Chelsea and Manchester City played out an enthralling 4-4 draw on Sunday – the second brilliant match Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been involved in over the past week.
Pep Guardiola’s champions led three times at Stamford Bridge only to be pegged back on each occasion, with former City man Cole Palmer holding his nerve to grab his new team a point with a stoppage-time penalty.
The Blues on Monday evening ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an extraordinary 4-1 win over their nine-man London rivals.
A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Blues head coach Pochettino enjoy a successful return to his former club, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards – for Spurs defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie – and five disallowed goals.
Here, the PA news agency looks at seven other outstanding games in the Premier League era.
Manchester City 3 QPR 2 (May 2012)
Perhaps the most significant of all. City started this game knowing a win would earn them a first Premier League title but when they went 2-1 down – even against 10 men – it looked as though rivals Manchester United would take the trophy. However, Edin Dzeko scored in the second minute of time added on to level and Sergio Aguero (or, to quote Sky commentator Martin Tyler, “Agueroooooooooo”) won both the match and the title with 93:20 on the clock.
Arsenal 4 Tottenham 4 (October 2008)
Best remembered for David Bentley’s stunning opener for Tottenham against his former club, this game saw Spurs come back from 4-2 down to earn a point. Trailing to Bentley’s amazing volley, the Gunners exposed Spurs’ weakness at defending set-pieces to lead through Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas. Emmanuel Adebayor added a third for the hosts before Darren Bent pulled one back. When Robin van Persie restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion it had looked all over, but Harry Redknapp’s men showed a new resilience and Jermaine Jenas’ late strike gave them hope before Aaron Lennon equalised at the death.
Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 (April 1996)
Sure to feature on everyone’s classic list, this was the game which saw Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan slump over the front of the dugout as his side’s title chances went up in smoke. Liverpool came back from 2-0 down to level, only to see Faustino Asprilla make it 3-2 seconds later. Stan Collymore soon levelled and then won it two minutes into added time, with Tyler again taking over with his line of “Collymore closing in”.
Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 (February 2011)
The game that demonstrated why supporters should never leave early. When Theo Walcott scored for Arsenal 44 seconds into this game it set the tone for a blistering period of away play, with Johan Djourou and Van Persie, who netted twice, putting Arsenal 4-0 up. However, the game turned as Abou Diaby saw red for Arsenal and Newcastle mounted a stellar comeback. Two penalties from Joey Barton and a Leon Best goal gave them a foothold, but they still needed a brilliant 87th-minute volley from Cheick Tiote to get a point.
Norwich 4 Liverpool 5 (January 2016)
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp lost his glasses amid wild celebrations on the touchline after Adam Lallana’s last-minute strike gave Liverpool an astonishing first Premier League win of 2016. Klopp’s men had trailed 3-1 with under 30 minutes to go, then led 4-3 before Sebastien Bassong’s stoppage-time goal levelled matters. But there was still time for substitute Lallana to mis-hit a shot into the ground and secure a 5-4 victory.
Tottenham 4 Arsenal 5 (November 2004)
Four years before the 4-4 thriller at the Emirates, White Hart Lane hosted a similarly high-scoring affair between the two local rivals. The home side took the lead through Noureddine Naybet, but Arsenal equalised through Thierry Henry and then went 3-1 ahead thanks to Lauren, who converted a penalty won by Freddie Ljungberg, and Patrick Vieira. Jermain Defoe pulled one back almost immediately before Ljungberg and Ledley King traded goals and, although Robert Pires added Arsenal’s fifth nine minutes from time, Freddie Kanoute’s goal made for a frantic finish.
West Ham 5 Bradford 4 (February 2000)
West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop suffered a broken leg just minutes into the game to hand a debut to 18-year-old Stephen Bywater, who conceded four goals but still ended up on the winning side. The comeback from 4-2 down started with 25 minutes left when Frank Lampard and Paolo Di Canio argued over who would take a penalty, Di Canio eventually winning the tussle and converting from the spot. Joe Cole soon equalised and Lampard scored the winner from the edge of the box with seven minutes remaining.
