Premier League fans received an early Christmas present on Sunday as Tottenham and Liverpool staged a nine-goal thriller.
The Reds won 6-3 in north London as Ange Postecoglou’s side again exercised caution against the loose league leaders.
Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored twice, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister scoring the goals, while James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored for the hosts.
Since the competition’s inception in 1992, more goals have been scored in a Premier League game only six times. Here’s how these games ended.
Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (2007-08)
The highest-scoring Premier League game of all time was an 11-goal thriller between Portsmouth and Reading in September 2007, which ended 7-4.
The Barclays-era classic, perhaps also remembered for Chris Kamara’s account of the events on Football Saturday, saw Benjani score a hat-trick.
Players like Hermann Hreidarsson, Niko Kranjcar, Dave Kiston, Stephen Hunt, Shane Long and Sulley Muntari also added to the scoresheet, adding to the nostalgia of the game.
Tottenham 6-4 Reading (2007-08)
A few months later, on a visit to Tottenham, Reading found themselves on the wrong side of another top scorer who also has a habit of appearing in goal-laden games.
Postecoglou has revived much of the spirit of the 2007-08 Spurs team this season. This game in December 2007 was one of several high-scoring games in which they were involved.
In that game at White Hart Lane, Dimitar Berbatov scored four goals, with Steed Malbranque and Jermain Defoe also scoring.
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan (2009-10)
Tottenham’s second 10-goal game in a year was much more one-sided as they held off Wigan Athletic.
Peter Crouch scored the only goal in the first half before Defoe took the spotlight with five goals, while Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and that man Kranjcar made another appearance.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal (2011-12)
Manchester United’s 8-2 win over Arsenal remains one of the most iconic and shocking results in Premier League history.
The pair are one of the most successful sides in the country and have had some heated duels in the past, but this encounter came when the Gunners were in serious decline under Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal appeared helpless to stop United at Old Trafford as Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, including two free-kicks, and Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-Sung also found the net. Arsenal also finished the game with 10 men after Carl Jenkinson’s red card.
Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle (2012-13)
Another 10-goal game for Arsenal followed, but this time they were on the right side thanks to a masterclass from Theo Walcott in December 2012.
The former England winger scored a hat-trick and set up two more in an entertaining celebration in north London.
Newcastle had equalized three times in a 3-3 thriller before the Gunners pulled away, with Alex Oxlade-Chamerlain, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud the other scorers.
West Brom 5-5 Manchester United (2012-13)
The last of Sir Alex’s 1,491 games as Man Utd manager was perhaps his most bizarre, as United played to a 5-5 draw at West Brom.
Having already secured the title, the Red Devils – and of course West Brom – decided to put on a show.
United quickly took a 3-0 lead before the Baggies came back to 3-2 through James Morrison and Romelu Lukaku, but Robin van Persie inspired the hosts to take a 5-2 lead.
But just when it looked like Sir Alex was about to celebrate another of his many victories, Lukaku’s double and Youssouf Mulumbu prevented the Scottish great from going victorious.
