Liverpool prepare to take on Aston Villa this Tuesday, and as we remember from last season, that result produced one of the biggest wins and shocks in Premier League history.
Champions of England at the time, Jurgen Klopp’s side lost 7-2 to Dean Smith’s side in one of the most surprising results in modern English football, with Manchester United also losing 6-1 to Tottenham on the same day. Talk about a Super Sunday.
With Liverpool travelling to Villa Park for the first time since that massacre, with club legend Steven Gerrard now on the touchline for the Birmingham-based club, HITC Sport takes a look back at seven of the biggest and most shocking Premier League scorelines in recent memory.
Portsmouth 7-4 Reading
If you were to guess which Premier League fixture had the most goals in a single match, not many would have guessed a tie between Portsmouth and Reading in late September of 2007. Yet incredibly, that just is the case.
After taking a 2-1 lead going into the second-half the game exploded into life, with Pompey icon Benjani Mwaruwari bagging a hat-trick for the hosts as Reading struggled to claim anything from this iconic fixture, with the 11 goals scored still remaining a Premier League record.
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan Athletic
You would have guessed that a club like Tottenham would be on its fair share of big losses in the Premier League era, yet take a deeper look, and you will find that the opposite is true for the north London, with their biggest win coming against Wigan Athletic in 2009.
One of only three clubs to score nine goals in a single Premier League match, Spurs took the Latics to the sword and then some at White Hart Lane, with Jermain Defoe scoring five second-half goals as Tottenham put eight past Wigan in one half.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
In terms of high-scoring Premier League fixtures, none are more famous and well-known than Manchester United’s 8-2 demolition job against Arsenal in the 2011/12 season, with Sir Alex Ferguson enjoying one of the best days of his managerial career.
A Wayne Rooney hat-trick followed by a brace from Ashley Young saw a United side inflict Arsenal with their worst loss since 1896, and forced Arsene Wenger to go on a last-dash transfer spree the next day, signing the likes of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, and Andre Santos.
Middlesbrough 8-1 Manchester City
It truly is staggering to see how far Manchester City have come since their dog days in the Premier League, and no result highlights that more than Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough side firing eight past the now English giants.
A hat-trick from Afonso Alves and masterclass display from Stewart Downing saw Boro claim one of their biggest top-flight wins ever, yet as we know, City would have the last laugh given their incredible rise to the top of the European game in the years to come.
Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle United
From one Arsenal car crash to arguably one of the most entertaining Premier League matches in recent memory, the Gunners’ festive fixture against Newcastle United in 2012 was certainly one to remember.
A stunning hat-trick from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud almost making the score higher than just the 7-3 on show at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s win against the Toon this night was one of their biggest in the Premier League, and most definitely one of their most fun.
Southampton 0-9 Leicester City
Southampton hold the unwanted record of being the only side in the Premier League to lose 9-0 twice, the first of which came against Leicester City on a rainy day down on the south coast which could go down as one of the worst home results in recent English football memory.
Hat-tricks from Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy, who went one better and scored four, doomed Southampton to one of the worst results in their history, with the Saints incredibly repeating the score next season on their trip to Old Trafford against United.
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool
And at last, we return to the fixture that inspired this feature in the first place, with Villa’s 7-2 win against the champions Liverpool arguably one of the shock results in the Premier League since its inception in 1991.
A hat-trick from Ollie Watkins and midfield masterclasses from Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley saw Villa doom Liverpool to one of their worst ever Premier League losses. And this week, the Reds will be looking for revenge against Gerrard’s side.
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