Games on December 26 are a traditional part of the festive period in England, and Friday is no different with all 20 Premier League club sides in action. Here is a look at the five memorable clashes from the top flight of English football on that date.
Man United 4 Newcastle 3
The two sides meet on Friday at Old Trafford as they did in 2012. Fittingly, Alex Ferguson’s last Boxing Day game as United manager had a last-minute winner as Javier Hernandez scored in stoppage time. Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra and Robin van Persie had scored for United, while James Perch, an Evans own goal and Papiss Cisse scored for Newcastle.
Chelsea 4 Aston Villa 4
An eight-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge in 2007. Both sides had periods in front, but with two minutes remaining it appeared as if Chelsea would take the points as Michael Ballack scored to put them 4-3 up. But a stoppage-time penalty from Gareth Barry for Villa ensured honours ended even. Andriy Shevchenko with two and Alex also scored for Chelsea, while Shaun Maloney netted twice and Martin Laursen was also on target for Villa.
Coventry City 3 Arsenal 2
An in-form Arsenal were caught unawares by a superb display by Gordon Strachan’s Coventry at Highfield Road in 1999. Goals from Gary McAllister, Mustapha Hadji and Robbie Keane gave Coventry the points, despite goals from Freddie Ljungberg and Davor Suker for Arsenal leading to some nervous closing minutes for the home side.
Middlesbrough 4 Everton 2
In 1996, Middlesbrough were one of the biggest spenders in England, with players such as Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli in their line-up. But the team failed to impress and came to Boxing Day on a 12-game winless run. Two goals from Juninho and efforts from Craig Hignett and Clayton Blackmore, though, saw Bryan Robson’s side win 4-2 over Everton, whose scorers were David Unsworth and Duncan Ferguson.
Coventry City 3 Aston Villa 0
In the first season of the Premier League in 1992, Aston Villa were one of the main title contenders under the leadership of Ron Atkinson. But they were upset by an inspired Coventry in their festive encounter, with Mick Quinn doing the damage for the hosts with two goals, while Robert Rosario also found the net.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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