It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not because of
presents, snow or stuffing your face and giving your liver a good kicking, but
because Christmas, nowadays, is synonymous with lots and lots of football. Too
much, if anything.
After all of the hubbub and celebration that surrounds Christmas
Day, Boxing Day might feel a bit after the Lord Mayor’s show were it not for a
full programme of fixtures to feast over.
There have been some real Christmas crackers (pardon the
pun) in the Premier League on December 26, too; let’s look back at five of the best:
Arsenal 6-1 Leicester City, 2000
A thumping Arsenal win showed the Gunners at their brilliant
best, as Thierry Henry hit the first of his eight Gunners hat-tricks on his
50th league appearance for the club.
And it was he who opened the scoring midway through the
first half, half-volleying in Robert Pires’ corner, before his French
compatriot Patrick Vieira doubled Arsenal’s lead with a tap-in early in the
second half.
Foxes striker Ade Akinbiyi would then halve the deficit, but
that would only prove scant consolation as Arsene Wenger’s men ran riot
thereafter.
But Henry would then regain Arsenal’s two-goal advantage, with a Freddie Ljungberg strike sandwiched in-between the Frenchman’s second and third goal of the game. But they weren’t finished there, as centre-half Tony Adams got his name on the scoresheet in the final minutes to complete the rout.
Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa, 2007
Eight goals and three red cards. What more could you want from
post-Christmas football? This game had the lot.
Under Avram Grant’s management following José Mourinho’s
(first) departure three months earlier, Chelsea were looking good for another
title challenge, but Martin O’Neill’s Villa, chasing European football
themselves, were on course to put a spanner in the works to two superbly-worked
goals from Shaun Maloney.
Villa had already beaten Chelsea 2-0 in the reverse fixture
that season, but the much-maligned Andriy Shevchenko would get the hosts back
level single-handedly, first with a penalty – given away by red-card defender
Zat Knight – and then with a wonder strike from range. Centre-half Alex then put
the Blues in front with 25 minutes left, but Villa would soon equalise with an
almost identical goal from a central defender of their own, Martin Laursen.
As the match entered its conclusion, Chelsea’s Ricardo
Carvalho was also red-carded for a reckless, late challenge, before Michael Ballack’s
88th-minute free kick looked to have earned Grant’s side a vital,
hard-fought three points. Until Ashley Cole handled in the box, was sent off
and conceded a penalty, which Gareth Barry duly converted.
These two dropped points arguably proved fatal for Chelsea, as it was the same margin they would finish the season behind champions Manchester United.
Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal, 2008
A year late and another classic with Villa, Knight and a Barry
penalty at the forefront of the action.
Villa, again vying for Champions League football and who had
already beaten Arsenal 2-0 on their own turf just six weeks earlier, had looked
likelier to score early on, hit the woodwork three times before Denilson gave the
Gunners an undeserved lead just before the interval.
Wenger’s side doubled their lead after the break thanks to Emmanuel
Eboué, who just weeks earlier, had been booed off the pitch by his own fans,
but as ever with Arsenal in the later Wenger years, they proved to be at their
most vulnerable when they looked at their most comfortable.
A penalty from Barry got Villa back in to the match, before an injury-time equaliser lashed home by Knight gave Villa fans a wonderful late Christmas present.
Manchester City 5-1 Hull City, 2008
Another from Boxing Day 2008, this one makes the list more
for what happened at half-time, rather than in the thick of the action.
Newly-promoted Hull had captured the hearts and minds of
many during the first half of their debut Premier League campaign in 2008-09,
including stunning away wins at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and an
incredible run of form that saw them sit third by late October.
And though their form had begun to, perhaps inevitably, drop
off by Christmas, to find themselves 4-0 down at the break away at Manchester
City was still alarming. So much so, in fact, that furious Tigers boss Phil
Brown saw fit to give his half-time memorable team talk on the pitch in front
of their travelling fans.
Did it work? Well, they drew the second half 1-1, losing 5-1 on the day, and after narrowly staying up that season, Jimmy Bullard’s equaliser for Hull away at City the following year prompted an amazing celebration re-enacting Brown’s tirade.
Manchester United 4-3 Newcastle United, 2012
Last but not least, it won’t be a list of thrillers without
involving a last-gasp Manchester United win under Sir Alex Ferguson.
In 2012, during his final season before retirement, Ferguson
and United welcomed Alan Pardew’s struggling Newcastle United, who showed no
signs of being deterred by the league leaders when James Perch put the visitors
in front after four minutes, and then shortly after equalising for United on 25
minutes, Jonny Evans turned hero to villain by scoring an own-goal.
Patrice Evra, who had scored just twice in seven seasons
prior to this campaign drilled home a second leveller with his fourth goal of
2012-13 just before the hour-mark, but again Newcastle regained the lead
through Papiss Cissé.
Robin van Persie, who went on to win the golden boat that
season, made it 3-3 with 20 minutes left, but it was fellow striker Javier
Hernandez who would grab the headlines, meeting Michael Carrick’s
perfectly-executed lobbed through ball to win the match in the 94th
minute.
It was three of 29 points United won having come from behind that season, on their way to their 20th and Ferguson’s final league title. A true hallmark of champions.
❤CREATIVE 3D VISUALS ROOM DECOR: This is a 3D illusion light that displays football when it lights up, and an optical acrylic flat board carved with laser light gives you amazing 3D visuals. The 3d night light itself actually is flat but can creates an innovative 3D visual artistic atmosphere light. This is sure to surprise and impress your children and guests. Amazing optical visual illusion home football lamp makes your room more interesting.
❤7 COLORS CHANGING WITH SMART TOUCH: By acrylic light guide and the LED colorful source, LED football light can export a variety of color visual effects with a touch of the button on the base. This 3D LED illusion lamp has 7 different colors for you to change and choose, easily realizing your colourful 3D visual illusion depending on your mood or surrounding. Then the 8th touch to turn on makes it into the random colors.
❤A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY SLEEP: The kids lamp adopts newly designed ABS lamp holder and environment-friendly acrylic material, which is strong and high in toughness. 3D illusion lamp football is the most suitable bedside decoration lamps for infants and children. The light of table desk lamp is soft and bright, let your lovely child feel warm and have a good sleep at night.
❤LONG LASTING & ENERGY SAVING: Give your child a 3d football light to satisfy his curiosity about the unknown area. Durable ABS base in which there are 9 LED beads, powered by 5V USB cable connected to computer, laptop or your household adaptor. Power dissipation: 0.012kw.h/24 hours; LED Life span: 10000hours. This football night light for boys takes less energy, and even turns it on all night.
❤FOOTBALL GIFTS FOR BOYS: The beautifully designed gift boxes with our colour changing lamp are not only the best football toys for young football fans, but also the best Christmas gifts for children on birthdays, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, weddings, anniversaries, baby gifts, farewell parties, New Year's day and other best gifts for your family and friends.
BrainBox Football is the 10-minute brain challenge that'll test your football knowledge while developing your memory and observation skills
Each of its 54 cards features fun facts about a beloved football club; try to memorise everything that you see and read before flipping over the card to answer questions
You won't only be learning about famous players and stadiums but also keeping an eye out for details. Can you remember if the penalty spot was visible?
Made with a minimum of 70 Percent recycled materials, this green and travel-friendly game is a quick-playing delight that's good for play with family or groups of friends
⚽ Pratice And Enjoy - Perfect solo soccer trainer with premium quality and adjustable cord stretching up to 18 ft.Also comes with a durable tethered waistband, Enjoy praticing and improving your skills of control ball, shooting, passing, receiving, dribbling, throw-in like without chasing and pressured all around
⚽ Universal fits different sized balls-The football elastic band includes 5 velcro straps, the length of the velcro has 28cm, suitable ball size of 3, 4 and 5 ball.Players of all levels can gain more soccer skills through using this soccer training equipment
⚽ Flexible and Adjustable - The football training kit's belt strap is adjustable to fit waist sizes (33"-39").The elastic strap stretches 6ft -18 ft.Flexible adjustment of the ball length for better praticing and playing in backyard,playground and park for kids and adults
⚽ Develop Confidence - Shooting, passing, receiving, throw-ins, all of these ball control skills can obtain by training with this solo soccer kick trainer.Develop your confidence by improve the accuracy of the goal for each game
⚽ 100% Satisfaction After-sales Service: Kuyou promise to provide you the best option for outdoor articles. Please email us if you have any question, we will reply in 24 working hours
100 FOOTBALL STARS TO GUESS. A fun footy game with photos of some of the world’s most recognisable football stars.
POCKET-SIZED AND PACKED WITH FUN. Look at the letter clues and open the four doors to unveil a star footballer. Guess the name and then slide to reveal the answer.
PERFECT PRESENT OR STOCKING FILLER for any football lovers. Play alone or with friends and family (age 8 plus).
HANDY TRAVEL ACTIVITY. Fits neatly into your pocket or bag. Hours of screen-free entertainment - play in the back of the car, in restaurants, planes and trains.
BOOST YOUR BRAIN. 100 PICS flash card games help improve vocabulary, spelling, and memory. Recommended by The Good Toy Guide.
AMAZING COUNTING FOOTBALL: Introducing the latest innovation in football, Smart Ball Kick up Counting Football with lights and sounds This amazing counting football allows you to challenge yourself and your friends to see who can achieve more tricks Use your feet, legs, knees, chest and shoulders to keep the Smart Ball from hitting the ground and it will count each time it makes contact with you.
FEATURES LIGHTS AND SOUNDS: As you reach key milestones Smart Ball will speak words of encouragement to spur you on as you challenge yourself to keep the ball in the air, and for even more fun, the Smart Ball lights up each time it comes into contact with your body.
CHALLENGE FRIENDS: Compete with your friends to see who can get closest to the magic 100 kick ups
PERFECT GIFT FOR FOOTBALL FANS: Whether you are looking for a Birthday gift, Christmas gift or other event, the Smart Ball Kick Up Counting Football is the perfect gift for football fans aged 6 years and over
PRACTISE: Great for practising your kick ups and freestyling skills
FOOTBALL STADIUMS: Scratch off map of the 92 major football grounds around England reveals the coloured team kit underneath on the detailed large wall map.
HIGH QUALITY: The scratch off travel map is printed on premium 170gsm silk art paper with gold scratch map coating, and measures 29 (w) x 42 (h) cm.
UNIQUE GIFT: This scratch off travel map is the perfect gift for football fans who can use the large wall map to log their visits to other grounds.
CREASE-FREE DELIVERY: Your scratch off map is rolled in a tube for delivery, so it arrives ready to display.
MAPS INTERNATIONAL: Our philosophy of ‘cartographic excellence’ combines detail, design and high quality finishes in a range of stunning wall maps.
Premium quality: Made of non-toxic plastic, soft bumper foam edging, flexible, safe and no hurt
Novel design: Combines hockey and soccer features into one ball, which allows you to play in various ways. Glides on any smooth surface, floats on a cushion of air, how interesting!
Colorful led lights: Equipped with LED lights, blinks red and blue lights in darkness, brings more fun for kids, making the game more exciting, requires 4 x 1.5v AA batteries (Not included).
Fun time: Suitable for indoor and outdoor to play for fun, soft and safe toys for kids to play with friends or pets, also, good family games for kids to play with parents together.
Funny gifts toys: Air Power Soccer is not only a fun toy, but also a fantastic Birthday gift, Christmas gift for kids, most importantly, the most special football gifts for boys.
NO NASTY CHEMICALS: Our kids drinking bottle is BPA FREE & LFGB certified so you know your children are safe making the perfect football water bottle. The strong food-grade silicone ensures this kids drinks bottle is safe and a great football gift or boys birthday gift
EVERYDAY I’M GUZZLIN’: Do your kids drink enough water? With a capacity of 500ml, up to 4 refills of this kids bottle is enough for their daily intake to be met. The flip-top spout makes the elefunkie childrens drinks bottle practical as well.
FUNKY & FUNCTIONAL: Stunning football design you won’t find on another drinks bottles for kids. And when it’s all said and done, collapse it and put it away. Truly a unique gift for boys & girls and great as a birthday gift for boys
DROP RESISTANT & LEAKPROOF: When did the last boys drinks bottle you bought lasted a whole school year? The elefunkie kids sport bottle is drop resistant up to 4ft making it ideal for sports and other fun activities
ADD TO CART: Once you’re done, collapse, clip and go. All elefunkie water bottle for kids come with a carabiner so you’ll never lose it. So CLICK ADD TO CART and take advantage of our 30 day money back guarantee and give them the perfect boys gift
[Gorgeous sports toy set]: Anpro hovering football set contains a hovering football, an inflatable football, two football goals, a special inflatable pump, a USD charging cable and four suction cups; the ball needle is in the pump Inside the back cover, it will be safer and will not hurt children. Our hovering football has passed ASTM, HR4040, CPC, EN71, MSDS certification.
[Move by buoyancy]: The hovering football has a powerful built-in motor and fan to generate airflow, so that it can float on a smooth surface. The hovering football has a built-in lithium battery that is rechargeable, with a battery capacity of 1200 mAh. It can be played for about 35 minutes when fully charged, which is more environmentally friendly and convenient.
[Impact resistant design]: The edge of the ball is made of high-quality soft foam safety material, and the foam bumper is made of high-quality EVA ring material. The edge is not easy to burst, which can slow down the damage during exercise and protect it. Furniture. The straight tube at the bottom of the goal is stable with a suction cup and will not move easily.
[Colorful LED lights]: The hovering football is equipped with LED7 color lights. Colorful LED lights will bring more fun! It only needs a small space to play football with children at any time. It is a good choice for family games or children's games, and it can promote parent-child relationship.
[Exquisite gift for children]: Hovering football club is an ideal choice for children. It can arouse children's interest in football and cultivate sports habits. It is suitable for indoor activities and gatherings when you cannot go out. You can enjoy it easily PK battles and team competitions are fun, and you can play with multiple people!
VALUABLE PACKAGE: 12 x 9"(22cm) plates, 12 x 7"(18cm) plates, 12 x cups, 24 x table napkins, 12 x invitation cards, 12 x gift bags, 30 x balloons ( green, white, black 10pcs/color ), 1 x tablecloth, 1 x GOAL football banner, 4 x foil balloons.
SAFETY & GOOD MATERIALS: All of the products are 100% food grade, non-toxic and durable. Plates, cups, napkins, banners, gift cards are made of Eco-friendly white paperboard. Gift bags, table covers are BPA free plastics. The balloons are made of foil and latex.
PERFECT SIZE: The plates are 22cm / 9 inches and 18cm / 7 inches in diameter, the cups are 250ml, the napkins are 17 x 17cm, the invitation cards are 14 x 11cm, the gift bags are 25 x 16cm, the table cover is 180 x 110cm, the foil football balloons are 45cm in diameter, the latex balloons can inflate up to 30cm.
WIDE OCCASIONS: Football party can be arranged all kinds of places, such as school and home, outdoors and indoors. Using theses party packs to decorate your kid's football theme birthday party, football sports festival, catering, picnic, outdoor events and so on.
NO RISK PURCHASE: Add to Cart now! Satisfaction guarantee and 100% high quality. If you are not satisfied with it, please contact us by Email to get a full refund or new one.
