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According to f365
10) Aston Villa 3 Everton 3 (Premier League, April 12)
Though marginally not the best game these two played out this season,
this one was still a cracker and serves to illustrate that there's
barely a cigarette paper between the Europa League-bound pair. Everton
had the best of the opening exchanges and raced to a 2-0 lead through
Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill. Villa belatedly woke up and John
Carew made it 2-1 before the break, with Martin O'Neill's men
continuing in the same vein after the break. But Steven Pienaar's
magnificent curler was an against-the-play beauty and seemed to have
sealed all three points for the Toffees. But it was not to be - James
Milner and Gareth Barry making it 3-3. The only disappointment is that
there were no goals in the final 34 minutes. Boo.
9) Chelsea 4 Bolton 3 (Premier League, April 11)
With Chelsea 4-0 up after 63 minutes, Guus Hiddink hauled off Frank
Lampard and Didier Drogba assuming that it was job done - eyes, hearts
and minds could now turn to Liverpool and the Champions League. Except
Chelsea (and Petr Cech) proceeded to fall apart and conceded three
goals in eight minutes that went from consolation, to regaining some
pride to 'bloody hell, get the ball, we can do this'. They couldn't,
but the final few minutes were frantic as the Blues failed to deal with
the Trotters' long punts towards Kevin Davies. If nothing else, it gave
Liverpool the belief to set up no 1) in this list.
Manchester City 2 Liverpool 3 (Premier League, October 5)
Rafa Benitez could not help mentioning Istanbul in the wake of this
game after the Reds overhauled a half-time 2-0 deficit to win the game
3-2. They were helped by a red card for Pablo Zabaleta but they still
had plenty to do, with 23 minutes left on the clock to score two goals
when the Argentine went off. Fernando Torres was inspired but it was
Dirk Kuyt who was the eventual injury-time hero with the winner. Five
goals, a red card and two horrendous misses from Robinho and then
Torres made this a classic.
7) Stoke 3 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League, August 23)
The game that signalled the arrival of the Britannia Stadium and
Rory Delap's throw into the Premier League. The Potters took the lead
three times and the third - deep into injury time - proved decisive as
Villa failed to deal with a Delap hurl. But if this game showcased the
worst/most effective of Stoke, it also showcased the best. Ricardo
Fuller scored a beauty of a goal with control, turn and finish that
would not have looked out of place at any stadium in the top flight. It
added a touch of style to a game otherwise low on that, but high on
atmosphere and thrills.
6) Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League, April 5)
When Ronaldo opened the scoring against a supposedly out-of-form
Villa, it looked like the start of a routine victory. But that would be
failing to appreciate the damage that Martin O'Neill's men could do to
a defence that featured John O'Shea, Jonny Evans and Gary Neville. The
Neviller had a game to forget as he was given the run-around by Gaby
Agbonlahor before being outjumped by John Carew for Villa's equaliser,
which precipitated a move to right-back and an hour of fun for Ashley
Young. To cut a long story short, Villa took a deserved lead against a
very poor United team. If the equaliser from Ronaldo was harsh on
Villa, then the winner - an instant classic from Federico Macheda - was
a heartbreaker.
5) Burnley 3-2 Tottenham (Carling Cup, January 21)
Anyone who backed Burnley to go through from this semi-final at
100/1 after they lost the opening leg 4-1 must have had a) a massive
amount of belief and b) the longest 120 minutes of their lives. After
73 minutes Burnley had moved to within one goal of a very lethargic
Spurs thanks to the inspired Robbie Blake and Chris McCann. Jay
Rodriguez climbed off the bench and pounced on a Ben Alnwick fumble to
send the game into extra-time. Spurs finally woke up and after 118
minutes, Roman Pavulychenko scored for a Spurs side that were an
embarrassment to their fans. There was just time for Jermain Defoe to
grab the last of the night to save Spurs' considerable blushes. Bullet
dodged.
4) Everton 2 Aston Villa 3 (Premier League, December 7)
The scoring began just 31 seconds into the game and ended roughly
31 seconds before the end in a clash between the Premier League's
chasing Gang of Two. A piledriver from Steve Sidwell opened the scoring
but Everton's equaliser from Joleon Lescott was both deserved and
probably an inadequate reward for their domination. A Everton winner
looked certain but a rare lapse from Phil Jagielka let in Ashley Young
and Villa had an undeserved lead. Justice seemed to have prevailed when
Lescott hit an injury-time equaliser but Martin Atkinson found a few
more seconds on the clock for Ashley Young to produce a stunning
winner. It was little consolation to David Moyes that his team had
taken part in a cracker.
3) Arsenal 4 Tottenham 4 (Premier League, October 29)
Available for £9.78 on the Tottenham website, the DVD unfortunately
does not include the celebration of the watching Jamie Redknapp, who
finally put his legs together to jump up and go mental at the exploits
of his dad's team. Spurs fans will do well to watch David Bentley's
stunning opener and then forward-wind to the 89th minute, with Spurs
4-2 down, outclassed and seemingly broken. Goals from Jermaine Jenas
and Aaron Lennon later and 'Arry looks like a genius and Tottenham have
a new song to sing.
2) Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4 (Premier League, April 22)
It's too soon after the event to waste your time with a rundown of
the events at Anfield, but what was brilliant about this game was that
every single goal was significant. The Gunners led three times and
Liverpool once in a match which saw the very worst in defending and the
very best in attacking play. You know the stats - Andrey Arshavin had
four shots and scored four goals while Liverpool had 23 attempts and
scored exactly the same amount. You couldn't take your eyes off it for
a second and if Kaka and co were watching, they will have been straight
on the phone to their agents.
1) Chelsea 4 Liverpool 4 (Champions League, April 14)
Breathtaking. Ridiculous. Bonkers. This wins solely because the
prize was so great - not the small matter of three points but a place
in the Champions League semi-finals. You know the details - Liverpool
were as long as 12/1 to go through after a 3-1 first-leg defeat at
Anfield but were 2-0 up on the night after just 28 minutes. Chelsea
looked vulnerable and messy until Pepe Reina dropped a monumentel
b***ock and gifted Didier Drogba a goal. Two more Chelsea goals later
and the game was over at 6-3 on aggregate. Except it wasn't because
just after Benitez had taken off Fernando Torres, Liverpool scored two
quickfire goals to leave themselves needing just one goal in eight
minutes. Truly mental scenes followed until Lampard put the game to bed
on the break. And breathe...
To goals
10) Aston Villa 3 Everton 3 (Premier League, April 12)
Though marginally not the best game these two played out this season,
this one was still a cracker and serves to illustrate that there's
barely a cigarette paper between the Europa League-bound pair. Everton
had the best of the opening exchanges and raced to a 2-0 lead through
Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill. Villa belatedly woke up and John
Carew made it 2-1 before the break, with Martin O'Neill's men
continuing in the same vein after the break. But Steven Pienaar's
magnificent curler was an against-the-play beauty and seemed to have
sealed all three points for the Toffees. But it was not to be - James
Milner and Gareth Barry making it 3-3. The only disappointment is that
there were no goals in the final 34 minutes. Boo.
9) Chelsea 4 Bolton 3 (Premier League, April 11)
With Chelsea 4-0 up after 63 minutes, Guus Hiddink hauled off Frank
Lampard and Didier Drogba assuming that it was job done - eyes, hearts
and minds could now turn to Liverpool and the Champions League. Except
Chelsea (and Petr Cech) proceeded to fall apart and conceded three
goals in eight minutes that went from consolation, to regaining some
pride to 'bloody hell, get the ball, we can do this'. They couldn't,
but the final few minutes were frantic as the Blues failed to deal with
the Trotters' long punts towards Kevin Davies. If nothing else, it gave
Liverpool the belief to set up no 1) in this list.
Manchester City 2 Liverpool 3 (Premier League, October 5)Rafa Benitez could not help mentioning Istanbul in the wake of this
game after the Reds overhauled a half-time 2-0 deficit to win the game
3-2. They were helped by a red card for Pablo Zabaleta but they still
had plenty to do, with 23 minutes left on the clock to score two goals
when the Argentine went off. Fernando Torres was inspired but it was
Dirk Kuyt who was the eventual injury-time hero with the winner. Five
goals, a red card and two horrendous misses from Robinho and then
Torres made this a classic.
7) Stoke 3 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League, August 23)
The game that signalled the arrival of the Britannia Stadium and
Rory Delap's throw into the Premier League. The Potters took the lead
three times and the third - deep into injury time - proved decisive as
Villa failed to deal with a Delap hurl. But if this game showcased the
worst/most effective of Stoke, it also showcased the best. Ricardo
Fuller scored a beauty of a goal with control, turn and finish that
would not have looked out of place at any stadium in the top flight. It
added a touch of style to a game otherwise low on that, but high on
atmosphere and thrills.
6) Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League, April 5)
When Ronaldo opened the scoring against a supposedly out-of-form
Villa, it looked like the start of a routine victory. But that would be
failing to appreciate the damage that Martin O'Neill's men could do to
a defence that featured John O'Shea, Jonny Evans and Gary Neville. The
Neviller had a game to forget as he was given the run-around by Gaby
Agbonlahor before being outjumped by John Carew for Villa's equaliser,
which precipitated a move to right-back and an hour of fun for Ashley
Young. To cut a long story short, Villa took a deserved lead against a
very poor United team. If the equaliser from Ronaldo was harsh on
Villa, then the winner - an instant classic from Federico Macheda - was
a heartbreaker.
5) Burnley 3-2 Tottenham (Carling Cup, January 21)
Anyone who backed Burnley to go through from this semi-final at
100/1 after they lost the opening leg 4-1 must have had a) a massive
amount of belief and b) the longest 120 minutes of their lives. After
73 minutes Burnley had moved to within one goal of a very lethargic
Spurs thanks to the inspired Robbie Blake and Chris McCann. Jay
Rodriguez climbed off the bench and pounced on a Ben Alnwick fumble to
send the game into extra-time. Spurs finally woke up and after 118
minutes, Roman Pavulychenko scored for a Spurs side that were an
embarrassment to their fans. There was just time for Jermain Defoe to
grab the last of the night to save Spurs' considerable blushes. Bullet
dodged.
4) Everton 2 Aston Villa 3 (Premier League, December 7)
The scoring began just 31 seconds into the game and ended roughly
31 seconds before the end in a clash between the Premier League's
chasing Gang of Two. A piledriver from Steve Sidwell opened the scoring
but Everton's equaliser from Joleon Lescott was both deserved and
probably an inadequate reward for their domination. A Everton winner
looked certain but a rare lapse from Phil Jagielka let in Ashley Young
and Villa had an undeserved lead. Justice seemed to have prevailed when
Lescott hit an injury-time equaliser but Martin Atkinson found a few
more seconds on the clock for Ashley Young to produce a stunning
winner. It was little consolation to David Moyes that his team had
taken part in a cracker.
3) Arsenal 4 Tottenham 4 (Premier League, October 29)
Available for £9.78 on the Tottenham website, the DVD unfortunately
does not include the celebration of the watching Jamie Redknapp, who
finally put his legs together to jump up and go mental at the exploits
of his dad's team. Spurs fans will do well to watch David Bentley's
stunning opener and then forward-wind to the 89th minute, with Spurs
4-2 down, outclassed and seemingly broken. Goals from Jermaine Jenas
and Aaron Lennon later and 'Arry looks like a genius and Tottenham have
a new song to sing.
2) Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4 (Premier League, April 22)
It's too soon after the event to waste your time with a rundown of
the events at Anfield, but what was brilliant about this game was that
every single goal was significant. The Gunners led three times and
Liverpool once in a match which saw the very worst in defending and the
very best in attacking play. You know the stats - Andrey Arshavin had
four shots and scored four goals while Liverpool had 23 attempts and
scored exactly the same amount. You couldn't take your eyes off it for
a second and if Kaka and co were watching, they will have been straight
on the phone to their agents.
1) Chelsea 4 Liverpool 4 (Champions League, April 14)
Breathtaking. Ridiculous. Bonkers. This wins solely because the
prize was so great - not the small matter of three points but a place
in the Champions League semi-finals. You know the details - Liverpool
were as long as 12/1 to go through after a 3-1 first-leg defeat at
Anfield but were 2-0 up on the night after just 28 minutes. Chelsea
looked vulnerable and messy until Pepe Reina dropped a monumentel
b***ock and gifted Didier Drogba a goal. Two more Chelsea goals later
and the game was over at 6-3 on aggregate. Except it wasn't because
just after Benitez had taken off Fernando Torres, Liverpool scored two
quickfire goals to leave themselves needing just one goal in eight
minutes. Truly mental scenes followed until Lampard put the game to bed
on the break. And breathe...
To goals
The pace and quality of that game was outstanding.
