Words: James Maw, Mike Crocombe, Rik Sharma, Joe Brewin, Jamie Orrell, Jake Gable, Phil Haigh, Vithushan Ehantharajah, Gary Parkinson
20. Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham, 29/10/2008
Despite ending their eight-game winless start to the season in Harry Redknapp’s first match in charge three days beforehand, Spurs were still bottom of the pile and huge underdogs for this north London derby. But former Gunner David Bentley gave them a shock lead in sensational fashion, looping a shot over Manuel Almunia from 40 yards.
Spurs led for most of the first half, only for Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas to give the Gunners the lead with goals either side of the interval. Emmanuel Adebayor and Darren Bent made it 3-1 then 3-2, before Robin van Persie appeared to settle matters with the Gunners’ fourth.
But with Tottenham fans streaming from the away end, Jermaine Jenas’ fantastic individual effort set up a frantic finale. With seconds of injury time remaining, Aaron Lennon reacted quickest when Luka Modric’s shot rebounded off the upright, coolly slotting home the visitors’ fourth of the evening and sending Redknapp potty on the sidelines. JM
19. Southampton 6-3 Man United, 26/10/1996
Having been beaten 5-0 at Newcastle the week before, Manchester United were expected to take their frustrations out on lowly Southampton, especially given the embarrassing nature of their 3-1 defeat at the Dell the previous season, ‘invisible’ grey shirts and all. But Saints stunned the football world again by going one better than the Magpies and putting six past Peter Schmeichel.
Graeme Souness’ side led 3-1 at the break, with goals from Eyal Berkovic, Matt Le Tissier and Egil Ostenstad, putting the Hampshire side in the driving seat. David May pulled one back for the Red Devils to create a nervy second half, in which United long threatened to equalise, despite being reduced to ten men when Roy Keane was sent off. Berkovic and Ostenstad struck again to settle south coast nerves, however, and although Paul Scholes got another for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, a nicely finished Gary Neville own goal rounded off the perfect day for the Saints. RS
18. Swansea 5-4 Crystal Palace, 26/11/2016
On paper it looked worthy of last-on-Match of the Day billing; in reality this was anything but. Two struggling sides in desperate need of victory thrashed out a corker in south Wales, with Bob Bradley eventually claiming his first victory as Swansea boss thanks to Fernando Llorente’s injury-time brace.
The score was 3-2 in Swansea’s favour with just nine minutes of the game left, after they’d overturned Wilfried Zaha’s opener with goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson (a trademark free-kick) and a three-minute double from Leroy Fer. Most of the goals were ugly – James Tomkins’ 75th-minute goal to make it 3-2 fell very firmly into that category – but it hardly dulled the drama.
Palace tipped the game on its head when Christian Benteke followed up a Jack Cork own goal on 84 minutes – but then came Llorente’s last-gasp salvo to earn Swansea their first league win in 12 and pile the pressure on a forlorn Alan Pardew. JB
Next: Very noisy neighbours
17. Aston Villa 0-1 Oldham, 02/05/1993
The Premier League’s original Latics went into the final three games of 1992/93 knowing maximum points were needed to secure survival. Aston Villa, meanwhile, were desperately trying to keep pace with Manchester United in the title race.
Despite possessing the attacking talents of Dalian Atkinson and Dean Saunders, Villa were unable to make the breakthrough, and on a dramatic afternoon at Villa Park, Nick Henry grabbed the winner for the visitors. The result handed the title to Manchester United and ultimately proved to be the catalyst for Oldham’s survival, with the Boundary Park side eventually avoiding the drop on goal difference at the expense of Crystal Palace. JO
16. Man United 1-6 Man City, 23/10/2011
For the third season running, City went to Old Trafford in October 2011 looking to make a bold statement and demonstrate their title credentials. Unlike their previous two Premier League trips across Manchester, that’s exactly what they did.
After a cagey start, firework-loving loon Mario Balotelli helped swing the balance in City’s favour, calmly slotting home from the edge of the box to put the visitors ahead; the Italian was later hauled down by Johnny Evans, resulting in a red card for the United defender. From that point onwards, everything for those of a United persuasion will be a horrible blur. Balotelli quickly made it 2-0, and it began to look a bit embarrassing for the champions when Sergio Aguero made it three.
But United just don’t know when they’re beaten, do they? Darren Fletcher pulled one back with ten minutes left, and the home fans suddenly started tobelieve in a comeback. Instead, City waltzed through a dazed and confused United backline, scoring three quick-fire goals to complete United’s worst home defeat since 1955. PH
15. Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool, 11/05/2003
A fixture billed as the "£20m game" ushered in an era which massively changed English football. Liverpool visited Chelsea on the final day of the Premiership season with the victors guaranteed fourth place and subsequently lucrative Champions League qualification.
Liverpool, who were behind on goal difference and had to win, went in front through Sami Hyypia, but Marcel Desailly equalised a minute later and Jesper Gronkjaer scored what turned out to be the winner soon after. More importantly, the Dane's goal secured the destination of Roman Abramovich’s millions: with the Russian reportedly considering a move for London rivals Tottenham at the time, this Chelsea victory may have been their biggest yet. MC
14. Man City 2-3 Fulham, 26/04/2008
Roy Hodgson's Fulham were five points from safety with three games to go, while Manchester City's erratic form meant they were making hard work of their fight for a European spot. A sumptuous curling effort from Stephen Ireland and a smart finish from Benjani put City 2-0 up after 20 minutes; elsewhere, Fulham's relegation rivals Birmingham and Bolton both went in front.
Diomansy Kamara halved the deficit by squeezing the ball through Joe Hart’s legs in the second half, before Danny Murphy tucked home the rebound after his penalty was saved. Then, with both sides pushing for the winner, Murphy slipped in Kamara, who carried the ball into the penalty area and fired into the roof of the net to steal a precious win in injury time. Fulham went on to survive with a final-day triumph at Portsmouth. VE
Next: Kanu comeback
13. Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal, 23/10/1999
“Kanu believe it!” bellowed Sky commentator Martin Tyler as Kanu’s remarkable late hat-trick turned the game on its head at Stamford Bridge. After headed goals from giant Norwegian Tore Andre Flo and Romanian Dan Petrescu had given Chelsea the lead, Kanu pulled two back for the Gunners in the final 15 minutes of the 90, first prodding home from close range, then beating Marcel Desailly to the ball to screw an effort past Ed de Goey in the Blues goal.
Nobody could have predicted what would happen next, as the mercurial Nigerian broke free in injury time, striding past the onrushing De Goey by the corner flag and curling an almost impossible effort past the covering Frank Leboeuf and Desailly from the tightest of angles. JG
12. Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City, 13/04/2014
On the day Anfield marked the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough, Liverpool took a huge step toward their first title in 24 years with a 10th successive win, carved out of a typical combination of attacking élan and defensive susceptibility.
The Reds started the day top but only four points clear of City, who had two games in hand. Brendan Rodgers' side stunned their opponents with a first-half tirade topped by goals from Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel, but then allowed their visitors to dominate after the break – by the 62nd minute David Silva had levelled matters with a close-range finish and a deflected equaliser.
Sub Sergio Aguero almost set up a third for Silva, but then a sliced clearance from half-fit City captain Vincent Kompany was gobbled up by Philippe Coutinho. Liverpool held on for an emotional victory, with captain Steven Gerrard wiping away his final-whistle tears to demand his huddled team-mates not let the league trophy slip away. GP
11. Bradford 1-0 Liverpool, 14/05/2000
Bradford and Wimbledon both went into the final day of the season on 33 points, but the Dons held a clear goal difference advantage in the fight to avoid the drop.
Wimbledon’s trip to Southampton may have looked a little easier than a home tie with a Liverpool side pushing for a Champions League spot, but the Bantams took an early lead as David Wetherall thumped a header past Sander Westerveld. On the south coast, Wimbledon conceded two second-half goals to Saints, while Bradford just about held on at Valley Parade to retain their Premier League status. PH
100-91 • 90-81 • 80-71 • 70-61 • 60-51 • 50-41 • 40-31 • 30-21 • 20-11 • 10-1
