Key Takeaways
Boxing Day fixtures have been a staple of English football for decades, both during and before the era of the Premier League.
The latest entry on this list occurred on Boxing Day during the 2012/13 season.
Only two entrants on this list took place in the same season, the 2008/09 campaign.
The annual slate of Boxing Day games is a staple in English football. Fans up and down the country, of teams in any league, always look ahead to who they’re due to play the afternoon after Christmas Day, with Boxing Day matches having been contested for decades at this point.
In the Premier League especially, there is often at least one game that captivates the eyes of onlookers early on. Whether it is because of club allegiance or interest as a neutral, usually there are a couple of matches that at least on paper promise a true Christmas cracker of a match, though it is not necessarily always these games that deliver.
Boxing Day has seen some of the best games that the Premier League can offer in years passed, be it due to two heavyweights actually matching the hype that surrounds their game or an underdog stepping up to produce a magical memory against a side that should be comfortably beating them. With all of that being considered, just which nine Boxing Day games have been the best in Premier League history?
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Ranking Factors
Lists, as a concept, are subjective, with two lists on the same topic having different entries being more than feasible depending on the opinions of the writer. With that being said, this list has been ranked based on:
Enjoyment - A simple, but fundamental, concept for this list. How much fun was it to watch these matches?
Surprise - How unlikely were the scorelines featured here ahead of time?
Reception - How well-remembered are the matches that feature on this list?
Best Boxing Day Matches in Premier League History
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9 Bournemouth 3-3 West Ham United
2017/2018 season
Bournemouth's Callum Wilson celebrates.
In the 2017/18 campaign, under the management of current Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, Bournemouth were fresh off the back of their best-ever Premier League season when they finished 9th. West Ham, meanwhile, had sacked manager Slaven Bilic in November, replacing him with David Moyes when the club were in the relegation zone for what was the Scot’s first stint in charge of them.
When they met on Boxing Day, they shared a relatively tame first half. James Collins opened the scoring for the Hammers but Bournemouth equalised before the half-hour mark through Dan Gosling. Not even 15 minutes of the second half had passed when now-Manchester City centre-back Nathan Ake gave Bournemouth the lead.
It remained 2-1 for much of the half until Austrian attacker Marko Arnautovic scored a brace in the final 10 minutes, his second goal coming in the closing minutes of regular time to give West Ham a 3-2 lead with just moments of the game to go. The Cherries continued battling until the end and it benefited them greatly when Callum Wilson scored an equaliser in stoppage time, though not without controversy.
West Ham boss Moyes described the goal as “killer,” given that West Ham felt that not only was Wilson in an offside position, but had touched the ball with his hand just before scoring. Regardless, it made for a brilliant Boxing Day spectacle.
8 Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal
2008/2009 season
Abou Diaby in action for Arsenal.
In a season where both Aston Villa and Arsenal were hunting for Champions League football, it made for an interesting clash when the two met on Boxing Day in 2008, when Arsenal travelled north to Villa Park in the Midlands.
Villa, managed by Martin O’Neill, entered the break down by a goal due to Denilson’s 40th-minute strike. They found that margin doubled soon after the restart when Abou Diaby, a player now unfortunately known more for his injury record than his quality, netted Arsenal’s second. Gareth Barry gave the home fans a glimmer of hope when he converted a penalty with 25 minutes remaining.
Pandemonium then understandably ensued when, in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the game, a low, 12-yard drive from Zat Knight found the back of the net, sealing a point for the Villans after they had spent much of the match battling back from a disadvantage.
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7 Sheffield Wednesday 3-3 Manchester United
1992/93 season
Eric Cantona
Manchester United have been involved in far more than one brilliant Boxing Day clash in the Premier League and their first-ever instance of such an occasion was no different. In 1992, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side travelled to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday, who now ply their trade in the Championship.
Manchester United won the first-ever Premier League trophy, their form across the season naturally being impressive to achieve such a feat. Imagine the shock, then, when Wednesday gave themselves a two-goal lead inside just six minutes through goals from David Hirst and Mark Bright.
Entering the break with their lead, Wednesday added a third to their advantage moments after the hour mark of the match through John Sheridan. Despite the odds being against them, the Red Devils rallied and pulled back two goals through Brian McClair. In the 84th minute it was Eric Cantona, in his first season with the club, that scored the equaliser in a brilliant game of football.
6 Manchester United 4-3 Newcastle United
2012/2013 season
Javier Chicharito Hernandez
In what was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final-ever Boxing Day match prior to his 2013 retirement, Manchester United hosted Newcastle United who, under the management of Alan Pardew, were seeking what would have been their first win at Old Trafford in four decades.
Home fans were stunned when James Perch gave Newcastle an early lead, his strike coming just four minutes into the game. The Red Devils would level the match about 20 minutes later through defender Jonny Evans. The Northern Irish centre-back scored his second goal of the game just three minutes after his first, only it was in the wrong net and gave Newcastle their advantage back.
French left-back Patrice Evra restored balance just before the hour mark with his goal. Papiss Cisse added Newcastle’s third with just over 20 minutes remaining in the match, but Robin van Persie was on hand to re-level the game only moments after. In the 90th minute, Javier Hernandez slid in to guide a Michael Carrick cross beyond Tim Krul to secure the points for his team.
5 Arsenal 6-1 Leicester City
2000/2001 season
Thierry Henry celebrates scoring for Arsenal.
On the first Boxing Day of the new millennium, Leicester City travelled to Highbury to face Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, who were in the hunt for the title much as they were for a large bulk of the Frenchman’s reign. Leicester had enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, but by Christmas their form had dropped somewhat in a campaign that saw them finish 13th in the league.
Despite the eventual scoreline, it was only 1-0 Arsenal at half-time, who lead in the game thanks to Thierry Henry. The second half, however, saw the game explode into life. Patrick Vieira doubled the Gunners’ advantage before Ade Akinbiyi pulled one back for the visiting Foxes.
From there, Arsenal roared into life. Henry scored two more goals to seal his hat-trick, either side of a strike from Freddie Ljungberg, while captain Tony Adams added a sixth for his team in the final minute of the match.
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4 Manchester City 5-1 Hull City
2008/09 season
Stephen Ireland - Manchester City
The era of Sheikh Mansour’s ownership has brought unprecedented highs for Manchester City, who are now one of the best clubs in world football, having won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups and six League Cups since the 2010s, as well as one Champions League.
The beginning of Mansour’s tenure, however, saw teething problems for Manchester City, who were in the relegation zone come Christmas Day 2008. That Boxing Day, they hosted Hull City, who would ultimately avoid relegation by just one place come the end of the season.
Desperate for a positive result, City fans were jubilated when, by half-time against Hull, they had a 4-0 lead, with Stephen Ireland having grabbed three assists for those four goals. It was Ireland that notched City’s fifth within the final 10 minutes of the match, with Craig Fagan having scored a consolation goal for the Tigers just moments prior to that.
The match has gone down in history for Phil Brown’s antics during half-time. The Hull City manager famously gave his team talk on the pitch in full view of the attending fans, an action that was widely mocked at the time and later recreated by Jimmy Bullard in a goal celebration.
3 Charlton Athletic 4-2 Chelsea
2003/04 season
Charlton Athletic players celebrate a goal
Now working at Roma and famous for his Premier League title win with Leicester City, it was Claudio Ranieri at the helm for Chelsea during the 2003/04 campaign. Having been taken over by Roman Abramovich that year, the squad of Ranieri, who had been in charge since 2000, was revamped with signings costing over £100 million.
On Boxing Day 2003 Chelsea, who were pushing for the title, travelled to The Valley where they faced Charlton Athletic. The club were under the management of Alan Curbishley, who spent 15 years in charge of the Addicks and turned them into a consistent Premier League side across the 2000s before his departure in 2006.
Despite the money Chelsea had spent, they were stunned in the opening 60 seconds when Hermann Hreidarsson scored for Charlton. Though John Terry would equalise just minutes later, a goal from Matt Holland gave the hosts a 2-1 lead at the break, which jumped to 4-1 inside the first 10 minutes of the second half thanks to goals from Jonatan Johansson and Jason Euell.
Eidur Gudjohnsen would score a second goal for Chelsea later in the second half, but it was not enough to undo the damage that had been inflicted, giving Charlton an incredible home victory.
2 Coventry City 3-2 Arsenal
1999/2000 season
Robbie Keane in action for Coventry City
Well in the throes of Arsene Wenger’s revolution as Arsenal manager, the Gunners had announced by Boxing Day 1999 that they were in a race for the title that season, having won the league just two campaigns prior. They travelled to Highfield Road to face a Coventry City side that, while poor on the road in that term, were an excellent team at home.
Such a notion was proven when, against Arsenal, Coventry opened the scoring in just six minutes through Gary McAllister, with Mustapha Hadji doubling City’s advantage before half-time. Though Freddie Ljungberg would pull one back for Arsenal in the 67th minute, a young Robbie Keane grabbed Coventry’s third just four minutes later, effectively securing the victory for his side.
Arsenal scored a second goal a few minutes before the match’s end, when Davor Suker netted his sixth of that season. It was not enough to overcome the deficit, however, with Coventry seeing out one of the most-famous victories in their history.
1 Aston Villa 4-4 Chelsea
2007/2008 season
Ballack
When Aston Villa travelled to Stamford Bridge in 2007, they played out what is often considered the best Boxing Day match of all time. The two sides were in the hunt for European football, with Chelsea and Villa finishing the campaign in 2nd and 6th respectively. The Blues were under the management of Avram Grant, having seen Jose Mourinho leave by mutual consent that September. The Villans, meanwhile, had Martin O’Neill at the helm.
The first half saw Shaun Maloney score a brace, giving Aston Villa a 2-0 lead at the Bridge, where Chelsea had been so formidable for so many years. Andriy Shevchenko scored a penalty deep into added time at the end of the first half, the Ukrainian then sealing his own brace by scoring five minutes after the restart, converting a penalty conceded by Zat Knight who was dismissed for his tackle.
Brazilian centre-back Alex thrashed home a third goal for Chelsea to give them the lead for the first time in the match, but Martin Laursen swiftly equalised for the 10 men of Aston Villa. The Blues saw themselves also reduced to 10 men when Ricardo Carvalho was sent off in the 80th minute.
Home fans were sent into a frenzy when Michael Ballack scored just minutes from the full-time whistle, but an already remarkable game took another turn when Ashley Cole was judged to have handled the ball in the area, being sent off and giving away a penalty which Gareth Barry scored to seal an incredible draw for his team.