Has there ever been an English Premier League game played on Christmas Eve?
Football in England doesn’t stop over the festive period, but has a match ever been played just before Christmas Day?
Finished with the World Cup? Good, here’s the Premier League plus innumerable cup competitions, and that’s just in England! At least we get some time off for Christmas, right? The Premier League stopped on 13 November - just 6 weeks ago - with Manchester United beating Fulham thanks to a late goal from Alejandro Garnacho, and returns on 26 December.
The day after Christmas Day is a hugely traditional fixture on the calendar, with Christmas Day training session also a common occurrence in the players’ calendars, but for some reason, Christmas Eve is seen as a day off for football. Except once.
The only Premier League game to be played on 24 December was in 1995 at Elland Road, the home of Leeds United, against rivals Manchester United. Led by Alex Ferguson, the Reds had come second the title race in the previous year and a winless run for the Manchester club also meant Newcastle were able to make the gap to second a little bigger in the current season. Leeds, for their part, were not having the best of campaigns, not winning since late November.
But it was the home side who took the initiative in the game. In front of almost 40,000 fans, Gary McAllister put Leeds ahead with an early penalty. Andy Cole got an equaliser for half-time in a rare attack for Manchester United, who were being rattled by Howard Wilkinson’s team and the atmosphere at the ground.
Leeds bounced back in relentless fashion, with cult-hero and force of nature Tony Yeboah carefully lifting the ball up and over the oncoming Peter Schmiechel before the two teams went in at half-time.
After the break, it was Leeds again who capitalised on the fierce nature of the game. Thomas Brolin played striker Brian Deane through and he headed the ball past the Manchester United goalkeeper to make it 3-1 to the Whites.
The home team held onto the lead and took the three points, sending Manchester United’s players and fans home with no Christmas cheer that year. Manchester United would be laughing at the end of the season, however, as Alex Ferguson’s side toppled Newcastle’s early lead in the title race became the first team to win the league and cup double twice.
