spurs.

FEBRUARY

February kicked off with the FA Cup 4th Round where we saw more shocks take place. Middlesbrough revitalised under Chris Wilder knocked Man United out on penalties before Nottingham Forest were at it again as they knocked out the holders Leicester 4-1.

Two Liverpool players in Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane went head to head in the AFCON final with Mane coming out on top as Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to lift the trophy. This success would later impact the pair's form for the rest of the season.

One week later Chelsea became champions of the world beating Palmeiras 2-1 in the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi. Kai Havertz scoring another winning goal in a major final nine months after scoring the winner in the Champions League final.

The Champions League returned with the first knockout rounds of the season. PSG gained the advantage in their tie with Kylian Mbappe scoring the only goal to give them a 1-0 win over at the time future employers Real Madrid in the first leg.

In the Premier League the title race was back on. Liverpool put themselves back in the hunt with a win over Norwich hours before City saw their long unbeaten run come to an end with defeat to Spurs leaving the gap between them at six points. That gap was then reduced to three with the reds thumping struggling Leeds 7-0 at Anfield.

After that crushing defeat to Liverpool followed by another crushing defeat to Spurs, Marcelo Bielsa was relieved of his duties by Leeds with the club just two points above the relegation zone. Bielsa departed a hero having ended Leeds' long exile from the top flight in 2020.

The first major honours of the season were won by Liverpool who won the Carabao Cup beating Chelsea in the final on penalties at Wembley. The shootout was decided by the two goalkeepers. Caoimhin Kelleher was the hero as he scored his whilst Kepa Arrizabalaga who came on for Edouard Mendy minutes earlier skied his over the bar.

MARCH

March kicked off with the FA Cup 5th Round with Middlesbrough knocking out another Premier League giant in Spurs beating them 1-0 at the Riverside to see themselves through to the semi finals.

Man City again showed why they're the number one team in Manchester with a comfortable 4-1 win over rivals United. This represented the size of the margin between both clubs and how far behind United are after a pathetic display.

The Champions League quarter finals were confirmed where we saw another collapse from PSG. They appeared to be heading into the last 8 when Kylian Mbappe put them 2-0 up in the tie. But Karim Benzema had other ideas as his 17 minute hat trick turned the tie around and saw Real Madrid through to the Quarter Finals.

Returning to the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo showed how effective he still is at the age of 37 by scoring a ha trick against Spurs to hand Man United a 3-2 win and their top four hopes a major boost. This win later moved into those spot.

A few days after Man City dropped points at Crystal Palace, Liverpool made the most of that with victory at Arsenal. This win was their ninth in a row and it moved them to within a point of their title rivals setting up what looks to be a close race going into April.

Over in Spain, Xavi marked his first El Clasico as Barcelona manager with a surprising 4-0 thumping of rivals Real Madrid. Real were without Karim Benzema on the day and his absence probably played a huge part.

There were still some World Cup spots up for grabs with the tournament in Qatar seven months away. European champions Italy again missed out as they were beaten 1-0 by North Macedonia. They became the first European champions since Greece in 2006 not to qualify for a World Cup.

APRIL

Chelsea's Champions League defence was pretty much done and dusted as another Karim Benzema hat trick saw Real Madrid win 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and put one foot in the semi finals. They would later go through on away goals after a Chelsea comeback in the second leg.

A week after sharing the point in the Premier League, title rivals Liverpool and Man City were at it again but this time in the FA Cup semi finals. The reds came out victorious this time winning the tie 3-2 to reach the final where they were later joined by Chelsea who beat Crystal Palace in their semi.

The pair of them were later back at it in the Premier League with City's win over Brighton keeping them top and Liverpool keeping up the pressure with a thumping win over Man United. This result for United took their season from bad to worse and gave incoming manager Erik Ten Hag a massive job on his hands going into the summer.

The first automatic promotion spot in the Championship was sealed with Fulham sealing their immediate return to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Preston. The Cottagers would later go on to win the Championship title going up as champions.

After a a few poor results, Arsenal got their top four bid back on track with big wins over rivals Chelsea and Man United. They won 4-2 at Stamford Bridge against the blues and won a few days later 3-1 against United at the Emirates.

The Champions League semi finals arrived and we kick off with an absolute classic between Man City and Real Madrid. Man City won the first leg 4-3 at the Etihad in an entertaining affair giving themselves the advantage going into the return leg at the Bernabeu.

MAY

The final automatic promotion place in the Championship was sealed with Bournemouth claiming 2nd place with a 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Nottingham Forest. Kieffer Moore's goal was enough for the Cherries to seal their Premier League return after a couple of seasons away.

The Champions League final was then sealed after two entertaining semi finals. Liverpool had to come form 2-0 down to defeat Villarreal 3-2 in the second leg of their semi final going through 5-2 on aggregate. Man City meanwhile a day later blew their chances again as they conceded three goals in injury time to lose 3-1 to Real Madrid. The final was to be a rematch of the 2018 final in Kiev.

Liverpool sealed a domestic double as they won the FA Cup beating Chelsea again on penalties in another final at Wembley. The double was all they were going to settle with as Man City battled back from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 to win the Premier League title by just a point. The reds then fell short in the Champions League losing 1-0 to Real Madrid in the final in Paris.

Rangers also suffered European heartache as they were beaten in the Europa League final by Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in Seville.

After a 23 year exile, Nottingham Forest were back in the Premier League as they beat Huddersfield 1-0 in the Championship play off final at Wembley. They were at the foot of the Championship when Steve Cooper came in and in a matter of months got them believing of a return to the promise land. That dream later came true.

JUNE

As the football season came to an end, we turned our attention to the international stage. Lionel Messi and Argentina bagged another international trophy as they beat Italy 3-0 in the first Finalissima for many years at Wembley.

Wales qualified for their first World Cup in 64 years with Gareth Bale's goal giving them a 1-0 win over Ukraine who beat Scotland in their first competitive game since their war with Russia. England meanwhile had a tough Nations League campaign which concluded with a 4-0 drubbing by Hungary. This had the three lions facing the prospect of relegation.

During that time the transfer window opened with some of the top clubs already getting deals through the door. Both Man City and Liverpool made major signings with City signing arguably the best striker around in Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £51 million whilst Liverpool also bolstered their frontline with the signing of Darwin Nunez for £86 million from Benfica. Both were set to go head to head for the title once again with these signings.

Across Europe Real Madrid built on their Champions League success as they signed one of the best young players around in Aurelian Tchouameni for £68.3 million from Monaco. In Germany Sadio Mane ended his six year stay at Liverpool by signing for Bayern Munich for £35 million.

JULY

Erik Ten Hag started work at Man United and he started off by getting rid of the under contract players. His goal is to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.

As more transfer deals kept coming through, Spurs kept up their strong window by signing Richarlison for £60 million from Everton. Across London Arsenal made a statement signing in Gabriel Jesus who they got for £45 million from Man City. Chelsea now under new ownership made Raheem Sterling their first signign for £60 million from Man City.

Barcelona carried on spending big as they signed Robert Lewandowski for £42.5 million from Bayern Munich. They were one of the big spenders despite the financial troubles they're under.

Paul Pogba returned to Juventus after six years away as he joined from Man United on a free for a second time. 10 years after his first move.

The month ended with the season curtain raiser with Liverpool beating Man City 3-1 in the Community Shield at the King Power Stadium as Wembley was being used for the women's Euros final which was won by England who beat Germany 2-1, Darwin Nunez netted the winning goal on his reds debut.

AUGUST

The new season got under way earlier than usual due to a winter World Cup taking place half way. Premier League League champions Man City kicked off their title defence with a 2-0 win at West Ham with Erling Haaland scoring twice on his Premier League debut.

Real Madrid kicked off their season by winning the Super Cup beating Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Finland. David Alaba and Karim Benzema got the goals.

Man United's tough start under Erik Ten Hag continued as they were crushed 4-0 by Brentford where they hit a real low point. The club were bottom of the league having lost their opening game to Brighton as well. Things did start improving for them though as they signed midfield powerhouse Casemiro for £70 million from Real Madrid to add some solidity to their midfield. They later got their first win of the season beating Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford where they put in a solid display.

After a tough start Liverpool got their first season of the season by thumping newly promoted Bournemouth 9-0 equalling the record margin of victory. Bournemouth boss Scott Parker was sacked a few days later after some comments he made in his post match press conference.

Erling Haaland netted his first Premier League hat trick on that day as Man City came from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palce 4-2. He bagged another one later in the week as City crushed Nottingham FOrest 6-0.

SEPTEMBER

After starting September with a 1-0 win over Leicester, Man United kept up their revival by beating Arsenal 3-1 handing the Gunners their first defeat of the season. Antony netted on his debut whilst MArcus Rashford scored twice. Earlier that day Brighton kept up their strong start with a convincing 5-2 win over Leicester piling more pressure on Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers.

All football was stopped over the second weekend of September after the death of Queen Elizabeth II as the country mourned her loss. The suspension was seen as a mark of respect to our longest serving monarch.

Graham Potter landed his first top job in management as he became the new manager of Chelsea after an impressive start to the season with Brighton. He succeeds Thomas Tuchel who was sacked the week before.

The Champions League returned for the season and in matchweek 2, Man City kept up their 100% start with a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. Erling Haaland scored an outrageous goal in his first game against them since he he left them for City in the summer.

The Premier League returned after a weeks suspension but only a few games were played due to limited police officers being available. Heung Min Son finally got off the mark as he scored a hat trick in Spurs' 6-2 win over Leicester which piled more pressure on Brendan Rodgers.

England's poor Nations League campaign continued as they were relegated from their tier a 1-0 loss to Italy sealed their fate. They ended the campaign bottom of the group with only two goals scored from open play.

OCTOBER

After the international break the Premier League returned with two big fixtures in the North London and Manchester Derbies. Arsenal came out on top in North London beating Spurs 3-1 to hand Antonio Conte's side their first defeat of the season. The next day Man City showed why they're still the dominant force in Manchester as they crushed United 6-3 with hat tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

The following weekend, Arsenal showed signs of potential title credentials as they beat Liverpool 3-2 to keep up their strong start to the season. This win saw them return to the top of the Premier League.

Liverpool began to put their slow start behind them as they thumped Rangers 7-1 in the Champions League to push themselves closer towards a last 16 spot. They made the step up again a few days later as they beat Man City 1-0 handing the champions their first loss of the season.

After sacking Steven Gerrard following a poor start to the season, Aston Villa appointed Unai Emery as their new manager. Their long term mission under him will surely be to get into Europe alongside winning some trophies.

Two European giants in Juventus and Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League at the group stages. Juventus went out after losing to Benfica in their penultimate game before Barcelona went out for the second season running after losing to Bayern Munich.

NOVEMBER

Arsenal again showed their title credentials by beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. They later went into the World Cup break 5 points clear after they beat Wolves and Man City lost to Brentford in their final games before the break.

The most controversial World Cup kicked off in Qatar with the hosts losing their opening game 2-0 to Ecuador with Enner Valencia scoring both goals.

England got their campaign off to flying start as they thrashed Iran 6-2 in their opening game putting their poor pre-tournament form behind them.

We later saw a couple of shocks come through with Lionel Messi's Argentina losing their opening game 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 4 time winners Germany losing 2-1 to Japan the next day.

Defending champions France kicked off with a win as they kicked off their defence with a 4-1 win over Australia. Olivier Giroud netted twice for the French and equalled Thierry Henry's goal record.

The final round of group games then came round with England sealing their place in the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Wales who were at their first World Cup since 1958. But they end their campaign bottom of their group.

DECEMBER

The shocks continued in December as Belgium's golden generation crashed out at the group stage after a goalless draw with Croatia who go through ahead of them with Morocco. Japan were in the headlines again as they shocked Spain 2-1 which enabled them to top their group and eliminate Germany.

More shocks were in store at the World Cup as Spain were knocked out by Morocco on penalties in the round of 16. In the Quarter Finals, Brazil became the latest victims as the record winners were beaten by Croatia on penalties.

After knocking out Spain in the previous round, Morocco caused another shock by beating Portugal where they became the first African country to reach the semi finals. England's campaign came to end later that day as they were beaten 2-1 by holders France.

Both semi finals were won by Argentina and France respectively and both sides later played out arguably the best World Cup final in history. The game itself had lots of goals, entertainment and one incredible comeback from the French. Argentina went on to win on penalties and Lionel Messi finally won the trophy he's always dreamt of winning.

Sadly we had to end the year with the death of one of the greatest players players of all time. Pele. Pele was an inspiration to anyone wanting to become a football player because of the player he was and what he achieved. He will be sadly missed by everyone in the football world.