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Massive fixtures on Boxing Day have been a tradition in English football dating back to before the Premier League era, and the last decade certainly hasn’t been a disappointment as far as classic games have been concerned.
The current season could see another Christmas cracker added to the list as league leaders Liverpool face a showdown with second-placed Leicester City, but the match will have to be a true classic to live up to some of these past games.
Here are 5 Boxing Day Premier League classics from the last decade (2010-2019).
1. Manchester United 4-3 Newcastle United – 2012
This Boxing Day classic took place in 2012 and saw Manchester United extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 7 points in dramatic fashion, defeating Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United with a last-minute winner from Mexican striker Javier Hernandez. It was a throwback to the classic 90’s rivalry between the Red Devils and the Magpies, and was full of twists, turns and controversies.
Newcastle took the lead after just 4 minutes, with Demba Ba pouncing on a mistake from Michael Carrick to fire a shot on goal, and when David de Gea made the save, James Perch was at home to tap in the rebound.
United found an equaliser after 25 minutes through an unlikely source – defender Jonny Evans, who bundled in after a goalmouth scramble, but just 3 minutes later, controversy struck and Newcastle were ahead again. This time, Evans turned Danny Simpson’s shot into his own net, only for the linesman to disallow the goal for an offside, as he incorrectly believed Papiss Cisse had the final touch.
However, referee Mike Dean overruled the decision and gave the goal, sending Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson into a fury. The first half ended with the Magpies in control, and they almost extended their lead in the second half when a Sylvain Marveaux free-kick struck the bar. United then equalised through Patrice Evra, only for Cisse to put Pardew’s team back into the lead 10 minutes later.
Robin van Persie equalised just 3 minutes after that, but with the score now tied at 3-3, it seemed like United would have to settle for a point. Just as added time kicked in though, Carrick atoned for his earlier error by sending a cross into the box, and ‘Chicharito’ slid into fire home, sending Old Trafford into rapture – and Ferguson leaping around in a wild celebration.
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2. Hull City 2-3 Manchester United – 2013
This match featured another classic Manchester United comeback, but rather than it being part of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, it was instead a brief high point of David Moyes’ brief reign at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were coming off two successive wins prior to the game, but early on, it looked like they were in for a disaster.
Steve Bruce’s Tigers found themselves ahead after just 3 minutes, when some terrible United defending from a corner allowed defender James Chester to smash the ball home from close range. Incredibly, less than 10 minutes later Hull doubled their lead, when some direct play from a goal kick was once again badly defended, allowing David Meyler to score from inside the box.
At that point the game looked to be another embarrassing result for Moyes, but his team fought back, and pulled a goal back through centre-back Chris Smalling, who rose to head a Wayne Rooney free-kick in on 19 minutes. 7 minutes later, United had their equaliser, and it came in spectacular fashion from a reliable source.
Rooney linked up well with Danny Welbeck, and when the striker’s neat touch fell to him, he chested the ball before hitting an unstoppable volley past goalkeeper Allan McGregor. It was a goal worthy of winning any game, but on this occasion Rooney had merely spared United’s blushes.
The Red Devils would have the last word, however, as they found a second half winner through Chester, who turned from hero to villain by rising higher than Rooney, only to head the ball into his own net. Even then, it wasn’t plain sailing for Moyes’ side; Antonio Valencia received a second yellow card with only added time remaining, but David De Gea saved a late effort from Chester, cementing a vital 3 points for United.
3. Bournemouth 3-3 West Ham – 2017
Not all Boxing Day classics have come in games involving the Premier League’s biggest clubs; case in point, this six-goal thriller between Bournemouth and West Ham from 2017. Coming into the game both teams were struggling – sitting in 17th and 18th place respectively – but the South Coast ended up treated to a controversial thriller.
David Moyes’ Hammers took an early lead through James Collins, who headed home from a corner with just 3 minutes gone on the clock. It took until just before half an hour gone for Bournemouth to equalise, when Dan Gosling smashed the ball home following a goalmouth scramble, and early in the second half, Eddie Howe’s side took the lead when Nathan Ake stabbed the ball into the net from close range.
With the clock ticking away, it appeared that the Cherries were on course for all three points – only for Marko Arnautovic to capitalise on a horrendous error from keeper Asmir Begovic, who slipped on the wet turf, to slide in an equaliser with 81 minutes gone.
The Hammers then appeared to have won the match when Arnautovic scrambled a rebound into the net following a Begovic save, but controversy then raised its head when Bournemouth somehow produced an equaliser in the 3rd minute of stoppage time.
Striker Callum Wilson diverted an Ake header into the net, but appeared to have used his hand to do so, while also in an offside position. The assistant referee flagged to disallow the goal – only for ref Bobby Madley to overrule him, angering both Moyes and Hammers’ fans, who all felt that they’d been cheated out of a valuable win.
4. Manchester United 2-2 Burnley – 2017
This was a case of another year, another Boxing Day comeback from Manchester United, this time during the ill-fated reign of Jose Mourinho. United were at the time chasing Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, but with their bitter rivals already 13 points ahead, this result left Mourinho angry despite it being an amazing recovery in the end.
The Red Devils capitulated after just 3 minutes when a free kick from Johann Berg Gudmundsson wasn’t cleared properly, allowing Ashley Barnes to bang the ball home during the ensuing goalmouth scramble. And things got even worse for Mourinho’s men when Burnley keeper Nick Pope made a string of key saves before Steven Defour doubled the Clarets’ lead with a beautifully taken free-kick from around 30 yards.
United came out swinging in the second half, and thoroughly dominated Sean Dyche’s men – registering around 75% of possession – but despite substitute Jesse Lingard bringing the Red Devils back into the game with a slick back-heeled finish on 51 minutes, Burnley held firm and you got the feeling that it just wasn’t Mourinho’s day.
The Portuguese boss’s blushes were spared however, as after a frantic moment of play in added time, the ball fell to Lingard – who rifled a right-footed shot into the back of the net, catching Pope entirely off-guard, robbing Burnley of what would’ve been their first victory at Old Trafford since 1962. It was an incredible ending to a truly dramatic Boxing Day clash.
5. Leicester City 2-1 Manchester City – 2018
The upcoming Boxing Day fixtures will see Leicester attempting to swing the pendulum of the title race into their favour by beating league leaders Liverpool – but last season’s Christmas fixtures saw them seemingly hand the title to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds by defeating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in an amazing match at the King Power Stadium.
Claude Puel’s Foxes surrendered 66% of possession to Guardiola’s team, but in reality the game was relatively even, with Leicester having 10 shots to City’s 11 and getting more of their attempts on target, too. Despite that, it was City who took the lead, with a typically worked goal that saw Bernardo Silva prod home following Sergio Aguero’s through-ball.
If Guardiola had expected Leicester to collapse, though, he was sadly mistaken. Just 5 minutes later, the Foxes were level through Marc Albrighton, who found himself unmarked in the box to head in a pinpoint cross from Jamie Vardy.
Both sides had chances to win the match, but after 80 minutes had gone, it appeared that we were heading for a draw – until a defensive header fell to Ricardo Pereira on the edge of the box, and the Portuguese defender smashed an unstoppable right-footed shot past Ederson to send the Foxes into the lead.
City pushed for an equaliser, but it wouldn’t come – and they also suffered the indignity of being reduced to 10 men when Fabian Delph was dismissed for a wild lunge at Pereira on 89 minutes. While City recovered from the loss to eventually win their second successive Premier League title, at the time this felt like a seismic result – one that Leicester will hope to repeat next week against Liverpool.
