Premier League: The greatest matches in history

The Premier League is known throughout the world as one of the most exciting divisions around – and that’s for good reason, as it has produced some thrilling games across the years. We take a look at five of the Premier League’s best.

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal – 28/08/2011

Arsenal fans to this day still wince at the mere memory of this thrashing at the hands of Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson. Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney all found the net for the Red Devils while Theo Walcott’s goal saw United lead 3-1 at the break.

United continued to carve through Arsenal’s defence with more goals coming from Rooney, Nani and Park Ji-Sung. A consolation for Arsenal was netted by future United signing Robin van Persie but any hope of a comeback was lost.

Rooney finished off the scoring with a penalty which also marked his sixth career hat-trick. This defeat was Arsenal’s heaviest since 1896, and the Gunners’ biggest ever at the hands of United. A day to forget for Arsene Wenger

Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United – 29/09/2001

This is one of the most memorable comebacks in Premier League history as Manchester United managed to turn around a 3-0 half-time deficit to put away Tottenham.

Dean Richards opened the scoring for Spurs in the 15th minute, which was followed by goals from Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege. It was a fantastic start for the home side at White Hart Lane and one which they deserved. However, it would all be undone when the teams re-emerged from the tunnel for the second half.

Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sebastian Veron and David Beckham all scored inside the second 45 minutes to stage a magnificent United comeback, and one which will be remembered for years to come.

Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal – 21/04/2009

Certainly not a game that would be labelled a tactical masterclass, Liverpool’s famous 4-4 draw with Arsenal will mostly be remembered for being one for the neutrals. Andrey Arshavin became a cult hero within the Arsenal fanbase by the time the final whistle blew, and it all started when he put the Gunners ahead nine minutes before half-time.

Liverpool fought back early in the second half with goals coming from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun, but it wasn’t long until Arsenal equalised through Arshavin. The Russian didn’t stop there, adding to his tally in the 70th minute. Liverpool continued to pressure Arsenal’s shaky defence with yet another equaliser eventually coming from Torres.

The game looked set to finish 3-3 as it entered the 90th minute, but Liverpool were caught on the counter with Walcott blistering towards their goal. He set up Arshavin who in turn netted his fourth of the day. Fans thought that Arsenal had managed to secure an incredible win until Benayoun scrambled home an equaliser. A thrilling game with an ending for the ages.

Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle – 03/04/1996

An incredible game which had so much riding on the result. Both teams were chasing down Manchester United for the title, so this fixture was crucial. Abysmal defending in the first 15 minutes saw an early goal for Liverpool through Robbie Fowler, which was then swiftly followed by both Les Ferdinand and David Ginola netting for Newcastle.

Fowler delivered the equaliser 10 minutes into the second half to level the score in what was a tightly contested fixture. This only lasted two minutes though, as Newcastle replied swiftly with a goal from Faustino Asprilla.

It took a further 10 minutes for Stan Collymore to level the scores once again. The tie looked as though it would end even until Collymore’s famous winner for Liverpool in the 90th minute. Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan was left visually deflated and it was clear the Magpie’s title hopes had been severely dented.

Manchester City 3-2 Queens Park Rangers – 13/05/2012

These two teams met with two very different goals in mind, but both needed the three points that were on offer. With a Manchester United win over Sunderland looking inevitable, Manchester City needed to beat Queens Park Rangers in order to take their first Premier League title on goal difference.

QPR, on the other hand, needed a win to avoid relegation to the Championship. QPR boss Mark Hughes may have also had his own reasons for wanting to beat City as he was sacked by the club and replaced by Roberto Mancini.

The game flowed into City’s hands with a Pablo Zabaleta strike sending them 1-0 up going into the break. The next 45 minutes would go down in history. QPR stunned City with goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie, all while being down to 10 men after Joey Barton’s violent outburst on a number of City players.

The final whistle was quickly approaching when Edin Dzeko scored a stoppage-time leveller, but even then, it looked all but over. That was until we got one of the greatest Premier League moments in history. Commentator Martin Tyler let out an almighty “Aguerooo”, one which sends shivers down any football fan’s spine, as the Argentine lashed the winner into the back of the net with just seconds remaining on the clock.

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