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Nothing quite beats the magic of an underdog overachievement story. Leicester City winning the Premier League (2015-16), Wigan lifting the FA Cup (2013), Greece triumphing at Euro 2004 - were all some unprecedented and unexpected events.
Every football season seems to throw up some surprises when it comes to clubs overachieving or underachieving. The 2021-22 season has been no different. The likes of Manchester United, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Everton, Lyon and Besiktas have arguably underachieved. Meanwhile, the opposite has certainly been true for a handful of other sides.
The "overachievement" of a team can be judged in terms of the size of the club and the quality of its players. Most crucially, the team's general consensus and expectations before the start of the season.
The next five teams have gone over and above the expectations set for them before the season began last summer.
#5. Luton Town (Championship)
It was only eight years ago that Luton Town finally returned to the Football League after financial mismanagement had sent them tumbling down the divisions.
Things would get better when Nathan Jones became the manager in 2016. The Welsh guided Luton from League two to the Championship three years later. Jones' decision to join Stoke City in 2019 threatened to end Luton's resurgence. However, by May 2020, he was back at Kenilworth Road to pick up where he left off.
Getting to 12th place was a quality effort last season. But this term, Luton find themselves in third place at the time of writing.
The Hatters aren't the most glamorous of the sides. They have maintained just 44 percent possession and have taken the 10th fewest shots per game in the championship. However, their well-drilled unit of free transfers and misfits are grinding out results.
It's remarkable that in the last six years Luton have only ever spent €1.8 million on player's fees. Yet, they were still capable of pushing Chelsea close in their FA Cup defeat in the fifth round on March 3. Jones is doing an incredible job and it's time for the world to know more about it.
#4. Strasbourg (Ligue 1)
![RC Strasbourg in Ligue 1 [P.C: Strasbourg IG]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/03/ded8e-16478534682337-1920.jpg)
RC Strasbourg are no strangers to success as they are one of just six clubs who have won all three of France's major trophies. However, the financial ruins saw the club tumble into the fifth tier as recently as 2011.
They surged back to Ligue 1 five years ago before winning the Coupe de la Ligue in 2018-19. This season, though, could go down as their best since 1980 with the club currently fifth and on calls for Europe.
A quick look at the table and it's easy to see why they're riding high. At the time of writing, Strasbourg had scored 50 times. This is the third most in the league and just nine fewer than league leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Within their squad, four players are on seven goals or more, including Ludovic Ajorque, Senegalese AFCON winner Habibuo Diallo and the aging Kevin Gameiro.
If the Champions League is what they want, then Julian Stephan is the man for the job. He took Rennes into the group stages just 18 months ago. However, success with Strasbourg will be an even greater achievement. They sit just two points behind fourth-placed Nice.
#3. Southampton (Premier League)
After a few years lost in the wilderness, Southampton are looking back to their best. The cyclical loss of key players, plus a crushing 9-0 defeat to both Leicester City and Manchester United, threatened to derail Ralph Hasenhüttl's excellent work. It forced them into the brackets of mid-table mediocrity.
They finished 15th last season and are currently in 11th place. They can look to enter the first half of the table by the end of the season.
This summer saw three more big departures in Danny Ings (Aston Villa), Jannick Vestergaard (Leicester) and Ryan Bertrand (Leicester). However, Southampton were prepared.
Romain Perraud and Adam Armstrong signed from Brest and Blackburn Rovers, respectively. The talented but untested pair of Armando Broja and Valentino Livramento joined from Chelsea's U-23s. With Vestergaard gone, Mohammed Salisu was handed a more prominent role in the starting XI.
On paper, the team looked weaker but the results on the pitch have told a completely different story. From the month of December to February, Southampton lost just twice in 15 matches in the league.
However, they've endured a tough last couple of weeks as they lost all three of their last Premier League fixtures. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Manchester City.
Southampton's attack might have scored 20 goals from open play but in James Ward-Prowse, they have a set-piece specialist in the form of his life. Well-coached and full of belief, the Saints are proving to be a match for anyone they face.
Moreover, Hasenhüttl will be confident of putting the side's recent struggles aside when they face Leeds after the international break.
#2. SC Freiburg (Bundesliga)
Any football purist would love the sight of Christian Streich guiding Freiburg to new heights. The 50-year-old manager has been involved at the Europa Park Stadion for over a quarter of a century. He is the longest serving manager in Europe's elite division, beating Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid by three days.
The ongoing season will take Streich to 400 games in charge, holding down a very respectable 38% win rate. However, it looked like it was time for a change after Freiburg coasted to uneventful mid-table finishes in the past three seasons.
However, the Black forest outfit stuck with the enigmatic German and are now threatening to reach the Champions League. They sit in fifth place in the league, level on points with fourth-placed RB Leipzig who have a better goal difference.
They've done it courtesy of one of the best defensive efforts in Germany, conceding just 29 goals compared to Bayern Munich's 28. So far, Freiburg's goalie Mark Flekken has the best save rate in the Bundesliga at a massive 80 percent. Their 22-year-old centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck is a star for the future and has recently broken into the German national side.
Freiburg have a DFB Pokal Pokal semi-final against Hamburg on the cards on April 19. If they emerge victorious, the Breisgau Brazilians will be within touching distance of their first ever major trophy.
#1. Real Betis (La Liga)
What a season this could be for Real Betis! The club from Andalusia are on course for their best campaign in decades. They are riding high not just in La Liga but in the Copa del Rey as well.
Currently fifth in the league, Betis still have time to finish higher in the table. THey are four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid. The vastly experienced manager Manuel Pelligrini has created an attack-heavy side that takes more shots in the league than anyone but Real Madrid.
Nabil Fekir is purring again with six goals and as many assists. Meanwhile, Juami scored 12 and William Jose and Borja Iglesias hit seven apiece.
Apart from setting up their sites on to qualify for the Champions League, Betis have a Copa del Rey final against Valencia in April. It's a competition that they haven't won in 17 years.
If that wasn't enough, this is Juaquin's final season before retirement. What better way to honor the Spaniard's legendary career by bringing silverware back to the Benito Villamarin.
