Premier League Rewind: 2nd-3rd February 2002

Results: Derby County 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal 1-1 Southampton, Everton 1-2 Ipswich Town, Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa, Leicester City 2-3 Chelsea, Manchester United 4-1 Sunderland, Newcastle United 3-2 Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United 2-0 Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United 0-4 Liverpool FC, Middlesbrough 0-0 Charlton Athletic

The 2001-2002 Premier League title battle was becoming a very intense fight between many of the top-flight’s superpowers. Despite a lackadaisical start to the season by their high standards, Manchester United were now top of the table and chasing a fourth successive title victory.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side won their 10^th match in their last 11 outings with a comfortable 4-1 home victory over an out-of-form Sunderland side at Old Trafford. All four goals were scored in the first half by the hosts with Ruud van Nistelrooy adding another two to his growing collection. There was also a rare goal for Phil Neville. Sunderland were now without a win in six games and slipped to 15^th in the table, just three points clear of the relegation zone.

Arsenal were the Red Devils’ closest challengers going into the weekend but they ended it back in fourth position after being held at Highbury to a 1-1 draw by Southampton. On the weekend where the club revealed their new club crest to be used from the 2002-2003 season onwards, Sylvain Wiltord put the Gunners ahead five minutes before half-time. Jo Tessem’s equaliser would turn out to be the final dropped points of Arsenal’s season.

Newcastle United’s impressive campaign continued. Sir Bobby Robson’s side did trail twice at home to Bolton Wanderers but came back to win 3-2 with the winning goal coming from Craig Bellamy. After their bright start which had seen a maximum haul of points back in August, Bolton were now in the bottom three.

It wasn’t a happy reunion for Robbie Fowler in his first meeting with Liverpool FC since his £11 million transfer to Leeds United in November 2001. Liverpool were in devastating form at Elland Road, crushing the home side 4-0 with Emile Heskey scoring twice. Liverpool overtook Arsenal to move into third place with three successive victories for stand-in manager Phil Thompson. Having been top on New Years’ Day, Leeds were now down to sixth and nine points off the pace. Their title challenge looked as good as over.

Having resigned from his position as Aston Villa manager, John Gregory returned to his former club Derby County and made a winning start. Lee Morris scored a very scrappy goal to ensure the Rams edged out Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Pride Park. After four successive defeats, the victory kept Derby just about in touch with the pack above them in the scrap to survive.

Going in the wrong direction were Blackburn Rovers. After a positive start to their Premier League return, Graeme Souness’ side were going through a trough in terms of their league results. Their fifth reverse in six games came at Upton Park, losing 2-0 to West Ham United. This left Blackburn only above the relegation zone on goal difference  and it was a far cry from the corresponding fixture earlier in the season when the former Premier League champions had thrashed the Hammers 7-1.

Meanwhile, Ipswich Town were going in the right direction. The 2000-2001 surprise packages recorded their seventh victory in eight games with a 2-1 success away to Everton. Ipswich had climbed to 12^th and were just three points off eighth place as they were recovering brilliantly from their horrific start to the campaign. Sadly for George Burley, a heavy defeat to Liverpool FC in their very next game would start a worrying drop down the table towards eventual relegation from the top-flight.

What else happened in February 2002?

• There is sad news from Buckingham Palace as the Queen’s sister; Princess Margaret dies after suffering a stroke. She was 71.
• The Winter Olympics take place in Salt Lake City and Great Britain win a gold medal thanks to the women’s curling team.
• Actor John Thaw, best-known for playing lead roles in Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC, dies just seven weeks after his 60th birthday. 
• Saturday nights get a new hit as the first series of Pop Idol concludes on ITV. Over 8.7 million votes are casted as Will Young beats Gareth Gates to win the competition.
• The trial of the former president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic begins in The Hague.
• More than 2,000 jobs disappear when Ford ends 90 years of British car production after the last Fiesta model is completed in Dagenham.

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Iconic Moments: The Battle of Old Trafford: Mark II (October 2004)

13 months after the explosive encounter at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Arsenal, the sides squared up to one another again. Arsenal had gone 49 games unbeaten in the Premier League. They were looking to make it 50 matches at the home of their most competitive rivals. They also knew that a victory here would virtually rule Manchester United out of the 2004-2005 title battle before the end of October.

Referee Mike Riley was going to be in for a difficult afternoon. He tried to allow the game to flow but there were sly fouls and challenges all day, with Rio Ferdinand lucky to escape punishment for hauling down Freddie Ljungberg in a goalscoring position. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s studs-up challenge on Ashley Cole also went unpunished on the day but the Dutchman would be charged and banned later by video authorities.

In the 73^rd minute, the Red Devils won a controversial penalty as Wayne Rooney went down under Sol Campbell’s challenge. Replays showed that Rooney had made a complete meal out of the minimal contact between the two England internationals. After the demons of the previous season’s fixture, Van Nistelrooy did well to keep his nerve, send Jens Lehmann the wrong way and fire Sir Alex Ferguson’s side infront. In stoppage-time, Arsenal fell for the classic counter-attack with Alan Smith playing Rooney in to seal the three points for Manchester United and end Arsenal’s historic run.

In the tunnel after the match, tempers boiled over between staff of both clubs. A slice of pizza was thrown at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson by Cesc Fabregas, which wasn’t confirmed by the perpetrator until 2017 when he confessed on the Sky One panel show “A League of Their Own.” Wenger was fined £15,000 for comments made about Van Nistelrooy who himself was banned for three games for his challenge on Cole.

The Battle of Old Trafford: Mark I (September 2003)

For over a decade in the Premier League, the prime fixture was between Manchester United and Arsenal. Between the two teams, they have won 16 of the 25 Premier League titles since the creation of the league in 1992. There have been some tasty battles between the sides and none more so than this encounter in September 2003.

In a hard-fought encounter, chances were few and far between. Ryan Giggs hit the post from a free-kick, whilst Ashley Cole came closest for Arsenal with a shot that whistled just wide of the post. The first flashpoint arrived 10 minutes from the end of the game. Gunners captain Patrick Vieira clashed with Ruud van Nistelrooy and appeared to kick out at the Dutchman who dived out of the way to ensure contact wasn’t made. Perhaps Van Nistelrooy had made the most of the incident but Vieira could have no defence for his action. Steve Bennett promptly sent the Frenchman off for violent conduct.

Then in stoppage-time, Martin Keown hauled down Diego Forlan to the ground in the penalty area and Bennett awarded the Red Devils a spot-kick. Arsenal players were feeling aggrieved, especially with Van Nistelrooy who would take the penalty. If he scored, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side would win the match and go top of the table. However, he missed with his penalty beating Jens Lehmann but smashing the crossbar. At the full-time whistle, Keown lost complete control of his temperament, jumping all over Van Nistelrooy. Arsenal players let their emotions take over and many of their players started pushing and shoving Van Nistelrooy around like a rag doll. What followed were some unsavoury scenes with players from both sides squaring up to one another.

Arsenal were fined £175,000 and bans were handed out to Lauren, Ray Parlour, Keown and Vieira whilst Ashley Cole was fined for verbal abuse. Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo were fined from Manchester United for their part in the fracas after the final whistle.

For the record, the match did end 0-0 and was the closest Arsenal came to defeat in their historic ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-2004.

Memorable Matches: Everton 3-4 Manchester United (February 2004)

Goalscorers: Louis Saha 8, 28, Ruud van Nistelrooy 23, 88, David Unsworth 48, John O’Shea 66 OG, Kevin Kilbane 74

Teams:

Everton: Nigel Martyn, Tony Hibbert, Alan Stubbs, David Unsworth, Alessandro Pistone (Gary Naysmith 46), Lee Carsley, Thomas Gravesen, Steve Watson (Wayne Rooney 46), Kevin Kilbane, Duncan Ferguson, Francis Jeffers (Tomasz Radzinski 46)

Manchester United: Tim Howard, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Mikael Silvestre, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher (Cristiano Ronaldo 81), Ryan Giggs, Louis Saha (Quinton Fortune 74), Ruud van Nistelrooy

Referee: Neale Barry, Attendance: 40,190

Reigning champions Manchester United had recently surrendered top spot in the table to unbeaten Arsenal after a surprising loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers three weeks earlier. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were now doing the chasing when they travelled to 14^th place Everton, who had won just one of their last six league matches.

The Red Devils are often known for scoring very late goals but they made a stunning opening as they completely dominated the first 45 minutes. Paul Scholes hit the post and new signing Louis Saha headed wide from close-range inside the first five minutes. Three minutes later, Saha made no mistake to score his second United goal since joining from Fulham in the January transfer window. Mikael Silvestre’s hopeful long ball found Saha in acres of space as the Everton defence tried to play offside. The Frenchman brought the ball down, took his time and smashed his strike into the net.

The dodgy defending continued on 23 minutes when David Unsworth’s awful attempt at a clearance dropped into the path of Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman shook off the attentions of Alan Stubbs and finished from a tight angle to complete a century of goals for Manchester United. Saha quickly made it 3-0, getting his second goal with a weak shot which deflected off the left boot of Nigel Martyn.

David Moyes needed to make changes at half-time and he duly did. A triple change saw the struggling Alessandro Pistone, Steve Watson and the non-existent Francis Jeffers replaced by Gary Naysmith, Wayne Rooney and Tomasz Radzinski. They were about to begin an improbable comeback which won’t have pleased his fellow Scot in the visiting dugout. Four minutes into the second half, United’s lead was trimmed by a third. Tim Howard flapped his arms out on a Naysmith corner. Unsworth made the most of the gift to nod the ball into the unguarded net at the back post.

Manchester United’s weak spot all season was conceding goals from set-pieces and they gifted away another goal on 64 minutes. Yet another Naysmith corner caused chaos in the United penalty area and John O’Shea saw the ball bounce off him and into the net. The comeback was completed 16 minutes from full-time. Nobody picked up Kevin Kilbane who met Thomas Gravesen’s free-kick perfectly with a header that flew into the net. It was game on and either side could go on to win all three points. However, there would be a sting in the tale for Everton supporters.

Substitute Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a delicious cross to the back post from the right-hand side and there was an unmarked Van Nistelrooy to score his 101^st Manchester United goal and see them nick all three points. It was a typical ‘Fergie Time’ goal but neither manager was smiling at the end of the season. Everton finished 17^th, just six points clear of relegation and United came in a distant third, 15 points behind champions Arsenal.

Premier League Rewind: 18th-19th August 2001

Results: Charlton Athletic 1-2 Everton, Derby County 2-1 Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United 2-0 Southampton, Leicester City 0-5 Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool FC 2-1 West Ham United, Middlesbrough 0-4 Arsenal, Sunderland 1-0 Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Aston Villa, Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle United, Manchester United 3-2 Fulham

The opening weekend of the 2001-2002 Premier League season saw 28 goals in its first weekend with a new title sponsor. Barclaycard had taken over sponsorship rights over the summer from Carling.

Fulham were welcomed into the Premier League family and they had a daunting first fixture too against reigning Premier League champions Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson was looking to achieve four titles in a row in what at the time we thought was going to be his final campaign in the dugout at Old Trafford.

They were pushed all the way by the newcomers, with Louis Saha making an immediate impression. The Frenchman scored twice as Fulham led twice but their best efforts were cancelled out by United’s new £19 million striker. Ruud van Nistelrooy helped himself to a debut double and the home side came away with all three points in a nervy 3-2 victory.

Unlike Fulham, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers did boast previous Premier League experience. They both returned to the top-flight on this weekend, with mixed fortunes. Blackburn lost 2-1 at Derby County, as Fabrizio Ravanelli scored a trademark free-kick on his return to English football.

On the other hand, Bolton had a day to savour at Filbert Street, crushing Leicester City 5-0. The outstanding Per Frandsen scored two free-kicks and Kevin Nolan also scored twice as the pressure cranked up on Leicester boss Peter Taylor.

There was a bad-tempered match on Teeside as Arsenal travelled to Middlesbrough. Steve McClaren’s first game as a Premier League boss ended in a 4-0 home defeat as Arsenal began their extraordinary run of scoring in every single league match in the season. Both Ugo Ehiogu and Ray Parlour were sent off with two late goals by Dennis Bergkamp making the scoreline look more flattering than how the actual game developed.

Liverpool FC had Michael Owen to thank once again. Owen continued where he left off from the previous season in his dream year which saw him finish as the European Footballer of the Year. He scored twice as the Reds defeated West Ham United 2-1 at Anfield. Lastly, Chelsea and Newcastle United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. This match was more notable as it was the first game in the UK that was made available via a pay-per-view subscription model. Premiership Plus would be around on the Sky platform for the next five seasons.

What else happened in August 2001?

• Former royal butler Paul Burrell is charged with theft of items that belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. The prosecution collapses three months later.
• A plane crash in the Bahamas claims the life of American R&B performer Aaliyah and eight members of her record company. She was just 22-years-old.
• Law goes into effect in Germany legalizing same-sex registered partnerships.
• Whitney Houston signs the largest contract in music history with Arista Records, a six-album deal worth over $100 million.
• Michael Schumacher wins the FIA Formula One World Championship with victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. It is the German’s fourth world title.
• The BBC introduces a fourth weekly episode of EastEnders, to be broadcast at 8pm every Friday night.

Great Goals: Ruud van Nistelrooy – MANCHESTER UNITED vs. Fulham (March 2003)

Ruud van Nistelrooy was one of Europe’s great goalscorers. His habit was being in the right place at the right time to score from close-range or play off high offside traps and exposing weaknesses in defensive strategies.

This goal was all about skill, class and pace as well – the latter never being one of Van Nistelrooy’s true qualities. He collected possession from just inside his own half and spun away from Sylvain Legwinski who claimed he had been fouled by this movement. After this though, the rest is all about genuine class.

Van Nistelrooy beats no fewer than five Fulham players who either back off or put in feeble challenges. When in the penalty area, you always would back him and this was no exception, scooping the final effort beyond the Cottagers back-up goalkeeper, Maik Taylor.

This was the second goal of a Van Nistelrooy hat-trick in United’s 3-0 victory which set them up for an eighth Premier League title in 11 seasons. Van Nistelrooy won the Golden Boot that season too and there weren’t many better efforts in his Manchester United spell that this special solo strike.

Seasonal Records: 2002-2003

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 2002-2003 Premier League campaign, as Manchester United claimed their eighth Premier League title and the first club slipped out of the league despite reaching the usual magical safety mark of 40 points.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Manchester United	38	25	8	5	74	34	+40	83
2	Arsenal	38	23	9	6	85	42	+43	78
3	Newcastle United	38	21	6	11	63	48	+15	69
4	Chelsea	38	19	10	9	68	38	+30	67
5	Liverpool FC	38	18	10	10	61	41	+20	64
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	12	10	52	43	+9	60
7	Everton	38	17	8	13	48	49	-1	59
8	Southampton	38	13	13	12	43	46	-3	52
9	Manchester City	38	15	6	17	47	54	-7	51
10	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	8	16	51	62	-11	50
11	Middlesbrough	38	13	10	15	48	44	+4	49
12	Charlton Athletic	38	14	7	17	45	56	-11	49
13	Birmingham City	38	13	9	16	41	49	-8	48
14	Fulham	38	13	9	16	41	50	-9	48
15	Leeds United	38	14	5	19	58	57	+1	47
16	Aston Villa	38	12	9	17	42	47	-5	45
17	Bolton Wanderers	38	10	14	14	41	51	-10	44
18	West Ham United	38	10	12	16	42	59	-17	42
19	West Bromwich Albion	38	6	8	24	29	65	-36	26
20	Sunderland	38	4	7	27	21	65	-44	19

 

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	1000
European qualifiers	Manchester United (UEFA Champions League), Arsenal (UEFA Champions League), Newcastle United (UEFA Champions League), Chelsea (UEFA Champions League), Liverpool FC (UEFA Cup), Blackburn Rovers (UEFA Cup), Southampton (UEFA Cup), Manchester City (UEFA Cup)
Longest winning run	7 games (Liverpool FC)
Longest unbeaten run	18 games (Manchester United)
Longest winless run	20 games (Sunderland)
Longest losing run	15 games (Sunderland)
Highest attendance	67,721 (Manchester United vs. Charlton Athletic)
Lowest attendance	14,017 (Fulham vs. Blackburn Rovers)

 

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle United)
Football Writers’ Award	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
PFA Team of the Year	Brad Friedel, Sol Campbell, William Gallas, Stephen Carr, Ashley Cole, Patrick Vieira, Kieron Dyer, Robert Pires, Paul Scholes, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer
Manager of the Year	Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United
Premier League Goal of the Season	Thierry Henry (ARSENAL vs. Tottenham Hotspur)

 

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Michael Owen	Manchester City vs. Liverpool FC	0-3	28th September 2002
James Beattie	Southampton vs. Fulham	4-2	27th October 2002
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United vs. Newcastle United	5-3	23rd November 2002
Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton	4-3	12th January 2003
Thierry Henry	Arsenal vs. West Ham United	3-1	27th January 2003
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United vs. Fulham	3-0	22nd March 2003
Mark Viduka	Charlton Athletic vs. Leeds United	1-6	5th April 2003
Paul Scholes	Newcastle United vs. Manchester United	2-6	12th April 2003
Michael Owen (4)	West Bromwich Albion vs. Liverpool FC	0-6	26th April 2003
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United vs. Charlton Athletic	4-1	3rd May 2003
Jermaine Pennant	Arsenal vs. Southampton	6-1	7th May 2003
Robert Pires	Arsenal vs. Southampton	6-1	7th May 2003
Freddie Ljungberg	Sunderland vs. Arsenal	0-4	11th May 2003

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	25
2	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	24
3	James Beattie	Southampton	23
4	Mark Viduka	Leeds United	20
5	Michael Owen	Liverpool FC	19
6	Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	17
7=	Paul Scholes	Manchester United	14
7=	Robert Pires	Arsenal	14
7=	Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea	14
7=	Nicolas Anelka	Manchester City	14
7=	Robbie Keane	Leeds United & Tottenham Hotspur	14
7=	Harry Kewell	Leeds United	14
13	Teddy Sheringham	Tottenham Hotspur	12
14=	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Chelsea	11
14=	Tomasz Radzinski	Everton	11
16=	Sylvain Wiltord	Arsenal	10
16=	Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea	10
16=	Kevin Campbell	Everton	10
16=	Jason Euell	Charlton Athletic	10
16=	Dion Dublin	Aston Villa	10
21=	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	9
21=	Milan Baros	Liverpool FC	9
21=	Damien Duff	Blackburn Rovers	9
21=	Marc-Vivien Foe	Manchester City	9
21=	Massimo Maccarone	Middlesbrough	9

BIGGEST VICTORIES

West Bromwich Albion 0-6 Liverpool FC	26th April 2003
Arsenal 6-1 Southampton	7th May 2003
Charlton Athletic 1-6 Leeds United	5th April 2003
Chelsea 5-0 Manchester City	22nd March 2003
Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United	12th April 2003
Manchester City 1-5 Arsenal	22nd February 2003
Newcastle United 5-1 Blackburn Rovers	22nd March 2003
Middlesbrough 5-1 Tottenham Hotspur	3rd May 2003
Manchester United 4-0 Liverpool FC	5th April 2003
Birmingham City 0-4 Arsenal	12th January 2003

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
8	Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United	12th April 2003
8	Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United	23rd November 2002
7	Arsenal 6-1 Southampton	7th May 2003
7	Charlton Athletic 1-6 Leeds United	5th April 2003
7	Arsenal 5-2 West Bromwich Albion	27th August 2002
7	Blackburn Rovers 5-2 Newcastle United	19th October 2002
7	Middlesbrough 2-5 Aston Villa	28th January 2003
7	Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 Everton	12th January 2003
7	West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United	10th November 2002
7	Bolton Wanderers 4-3 Newcastle United	26th December 2002
6	West Bromwich Albion 0-6 Liverpool FC	26th April 2003
6	Manchester City 1-5 Arsenal	22nd February 2003
6	Newcastle United 5-1 Blackburn Rovers	22nd March 2003
6	Middlesbrough 5-1 Tottenham Hotspur	3rd May 2003
6	Southampton 4-2 Fulham	27th October 2002
6	Bolton Wanderers 4-2 Birmingham City	1st February 2003
6	Charlton Athletic 4-2 West Ham United	22nd January 2003
6	Leeds United 2-4 Bolton Wanderers	17th November 2002
5	Chelsea 5-0 Manchester City	22nd March 2003
5	Manchester United 4-1 Charlton Athletic	3rd May 2003

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Wayne Rooney	Everton 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur	16 years, 9 months, 24 days	17th August 2002
James Milner	West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United	16 years, 10 months, 6 days	10th November 2002
Mat Sadler	Birmingham City 3-1 Bolton Wanderers	17 years, 8 months, 7 days	2nd November 2002
Danny Livesey	Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Liverpool FC	17 years, 8 months, 14 days	14th September 2002
Jay McEveley	Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Blackburn Rovers	17 years, 9 months, 26 days	7th December 2002
Kieran Richardson	Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United	18 years, 1 month, 2 days	23rd November 2002
Robert Huth	Fulham 0-0 Chelsea	18 years, 1 month, 5 days	23rd September 2002
Andrew Davies	Middlesbrough 2-5 Aston Villa	18 years, 1 month, 11 days	28th January 2003
Osei Sankofa	Manchester United 4-1 Charlton Athletic	18 years, 1 month, 14 days	3rd May 2003
Jamie Slabber	Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Liverpool FC	18 years, 2 months, 13 days	16th March 2003

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
David Seaman	Sunderland 0-4 Arsenal	39 years, 1 month, 17 days	11th May 2003
Peter Schmeichel	Manchester City 0-1 Southampton	38 years, 8 months, 11 days	11th May 2003
Nigel Winterburn	West Ham United 0-3 Liverpool FC	38 years, 7 months, 19 days	2nd February 2003
Gudni Bergsson	Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Middlesbrough	38 years, 6 months, 9 days	11th May 2003
Laurent Blanc	Everton 1-2 Manchester United	38 years, 5 months	11th May 2003
Teddy Sheringham	Tottenham Hotspur 0-4 Blackburn Rovers	38 years, 4 months, 19 days	11th May 2003
Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool FC	38 years, 1 month, 24 days	11th May 2003
Martin Keown	Arsenal 2-3 Leeds United	37 years, 4 months, 16 days	4th May 2003
Les Ferdinand	Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham United	36 years, 9 months, 20 days	11th May 2003
John Moncur	Arsenal 3-1 West Ham United	36 years, 6 months, 10 days	19th January 2003

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Brad Friedel	Blackburn Rovers	15
2	Shay Given	Newcastle United	14
3=	Carlo Cudicini	Chelsea	12
3=	Jerzy Dudek	Liverpool FC	12
5	Richard Wright	Everton	11
6=	Fabien Barthez	Manchester United	10
6=	Mark Schwarzer	Middlesbrough	10
6=	Paul Robinson	Leeds United	10
6=	Jussi Jaaskelainen	Bolton Wanderers	10
10	Antti Niemi	Southampton	9

Premier League Rewind: 23rd-24th October 2004

Results: Norwich City 2-3 Everton, Aston Villa 2-0 Fulham, Chelsea 4-0 Blackburn Rovers, Crystal Palace 3-0 West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool FC 2-0 Charlton Athletic, Southampton 0-0 Birmingham City, Middlesbrough 1-1 Portsmouth, Newcastle United 4-3 Manchester City, Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal

Arsenal went into the weekend of the 23^rd-24^th October 2004 having reached an extraordinary 49 Premier League matches unbeaten. To achieve the amazing 50-game mark, they would have to avoid defeat at Old Trafford. Beat Manchester United and it would knock Sir Alex Ferguson’s side out of the title race by the end of October. United had won just three of their first nine matches in 2004-2005 and defeat here would leave them 11 points off the pace. They couldn’t afford to let that happen.

Like the previous season’s game at the Theatre of Dreams, it was a tetchy, steamy affair with some unpleasant tackles. Ruud van Nistelrooy would later be banned for violent conduct but the game was decided in the last 15 minutes. Wayne Rooney went down under very minimal contact, if any from Sol Campbell. Mike Riley pointed to the penalty spot and after his miss in the same fixture last season, van Nistelrooy saw off those demons to convert the spot-kick. With Arsenal pushing forward in the dying embers, they were caught out on the counter-attack. Alan Smith squared the ball for Rooney to finish the match off. Manchester United won 2-0 and Arsenal’s historic run was over.

The scuffles continued in the tunnel afterwards. Both sets of teams squared up to each other as did both managers with Ferguson being hit by a slice of pizza from an Arsenal player in an episode later dubbed as “Pizzagate” by the tabloids. The identity was not revealed until 2017, when Cesc Fabregas confessed to being the pizza thrower on the Sky One panel show ‘A League of Their Own.’

Earlier that day, Newcastle United and Manchester City played out a barnstorming second half which saw seven goals shared between the sides. Craig Bellamy, reportedly at war with Newcastle manager Graeme Souness over his substitution at Charlton a week earlier, scored the winning goal.

Arsenal’s defeat allowed Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea to close the gap at the top of the table to two points. They thrashed Blackburn Rovers 4-0 at Stamford Bridge. Eidur Gudjohnsen scored a hat-trick in Chelsea’s biggest win of the season to-date. It was a second successive 4-0 defeat for Blackburn and plenty to ponder for their manager; the former Wales boss Mark Hughes.

Everton continued their fine start to the campaign and remained in the top three with a 3-2 win in the opening game of the weekend away at Norwich City. Duncan Ferguson scored the winning goal after the Canaries showed their character to recover from a 2-0 deficit. Fellow strugglers Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion met at Selhurst Park where two goals from Andy Johnson steered Palace to a welcome 3-0 victory and signalled the end of Gary Megson’s tenure at The Hawthorns.

Elsewhere, Bolton Wanderers remained in the top four after winning 2-1 away at White Hart Lane over Tottenham Hotspur and John Arne Riise scored his first Premier League goal in 20 months as Liverpool FC made it four successive Anfield victories in beating Charlton Athletic 2-0.

What else happened in October 2004?

• Militants in Iraq behead British hostage Ken Bigley. He had been kidnapped on the 16th September.
• Tony Blair confirms his intention to resign as Prime Minister during his next term should Labour win the next General Election.
• One of BBC Radio 1’s original DJ’s, John Peel dies in Peru aged 65 after suffering a sudden heart attack.
• The first European Constitution is established after senior European figures sign the Treaty and Final Act in Rome.
• A team of explorers reach the bottom of Krubera Cave in Georgia which is the world’s deepest cave.
• 30 people, mainly Israeli tourists are killed when two suicide bombs explode in the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt.

Premier League Rewind: 26th-28th September 2003

Results: Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle United, Birmingham City 2-0 Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa, Leicester City 1-4 Manchester United, Southampton 0-1 Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic 3-2 Liverpool FC, Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Fulham, Everton 4-0 Leeds United, Manchester City 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

The week leading up to the action on 26^th-28^th September 2003 had been dominated by the spectacular fallout from ‘The Battle of Old Trafford.’ Following the unsavoury scenes after the 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Arsenal, eight players were charged by the Football Association and Arsenal were seen by many experts and neutrals as the public enemies for picking on Ruud van Nistelrooy.

It was time for the Gunners’ to get people drooling over their football again rather than the fighting bulldog spirit they’d shown in Manchester. They kicked off the weekend with an entertaining Friday night encounter at home to Newcastle United. The teams shared five goals and only a clumsy Jermaine Jenas handball allowed a Thierry Henry penalty to end up separating the sides. Henry scored twice in the 3-2 victory. It was game seven of Arsenal’s historic ‘The Invincibles’ season. Newcastle were yet to win in the campaign.

They were one of two sides still awaiting that winning feeling by the time September ended. The other were the Premier League rookies Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, they had a contender for the Goal of the Weekend. Alex Rae’s stunning volley gave them the lead away to Bolton Wanderers. Unfortunately for all Wolves fans, their first top-flight victory in 20 years would have to wait. Kevin Davies scored a late equaliser with five minutes left to ensure the match ended 1-1.

Van Nistelrooy showed no after-effects from being the centre of attention during the Old Trafford fracas a week earlier. The Dutchman did his talking by scoring goals and he chalked up another hat-trick in Manchester United’s routine 4-1 victory away to Leicester City. Sir Alex Ferguson’s defending champions had lost only once all campaign but were sitting in third spot only in the table. That was because Chelsea’s unbeaten start continued. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored the only goal of a narrow 1-0 success at home to Aston Villa. However, the Blues’ were fortunate to win this match. Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel spurned a couple of fantastic opportunities to deny the visitors’ the chance of a point.

The other side that were currently unbeaten in the Premier League were Birmingham City. Steve Bruce’s side were tough to breakdown and had enough on the counter-attack to hurt teams. Portsmouth were the latest victims – losing 2-0 in the Midlands. Birmingham boasted the best defensive record, conceding just twice and keeping five clean sheets  in their opening six matches.

Van Nistelrooy might have been a regular when it came to scoring hat-tricks but there were two other players who scored trebles that weekend and they certainly rank among the Premier League’s most surprising hat-trick heroes. Defender Steve Watson made the most of Leeds United’s fragile defence to score a treble in Everton’s 4-0 victory over the penniless Yorkshire side. Leeds were abject throughout and conceded 10 goals in three September matches, without scoring. It was a painful return to Goodison Park for Peter Reid.

On the same Sunday afternoon, Kevin Lisbie enjoyed the day of his life as Charlton Athletic welcomed Liverpool FC to The Valley. Lisbie scored an incredible hat-trick including a wonderful solo effort as Charlton won 3-2. It was their second successive home victory over Liverpool, who were now sitting in the unfamiliar positon of eighth spot. The one crumb of comfort for Liverpool fans was the form of Michael Owen. After a slow start to the season, Owen had now scored six goals in four matches. He struck a penalty in this defeat.

In the weekend’s other three matches, Middlesbrough claimed a surprising 1-0 victory away at Southampton. This was the Saints’ first defeat of the season. Fulham enjoyed their away trip to Ewood Park, beating Blackburn Rovers 2-0 whilst Super Sunday viewers were treated to a goalless game between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Unfortunately for Sky viewers, this was a period where Sunday 4pm matches introduced a lack of goalmouth activity. In five 4pm kick-offs between September 21^st and October 26^th, just two goals were scored!

There was still only six points between the top eight at the end of September but it was already clear that Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United had the three strongest squads and would be the three sides likely to scrap it out for the 2003-2004 Premier League title.

What else happened in September 2003?

• Estonia & Latvia join the European Union following a referendum but the people of Sweden reject the chance to take the Euro currency following their own vote.
• “Dirty Den” returns to EastEnders – 14 years after appearing to have been killed off.
• The Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham is officially opened.
• Starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Little Britain makes its first appearance on UK TV screens.
• Andy Roddick beats Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to win the men’s singles at the US Open; his sole Grand Slam victory.
• Europe’s first mission to the moon is launched through SMART-1, a European Space Agency satellite.
• Labour loses the Brent East seat in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats after 29 years in control.

Seasonal Records: 2001-2002

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 2001-2002 Premier League campaign, as Arsenal scored in every single game to end Manchester United’s three-year stranglehold on the prize.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	38	26	9	3	79	36	+43	87
2	Liverpool FC	38	24	8	6	67	30	+37	80
3	Manchester United	38	24	5	9	87	45	+42	77
4	Newcastle United	38	21	8	9	74	52	+22	71
5	Leeds United	38	18	12	8	53	37	+16	66
6	Chelsea	38	17	13	8	66	38	+28	64
7	West Ham United	38	15	8	15	48	57	-9	53
8	Aston Villa	38	12	14	12	46	47	-1	50
9	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	8	16	49	53	-4	50
10	Blackburn Rovers	38	12	10	16	55	51	+4	46
11	Middlesbrough	38	12	9	17	46	54	-8	45
12	Southampton	38	10	9	17	35	47	-12	45
13	Fulham	38	10	14	14	36	44	-8	44
14	Charlton Athletic	38	10	14	14	38	49	-11	44
15	Everton	38	11	10	17	45	57	-12	43
16	Bolton Wanderers	38	9	13	16	44	62	-18	40
17	Sunderland	38	10	10	18	29	51	-22	40
18	Ipswich Town	38	9	9	20	41	64	-23	36
19	Derby County	38	8	6	24	33	63	-30	30
20	Leicester City	38	5	13	20	30	64	-34	28

 

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	1001
European qualifiers	Manchester United (UEFA Champions League), Arsenal (UEFA Champions League), Liverpool FC (UEFA Champions League), Newcastle United (UEFA Champions League), Leeds United (UEFA Cup), Chelsea (UEFA Cup), Blackburn Rovers (UEFA Cup), Ipswich Town (UEFA Cup), Aston Villa (UEFA Intertoto Cup), Fulham (UEFA Intertoto Cup)
Longest winning run	13 games (Arsenal)
Longest unbeaten run	21 games (Arsenal)
Longest winless run	16 games (Leicester City)
Longest losing run	7 games (Derby County)
Highest attendance	67,638 (Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough)
Lowest attendance	15,415 (Leicester City vs. Middlesbrough)

 

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Craig Bellamy (Newcastle United)
Football Writers’ Award	Robert Pires (Arsenal)
PFA Team of the Year	Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Steve Finnan, Rio Ferdinand, Sami Hyypia, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Ryan Giggs, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Ruud van Nistelrooy
Manager of the Year	Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Premier League Goal of the Season	Dennis Bergkamp (Newcastle United vs. ARSENAL)

 

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Robbie Fowler	Leicester City vs. Liverpool FC	1-4	20th October 2001
Paul Kitson	Charlton Athletic vs. West Ham United	4-4	19th November 2001
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United vs. Southampton	6-1	22nd December 2001
Robbie Fowler	Bolton Wanderers vs. Leeds United	0-3	26th December 2001
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Bolton Wanderers vs. Manchester United	0-4	29th January 2002
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur	4-0	13th March 2002
Fredi Bobic	Bolton Wanderers vs. Ipswich Town	4-1	6th April 2002

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	24
2=	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	23
2=	Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	23
2=	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Chelsea	23
5	Michael Owen	Liverpool FC	19
6	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	17
7	Robbie Fowler	Liverpool FC & Leeds United	15
8=	Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea	14
8=	Marian Pahars	Southampton	14
10=	Andy Cole	Manchester United & Blackburn Rovers	13
10=	Michael Ricketts	Bolton Wanderers	13
12=	Freddie Ljungberg	Arsenal	12
12=	Darius Vassell	Aston Villa	12
12=	James Beattie	Southampton	12
12=	Juan Pablo Angel	Aston Villa	12
16=	David Beckham	Manchester United	11
16=	Mark Viduka	Leeds United	11
16=	Freddie Kanoute	West Ham United	11
16=	Jason Euell	Charlton Athletic	11
16=	Kevin Phillips	Sunderland	11
21=	Gus Poyet	Tottenham Hotspur	10
21=	Jermain Defoe	West Ham United	10
21=	Teddy Sheringham	Tottenham Hotspur	10
21=	Matt Jansen	Blackburn Rovers	10
25	Robert Pires	Arsenal	9

BIGGEST VICTORIES

Blackburn Rovers 7-1 West Ham United	14th October 2001
Ipswich Town 0-6 Liverpool FC	9th February 2002
Manchester United 6-1 Southampton	22nd December 2001
Liverpool FC 5-0 Ipswich Town	11th May 2002
Manchester United 5-0 Derby County	12th December 2001
Everton 5-0 West Ham United	29th September 2001
Leicester City 0-5 Bolton Wanderers	18th August 2001
Ipswich Town 5-0 Sunderland	29th December 2001
Newcastle United 6-2 Everton	29th March 2002
Chelsea 5-1 Bolton Wanderers	23rd December 2001

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
8	Blackburn Rovers 7-1 West Ham United	14th October 2001
8	Newcastle United 6-2 Everton	29th March 2002
8	Tottenham Hotspur 3-5 Manchester United	29th September 2001
8	West Ham United 3-5 Manchester United	16th March 2002
8	Charlton Athletic 4-4 West Ham United	19th November 2001
7	Manchester United 6-1 Southampton	22nd December 2001
7	Arsenal 4-3 Everton	11th May 2002
7	Liverpool FC 4-3 Blackburn Rovers	8th May 2002
7	Leeds United 3-4 Manchester United	30th March 2002
7	Newcastle United 4-3 Manchester United	15th September 2001
7	Leeds United 3-4 Newcastle United	22nd December 2001
7	Derby County 3-4 Everton	23rd March 2002
6	Ipswich Town 0-6 Liverpool FC	9th February 2002
6	Chelsea 5-1 West Ham United	20th January 2002
6	Chelsea 5-1 Bolton Wanderers	23rd December 2001
6	Middlesbrough 5-1 Derby County	3rd November 2001
6	Arsenal 2-4 Charlton Athletic	4th November 2001
6	Chelsea 2-4 Southampton	1st January 2002
6	Arsenal 3-3 Blackburn Rovers	20th October 2001
6	Southampton 3-3 Ipswich Town	24th October 2001

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Tommy Williamson	Leicester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur	17 years, 4 months, 17 days	11th May 2002
Tommy Wright	Leicester City 0-2 Leeds United	17 years, 5 months, 23 days	23rd March 2002
Robert Huth	Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa	17 years, 8 months, 23 days	11th May 2002
Stewart Downing	Ipswich Town 1-0 Middlesbrough	17 years, 9 months, 2 days	24th April 2002
Darren Bent	Ipswich Town 1-2 Bolton Wanderers	17 years, 9 months, 12 days	18th November 2001
David Murphy	Middlesbrough 2-1 Fulham	17 years, 11 months, 20 days	19th February 2002
Scott McDonald	Southampton 1-3 Aston Villa	18 years, 1 month, 3 days	24th September 2001
Darren Ambrose	Arsenal 2-0 Ipswich Town	18 years, 1 month, 23 days	21st April 2002
Gary Twigg	Sunderland 1-1 Derby County	18 years, 1 month, 22 days	11th May 2002
Carlton Cole	Chelsea 3-0 Everton	18 years, 5 months, 25 days	6th April 2002

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Raimond van der Gouw	Manchester United 0-0 Charlton Athletic	39 years, 1 month, 17 days	11th May 2002
Kevin Poole	Everton 3-1 Bolton Wanderers	38 years, 8 months, 11 days	1st April 2002
David Seaman	Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal	38 years, 7 months, 19 days	8th May 2002
Mark Hughes	Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Fulham	38 years, 6 months, 9 days	11th May 2002
Nigel Winterburn	West Ham United 2-1 Bolton Wanderers	38 years, 5 months	11th May 2002
Peter Schmeichel	Middlesbrough 2-1 Aston Villa	38 years, 4 months, 19 days	6th April 2002
Lee Dixon	Arsenal 4-3 Everton	38 years, 1 month, 24 days	11th May 2002
Gary McAllister	Liverpool FC 5-0 Ipswich Town	37 years, 4 months, 16 days	11th May 2002
Gudni Bergsson	West Ham United 2-1 Bolton Wanderers	36 years, 9 months, 20 days	11th May 2002
Denis Irwin	Manchester United 0-0 Charlton Athletic	36 years, 6 months, 10 days	11th May 2002

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Jerzy Dudek	Liverpool FC	18
1=	Nigel Martyn	Leeds United	18
3	Edwin van der Sar	Fulham	15
4	Carlo Cudicini	Chelsea	13
5	Dean Kiely	Charlton Athletic	12
6=	David Seaman	Arsenal	10
6=	Thomas Sorensen	Sunderland	10
8=	Fabien Barthez	Manchester United	9
8=	Shay Given	Newcastle United	9
8=	David James	West Ham United	9

Premier League Rewind: 19th-20th November 2005

Results: Wigan Athletic 2-3 Arsenal, Charlton Athletic 1-3 Manchester United, Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle United, Liverpool FC 3-0 Portsmouth, Manchester City 0-0 Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland 1-3 Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Everton, Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Ham United, Middlesbrough 3-2 Fulham, Birmingham City P-P Bolton Wanderers

After an international break, the Premier League resumed on the 19^th-20^th November 2005 with Chelsea threatening to run away with the title. However, Jose Mourinho’s side had been beaten for the first time in 40 top-flight matches last time out by Manchester United, so that gave some flickering hopes to the challengers.

If there was going to be any let-up from the reigning champions, they didn’t show it at home to Newcastle United. Second half goals from Joe Cole, Hernan Crespo and Damien Duff set the Blues’ up for an easy 3-0 victory over the Magpies.

Going into the weekend, newly-promoted Wigan Athletic were Chelsea’s nearest challengers. Paul Jewell’s side had strung together a stunning nine-game unbeaten sequence which included eight victories. However, they were about to face some of the Premier League’s big-hitters. First up was Arsenal who were struggling to sparkle away from Highbury. However, they prevailed in an entertaining Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Thierry Henry scored twice as the Gunners won this match 3-2 and Wigan would go onto lose their next four matches.

That result pushed Arsenal into the top four and they were joined there by Manchester United, who won 3-1 at Charlton Athletic. Ruud van Nistelrooy continued his excellent season so far, scoring twice. The win at The Valley came 24 hours after United had confirmed they had parted company with skipper Roy Keane, releasing him from his contract by mutual consent. Keane would sign for Celtic a month later.

Bolton Wanderers started the weekend in the top three but would drop down to fifth spot through no fault of their own. Their Monday Night Football trip to Birmingham City was postponed by referee Phil Dowd just an hour before kick-off. Although the pitch was playable at St Andrews, heavy fog had set in and visibility was considered to be too dangerous for the game to be played.

After a slow start to the season, Liverpool FC were beginning to find their form. They recorded a third successive victory with a 3-0 win at home to struggling Portsmouth. Peter Crouch’s goalscoring drought continued as he had a penalty saved but Bolo Zenden scored the rebound effort in his final Premier League match of the campaign before a knee injury curtailed his debut season at Anfield. It was also the final match in charge for Alain Perrin. He was sacked a few days later and became the first managerial casualty of the 2005-2006 season.

If things were going better for Liverpool, they didn’t improve for David Moyes at Everton. After last season’s fine fourth-place finish, they were finding the going much more difficult this time around. Everton lost 4-0 in the Saturday teatime kick-off to West Bromwich Albion which kept them in the bottom three on goal difference, along with Birmingham and Sunderland who lost again – 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.

What else happened in November 2005?

• The footballing world mourns the death of one of Britain’s finest players as George Best passes away in hospital, aged 59 after a long battle with illness.
• Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany.
• Former British World Rally champion Richard Burns dies at the age of 34 from a brain tumour. Burns had won the championship with Subaru just four years earlier.
• Digital channel ITV4 is launched.
• The Safeway supermarket brand disappears after 43 years on the high street as Morrisons completes its conversion programme. The two companies had merged in March 2004.
• New licensing laws come into effect which allows pubs and clubs in England and Wales to open 24 hours for the first time.

Memorable Matches: Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Manchester United (February 2006)

Goalscorers: David Bentley 35, 41, 56, Louis Saha 37, Lucas Neill 45 PEN, Ruud van Nistelrooy 63, 68

Teams:

Blackburn Rovers: Brad Friedel, Michael Gray, Andy Todd, Ryan Nelsen, Lucas Neill, Tugay (Brett Emerton 45), Robbie Savage (Aaron Mokoena 90), Steven Reid, Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Bentley (Jemal Johnson 90), Shefki Kuqi

Manchester United: Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra. Wes Brown (Mikael Silvestre 76), Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Darren Fletcher, Kieran Richardson (Ruud van Nistelrooy 54), Cristiano Ronaldo, Louis Saha, Wayne Rooney

Referee: Phil Dowd, Attendance: 25,484

Manchester United travelled to Ewood Park in early February 2006 still with hopes of catching Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table. Trouble was – the gap was a yawning 14 points between the two teams. By the end of the evening, those distant dreams had evaporated through a marvellous and unexpected hat-trick by David Bentley. Bentley had been on-loan to Blackburn Rovers for the first half of the 2005-2006 season and just 24 hours earlier, had made his move into a permanent transfer from Arsenal. The midfielder was above to prove to worth to manager Mark Hughes.

On a cold Lancastrian evening, the home crowd were about to be treated to wonderful entertainment which started with Bentley’s opener on 35 minutes. Blackburn won a free-kick which Morten Gamst Pedersen took. Pedersen was one of the best set-piece takers at the time in the Premier League and he forced a save from Edwin van der Sar. The goalkeeper couldn’t hold on and Bentley pounced on the rebound to put the home side infront.

It started a crazy period of four goals in 10 minutes and Blackburn’s first lead lasted just a couple of minutes. Louis Saha, preferred to Ruud van Nistelrooy in attack equalised after Wayne Rooney forced Brad Friedel into an excellent save. Like his counterpart Van der Sar, Friedel was unlucky. Saha simply reacted quicker than the defenders to strike an immediate reply.

If Van der Sar was unfortunate with the first goal, he had to take accountability for Bentley’s second. A complete breakdown in communication between the Dutchman and Rio Ferdinand saw the England defender flick the ball over his head. Bentley was left with an open goal to finish off this unexpected gift. United’s woeful defensive display continued before half-time. Wes Brown stopped Steven Reid’s cross with his hand and Phil Dowd gave a penalty to Blackburn, converted by Lucas Neill.

11 minutes into the second half, it was 4-1. Robbie Savage picked out Bentley who had time and space to pick out his shot and find the bottom corner. Bentley became the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Manchester United. The last had been Dennis Bailey for Queens Park Rangers in the old first division on New Years’ Day 1992.

Just before that goal, United had thrown Van Nistelrooy on and he scored his 20^th Premier League goal of the season shortly after his arrival. Andy Todd’s slip allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to pick out Van Nistelrooy who finished deftly from close range. Five minutes later, he was sent clear by Brown’s flick and drilled a shot past Friedel to make it 4-3. However, Blackburn held on to complete a league double over the Red Devils for the first time in the Premier League era.