Top FIVE classic games of modern times

Following Cheltenham Town’s staggering 6-5 away win at Burton Albion on Saturday, I felt it was only right to delve into the archives of the best high-scoring games in the past few years.

Game 1: Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool, April 14^th 2009.

After a 3-1 win at Anfield the week before, it looked as if Chelsea were going to coast into the semi-finals, but no-one could have predicted the events that were about to unfold at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from Fabio Aurelio and a Xabi Alonso penalty leaving a confident Chelsea side shell shocked at the break and only one goal away from crashing out.

However, Chelsea soon recovered. A howler by Pepe Reina gifted Didier Drogba a goal from a tight angle before a thundering free kick from Alex levelled proceedings. The comeback was complete when Frank Lampard fired home but two goals in two minutes from Dirk Kuyt and Lucas meant Chelsea were again just one goal away from being knocked out. Luckily for Chelsea, they only had to endure seven nerve-wracking minutes before Lampard completed the scoring via both posts. What a game.

Game 2: Portsmouth 7-4 Reading, September 29^th 2007.

Next is Portsmouth’s 7-4 win against Reading at Fratton Park. Fans watching at home will remember this game for the flamboyant reporting of Chris Kamara as he witnessed a staggering 11 goals. Benjani was the pick of the scorers with a hat-trick for Pompey as they eventually put away a battling Reading side. The Royals had fought back to 2-2 after being two goals down but further goals from Benjani, Herman Hreidarsson, Nico Kranjcar, Sean Davis and Sulley Muntari took the home sides tally to seven, before a deflected effort from Nicky Shorey in the last minute of the game set a Premiership record for the most aggregate goals in a game.

Game 3: Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal, November 13^th 2004.

North London derbies are renowned more for their battling grit than bags of goals, but Arsenal and Tottenham’s November 2004 clash defied all the odds. Arsenal eventually ran out 5-4 a winners in a game which former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho described as a ‘disgrace’ and a ‘hockey score’ but Gunners fans wouldn’t have minded as they again gained local bragging rights.

The game itself had nine different goalscorers and despite taking a first half lead through Nourredine Naybet, Spurs were never to lead again as the away side took control. Goals from Thierry Henry, Lauren and a 60^th minute effort from Patrick Vieira put Arsenal 3-1 up before Jermain Defore claimed a goal back just a minute later. Freddie Ljungberg restored the two goal lead but Tottenham would not lie down and Ledley King flicked home a Michael Carrick free kick to make it 4-3.

However Spurs’ renewed optimism was not to last as Robert Pires beat Paul Robinson to seal the win for Arsenal. A late Freddie Kanoute goal meant a few nervous minutes but Arsenal clung on to deny Martin Jol’s men.

Game 4: Leeds 4-3 Liverpool, November 4^th 2000.

The 2000/01 season was landmark season for David O’Leary’s men as they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League but their thrilling home win over Liverpool will not be forgotten, particularly by Aussie front man Mark Viduka. He struck all four goals as Leeds came from two goals behind to secure a brilliant home win.

Leeds looked dead and buried when Sami Hyppia and Christian Ziege had put the Reds two goals to the good after just 15 minutes but Viduka struck twice to level. Vladimer Smicer restored the away side’s lead but two Viduka goals in three minutes gave Leeds the lead for the first time in the match and secured a famous win, although any Liverpool fan will not hesitate to tell you that Viduka’s late winner was clearly offside.

Game 5:  Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle, April 3^rd 1996.

Now to what many critics call the best Premiership game ever, Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Newcastle. As the other games show, it did not necessarily feature the most goals but for pure excitement, you will struggle to beat it.

The game had an incredible amount of ups and downs as Newcastle lead twice only to be denied at the death. This game also marked an iconic moment in Robbie Fowler’s career as the young striker catapulted his name into the public eye with two goals.

The moment that Stan Collymore beat Pavil Srnicek at the near post is an iconic moment in the course of the Premier League and even with Portsmouth’s encounter with Reading yielding eleven goals; this seven goal thriller is going take an awful lot of beating. Instead of describing it blow by blow, I’ll let this video do the talking.