Five cubs in Europe that performed beyond expectation in 2020

Bengaluru, December 18: We are close to the end of what has been a year that will be remembered forever but for wrong reasons. The whole world was hit by an epidemic caused by novel coronavirus and the devastation caused by it continues to go on.

However, football still found its way to come back and entertain the fans after a gap of a few months and now the fans are also being gradually allowed to make their way back to the stadiums.

In the year 2020, we witnessed plenty of surprises in football. While some big clubs failed to deliver up to the expectations from them, there were also some clubs who performed way beyond expectations and in this article, we will take a look at five such clubs.

Stade Rennais F.C.

One of the clubs in France who are famous for their excellent youth development and scouting network, Stade Rennais F.C. have been reaping the benefits of both of these right now.

They have a very solid core of players who have been either devleoped at the club or have been signed astutely from other clubs where they were frozen out and manager Julien Stephan has been working wonders with them.

The club finished third in Ligue 1 last season and are sitting sixth this time out. They also had good showings in cup competitions as they reached the semi finals of Coupe de France and final in Trophée des Champions.

Southampton

Southampton finished only 11th in the Premier League last season but still make this list thanks to their good run of form in the closing stages of the last campaign and their excellent showings this time out.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side are third in the Premier League at the moment and have been punching above their weight on a weekly basis. The manager deserves every bit of praise for the work he has done since taking over at St. Mary's Stadium completely transforming the Saints from relegation battlers to top four hopefuls.

Olympique Lyon

A true giant of the French football, Lyon might have been overshadowed by cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain in recent years but they have enjoyed the year 2020 to a great extent. The reason os them making this list is however not their domestic form but their excellent showings in the Champions League last season.

The Ligue 1 giants stunned everyone by making their way to the semi finals last season having beaten favourites like Juventus and Manchester City in the process before being finally knocked out by eventual champions Bayern Munich in the semis. Rudi Garcia's side currently sit third in the table just two points behind table toppers Lille and one point behind PSG.

Lille OSC

Thanks to Paris Saint-Germain's strong finances, Ligue 1 has become one of the most one-sided leagues in world football in recent years and only AS Monaco have challenged their monopoly since Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the ruler of Qatar, took over at the club.

And, a club like Lille who are nothing in comparison to PSG in terms of squad strength and depth, sitting at the top of the table this season after 15 games makes them qualify for this list. The Ligue 1 giants also finished forth last time out.

AC Milan

One of the true European giants, Milan have fallen off their crest in recent years but 2020 saw a change in their fortunes under the stewardship of Stefano Pioli. Milan have arguably been one of the most in-form clubs in the whole europe since the project restart and currently find themselves top of the Serie A table.

Their strong run of form in the closing stages of last season saw them qualify for the Europa League thanks to a sixth-placed finish while before Pioli's appointment, the Rossoneri looked liked a side destined for a bottom half finish.