2015–16 in English football

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 14 December 2015.[5][6] The first legs were played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February, and the second legs were played on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Gent	2–4	VfL Wolfsburg	2–3	0–1
Roma	0–4	Real Madrid	0–2	0–2
Paris Saint-Germain	4–2	Chelsea	2–1	2–1
Arsenal	1–5	Barcelona	0–2	1–3
Juventus	4–6	Bayern Munich	2–2	2–4 (a.e.t.)
PSV Eindhoven	0–0 (7–8 p)	Atlético Madrid	0–0	0–0 (a.e.t.)
Benfica	3–1	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–0	2–1
Dynamo Kyiv	1–3	Manchester City	1–3	0–0

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2016.[7][8] The first legs were played on 5 and 6 April, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 April 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
VfL Wolfsburg	2–3	Real Madrid	2–0	0–3
Bayern Munich	3–2	Benfica	1–0	2–2
Barcelona	2–3	Atlético Madrid	2–1	0–2
Paris Saint-Germain	2–3	Manchester City	2–2	0–1

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 April 2016.[9][10] The first legs were played on 26 and 27 April, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 May 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Manchester City	0–1	Real Madrid	0–0	0–1
Atlético Madrid	2–2 (a)	Bayern Munich	1–0	1–2

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015.[11][12] The first legs were played on 16 and 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Valencia	10–0	Rapid Wien	6–0	4–0
Fiorentina	1–4	Tottenham Hotspur	1–1	0–3
Borussia Dortmund	3–0	Porto	2–0	1–0
Fenerbahçe	3–1	Lokomotiv Moscow	2–0	1–1
Anderlecht	3–1	Olympiacos	1–0	2–1 (a.e.t.)
Midtjylland	3–6	Manchester United	2–1	1–5
Augsburg	0–1	Liverpool	0–0	0–1
Sparta Prague	4–0	Krasnodar	1–0	3–0
Galatasaray	2–4	Lazio	1–1	1–3
Sion	3–4	Braga	1–2	2–2
Shakhtar Donetsk	3–0	Schalke 04	0–0	3–0
Marseille	1–2	Athletic Bilbao	0–1	1–1
Sevilla	3–1	Molde	3–0	0–1
Sporting CP	1–4	Bayer Leverkusen	0–1	1–3
Villarreal	2–1	Napoli	1–0	1–1
Saint-Étienne	4–4 (a)	Basel	3–2	1–2

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2016.[13][14] The first legs were played on 10 March, and the second legs were played on 17 March 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Shakhtar Donetsk	4–1	Anderlecht	3–1	1–0
Basel	0–3	Sevilla	0–0	0–3
Villarreal	2–0	Bayer Leverkusen	2–0	0–0
Athletic Bilbao	2–2 (a)	Valencia	1–0	1–2
Liverpool	3–1	Manchester United	2–0	1–1
Sparta Prague	4–1	Lazio	1–1	3–0
Borussia Dortmund	5–1	Tottenham Hotspur	3–0	2–1
Fenerbahçe	2–4	Braga	1–0	1–4

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2016.[15][16] The first legs were played on 7 April, and the second legs were played on 14 April 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Braga	1–6	Shakhtar Donetsk	1–2	0–4
Villarreal	6–3	Sparta Prague	2–1	4–2
Athletic Bilbao	3–3 (4–5 p)	Sevilla	1–2	2–1 (a.e.t.)
Borussia Dortmund	4–5	Liverpool	1–1	3–4

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 April 2016.[17][18] The first legs were played on 28 April, and the second legs were played on 5 May 2016.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Shakhtar Donetsk	3–5	Sevilla	2–2	1–3
Villarreal	1–3	Liverpool	1–0	0–3

The final was played on 18 May 2016 at the St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.[19] The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw.[17]

18 May 2016 (2016-05-18)

20:45 CEST

Liverpool	1–3	Sevilla
Sturridge 35'	Report	Gameiro 46' Coke 64', 70'

St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Attendance: 34,429[20]

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

The most unexpected title race in Premier League history saw Leicester City defy all of their critics and win their first ever top-flight title in their 132-year history. Despite being tipped for relegation following the pre-season sacking of Nigel Pearson and replacing him with Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes remained in contention all season long and never once fell outside of the top seven, taking top spot in early January and never relinquishing it. This stunning achievement, coupled with a solid defence and the free-scoring efforts of Jamie Vardy (who broke the record for scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games) and Riyad Mahrez, saw the club receive mass acclaim at home and abroad for their efforts. Leicester's triumph would mark the first first-time champion of English football since Nottingham Forest's first title win during the 1977–78 season, as well as the first time this happened in the Premier League era.

Growing fan protests towards manager Arsène Wenger saw Arsenal endure another trophyless season after a collapse in form, but they recovered well to secure their first second-placed finish in 11 years, while goalkeeper Petr Čech won the Golden Glove for having the most clean sheets. Tottenham Hotspur finished an unlikely third, their first since 1990 – despite a very slow start, a six-match winning run in early January saw them become Leicester's closest title challengers, until multiple slip-ups in their remaining games ruined their chances of finishing above North London rivals Arsenal and saw them miss out on the top two. Nevertheless, it was still a fantastic achievement for the club, who qualified for the Champions League for only the third time, whilst Harry Kane was the league's highest scorer with 25 goals.

Manchester City endured a disappointing league season, only just securing a Champions League spot, but made up for it in Manuel Pellegrini's last season in charge by winning the Football League Cup, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time, only narrowly losing to Real Madrid. Manchester United also suffered a similarly underwhelming season; like City they had looked like potential title challengers early on, before a dreadful run of form in the winter derailed any such hopes and led to growing anger from the fans towards manager Louis van Gaal's defensive style of play. While the emergence of promising young striker Marcus Rashford helped revitalise their season somewhat and they won the FA Cup for the first time since 2004, they ultimately missed out on a Champions League spot on goal difference, and as a result, at the end of the season, van Gaal was sacked.

Having finished seventh the previous year, Southampton went one further and finished in sixth place, successfully ensuring qualification for the Europa League group stages. Whilst they had spent the first half of the season surprisingly hovering above the relegation zone, the return of goalkeeper Fraser Forster from injury saw a massive change in fortunes. In their last ever season at Upton Park before moving to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham United enjoyed arguably their greatest league campaign since their highest-ever finish thirty years prior and qualified for the Europa League. Although too many draws prevented them from securing a Champions League spot, Slaven Bilić had a successful first campaign as manager, which included victories at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City before the end of September.

A poor start to the season saw Liverpool replace Brendan Rodgers with Jürgen Klopp, which bought about a successful change in both performance and results. Though several dropped points prevented them from finishing higher than eighth, the club enjoyed a stunning Europa League run that took them to the final where they ultimately lost to Sevilla and ensured no European football for the following season. Chelsea endured a torrid campaign as they made arguably the worst title defence in modern footballing history, hovering above the relegation zone by mid-December; while the sacking of José Mourinho (just seven months after leading the club to their fourth Premier League title) for Guus Hiddink on a caretaker basis saw a massive improvement in league results, a lack of success in their other competitions saw the club finish in their lowest league position for 20 years and fail to qualify for any European competitions for the first time in 19 years.

Of the three promoted teams, Watford surprisingly performed the best, finishing in 13th place with more wins than their previous two top-flight campaigns combined. Despite suffering a steep drop in form in 2016, the Hornets were never seriously threatened with relegation and alongside reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, the club ensured a second successive top-flight campaign for the first time in nearly 30 years whilst star strike duo Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney netted 28 goals between them. Having been in the race for European football at the turn of the year, a run of just two wins in 2016 saw Crystal Palace only just secure their place in the Premier League for the fourth season in a row, though a stunning run to the FA Cup Final more than made amends in Alan Pardew's first full season in charge. AFC Bournemouth's first-ever top-flight season quickly turned into a nightmare as long-term injuries to key players saw their form plummet and the chances of instant relegation increase – however, a six-match unbeaten run before Christmas which included successive wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, coupled with several bursts of good form, saw the Cherries secure their survival with several games to spare, a remarkable achievement for the club.

After nearly 30 years in the top-flight and a succession of lower finishes since the departure of Martin O'Neill in 2010, Aston Villa finally ran out of luck and were relegated in bottom place in a season that saw them change managers three times – after winning away on the opening day, they proceeded to win just two more games in the season as they finished their campaign with the third lowest points total in Premier League history of 17 points, their season not being helped further by growing fan protests towards the owners as well as a failure to replace key players such as Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke in the summer. Finishing above them were Norwich City; despite being tipped to finish higher than both their promotion rivals as well as making several signings in both transfer windows, the Canaries were simply unable to re-adapt to the fast pace of the top-flight and their inability to score was once again their downfall, despite a famous victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in December. Taking the final relegation spot were Newcastle United, whose steep decline in form since qualifying for the Europa League in 2012 finally took its toll and they endured their second relegation from the top-flight in seven years, in spite of spending nearly £100 million on new players, as well as the managerial presence of both Steve McClaren and then Rafael Benítez late in the season.

In one of the tightest second-tier title races in history, Burnley ultimately edged out the opposition to win the title and secure an immediate return to the Premier League, their first top-flight bounce-back since the end of the 19th century. Having been adrift of the automatic promotion places at Christmas, the Clarets finished the season unbeaten in 23 games and record signing Andre Gray was their top scorer with 25 goals. Despite a nervy end to their season, Middlesbrough ultimately shook off their disappointing play-off final loss the previous season and returned to the Premier League after a seven-year absence, recording the best defense for the second year running and conceding just eight goals at home. Taking the final place through the play-offs were Hull City, who scraped past Sheffield Wednesday in the final and secured their own instant return to the top-flight, earning Steve Bruce his fourth promotion as a manager.

Brighton Hove & Albion enjoyed arguably their most successful season for many years, as they enjoyed their own unbeaten run of 21 games in the first half of the season and lost just five times overall, only just missing out on automatic promotion on goal difference and then losing in the playoffs. Having been well in the mix for promotion the previous season, Ipswich Town struggled to mount a real promotion charge and finished just five points off of the playoffs. Despite suffering from low home attendances, Cardiff City mounted a surprise promotion challenge, staying well in the fight until defeat in their penultimate game ended their hopes – manager Russell Slade was then promoted to head of football at the season's end.

At the bottom of the table, Bolton Wanderers were relegated in last place after a miserable season that saw them threatened with going out of business and failing to win one away game all season, falling into the third tier for the first time since 1993. Finishing above them were Milton Keynes Dons, who were unable to adapt to the fast pace of the second tier like both Preston North End (who made a surprise push for the playoffs after having been tipped to struggle) and Bristol City (who flirted with relegation throughout the season before a late surge pushed them up the table), and in stark contrast to their free-scoring promotion season a year prior, were ultimately undone by their complete inability to score. Filling the final relegation place were Charlton Athletic, whose bright start rapidly fell away and many of their results resulting in heavy losses – as with Aston Villa, their season was not helped by several fan protests against the club's owners and their policies on managerial and player signings.

In their first season at this level for 12 years, Wigan Athletic ensured their drop in form was only temporary as they secured an immediate promotion back to the Championship, in no small part due a twenty-match unbeaten run mid-season. Burton Albion's first-ever season in the third tier resulted in a second successive promotion; for the second season in a row they lost their manager while heading the table, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink moved to Queens Park Rangers, but the club's re-hiring of Nigel Clough for a second spell as manager kept their promotion challenge on-track, though several bursts of indifferent form (and a somewhat poor goal-scoring record) ensured that their promotion went to the last day. With this feat, Albion also brought second-tier League football back to their town since the dismissal of their predecessor club Burton United in 1907. Taking the final spot through the play-offs and returning to the Championship after two years were Barnsley – despite being bottom of League One in November and then losing their manager to Bristol City in January, in addition to only just scraping into the play-offs in the last few games, the Tykes ultimately enjoyed a successful season which also included winning the Football League Trophy, their first major trophy in over a hundred years.

After achieving survival in the previous two seasons, Crewe Alexandra ran out of luck at last, and they were relegated back to League Two after four years at this level, after a season in which they were never outside the bottom two after their fifth league game and won just seven times – their season was not helped by growing anger from the fans towards the owners for their continual refusal to sack manager Steve Davis. Colchester United fared little better as their awful defensive record, which saw them very nearly concede 100 goals in the league, helped doom them to the fourth tier for the first time since 1998. Blackpool suffered their second successive relegation and their third relegation in six years, falling into the fourth tier for the first time since 2001 amid ever-increasing supporter unrest at the Oyston family's ownership of the club and their continual refusal to sell. Doncaster Rovers occupied the final relegation spot; after poor early-season results, the appointment of Darren Ferguson as manager seemed to have revived their fortunes, but a terrible run of form after the turn of the year helped condemn them to relegation, with even a win against Wigan counting for nothing.

Despite facing an uncertain future off-pitch towards the end of 2015, Northampton Town were promoted as champions, refusing to let the issues off-pitch affect their style of play and enjoying an impressive unbeaten run throughout 2016 – perhaps their only disappointment was suffering several draws in their last 10 games which just prevented them breaking the 100 point mark. Oxford United filled the second automatic spot in a successful season where they reached the final of the Football League Trophy competition, in which they narrowly lost to Barnsley and made the fourth round of the FA Cup. Finishing in third place on goal difference were Bristol Rovers, securing promotion in their first season back in the Football League and being in the promotion chase for virtually the whole season. Taking the final spot through the playoffs were AFC Wimbledon, who won promotion to the third tier for the first time in their 14-year history – coupled with the relegation of Milton Keynes Dons from the Championship, the two sides both claiming to be continuing the original Wimbledon club would be facing off in the same league for the first time from next season.

Portsmouth enjoyed their first successful season since winning the FA Cup in 2008, as they mounted a real promotion charge and were among the highest scorers in the league – their only real disappointment was suffering too many draws over the season which pushed them into the playoffs, where they narrowly lost to Plymouth. Yeovil Town almost suffered a third relegation in a row, but a good run of form following the appointment of former player Darren Way saw the club rocket up the table and survive comfortably in mid-table. Teddy Sheringham's first managerial role ended in disaster as he very nearly led Stevenage to relegation – it was only after his sacking that the club surged back up the table and secured their place in the Football League.

At the bottom of the table, York City's 4-year spell in the Football League was ended in a dreadful season where their defensive record was only marginally better than that of Morecambe and where they never once looked like staying up. Finishing just above them were Dagenham & Redbridge, whose run in the Football League came to an end despite a good late run of form.

Cheltenham Town secured an immediate return to the Football League as champions, becoming the first club to immediately bounce back as Conference/National League champions since Darlington in 1990 – throughout the season, they were rarely outside the top 2 and took advantage of the teams slipping up below them, breaking the 100 point mark in the process. Grimsby Town ultimately emerged victorious in the play-offs, ensuring a return to the Football League for the first time in six years.

Welling, who had only avoided relegation on goal difference the previous season, finished in bottom place. Kidderminster Harriers suffered from off-pitch turmoil and a financial crisis throughout the season, culminating in their relegation though they did finish the season with a six-game unbeaten run. Altrincham were relegated back to the Conference North after two seasons. FC Halifax Town occupied the final relegation spot, recovering well from terrible early-season form, but ultimately going down after other results went against them on the final day.