The Premier League has thrown up innumerable classics and a number of wonderfully constructed goals by some of the best players ever to step on a football pitch. The class and quality of the Premier League has always been known to football fans, and it will endure the test of time as well.
What makes the Premier League even more memorable than other leagues is the sheer volume of incredible, crunch-time goals that changed the course of football history in some cases. A single goal has sometimes defined a number of players’ careers, as well as that of entire clubs.
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In this article, we take a look at 10 of the most important goals in Premier League history. These are goals which either affected the title race at the top or consigned teams to an ignominious fate in relegation battles.
10) Eidur Gudjohnsen goal for Chelsea vs Manchester United, ‘04-05 Season
In the Special One’s very first game in charge of Chelsea, he faced the unpleasant task of having to beat Manchester United. Gudjohnsen’s early goal in this game set the tone for an exciting, end-to-end game in which Chelsea eventually prevailed over an injury-depleted United.
Quinton Fortune, one of those drafted in as an injury replacement, was beaten to a clearance by Geremi. Geremi then played a crossfield ball, knocked into Gudjohnsen's path by Didier Drogba. The Icelandic striker evaded a desperately feeble challenge from United goalkeeper Howard to guide the ball into goal.
This victory gave Mourinho a successful trial by fire, which allowed him to lead Chelsea to wins in almost all important games through the course of the season, setting the Premier League record for points scored in a single campaign (95).
9) Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink for Leeds United vs Arsenal, ‘98-99 Season
This game ranks among the very top classics of the Premier League era, and has a mouthwatering background to it, as Arsenal were leading the Premier League standings coming into this game. Manchester United had rallied to mount a steep challenge and were closing in on the Gunners. They needed the win to keep their lead.
The game was end-to-end, as chances fell to both sides. Both goalkeepers had several key moments. Ian Harte struck the crossbar off a penalty earned by Alan Smith, and David Seaman made a superb stop on the line to deny Hasselbaink off the rebound. Jonathan Woodgate made a goalline clearance for Leeds from a shot by Diawara.
Diawara had another miss, a header off a corner that shaved the crossbar on its way out. Harry Kewell set up a sweet cross in the closing moments, which was finished off sumptuously by a diving header from Hasselbaink. Leeds held on to close the game out and send Arsenal down the standings, allowing United to complete the first treble in English football history.
8) Andy Cole for Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspurs, ‘98-99 Season
One of the other interesting last-day finishes to the Premier League season came in 1999, when Manchester United and Arsenal were separated by a margin of a sole point. Arsenal were to play Aston Villa at home, while United played host to the Gunners’ north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Against the run of play, Spurs scored the opener after 24 minutes via Les Ferdinand, spurring United into action. David Beckham scored their first goal late in the first half after an elaborate move involving Scholes and Giggs.
The stage was set in the second half for someone to take charge of the situation, and Andy Cole, subbed on for Teddy Sheringham, duly did the honours.
7) Sylvain Wiltord for Arsenal vs Manchester United, ‘01-02 Season
The 2001-02 season was right at the peak of the Arsenal-Manchester United rivalry which defined the Premier League era of the late 90s and early noughties. In one of the hottest pursuits for the Premier League title, United were slated to host Arsenal and were required to beat their opponents to keep their title hopes mathematically alive in the teams’ penultimate games of the season.
Arsenal were playing without Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams, all three of whom were nursing injuries, while United had to leave out Nicky Butt for the same reason. The game was a feisty physical battle, with a number of unpleasant and unnecessary tackles being exchanged. United were being outplayed on their home ground, though, because of the lack of van Nistelrooy’s cutting edge (the Dutchman had been left on the bench).
Relatively early in the second half, Arsenal broke forward with pace after dispossessing Mikael Silvestre near the half way line. Wiltord played through Ljungberg through, who uncorked a venomous shot that Barthez could only parry into the path of the advancing Wiltord, who turned the ball into an empty net. Following this goal, Arsenal promptly shut up shop for good, as the rest of the match passed uneventfully at either goalmouth. Arsenal were thus able to celebrate a league title win at the den of their bitterest opponents.
Arsenal’s Premier League campaign was the first in many years in which the champions scored in every game of the season. They also held the distinction of being undefeated in all away games.
6) Gareth Barry for Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, ‘98-99 Season
In his first professional season for Aston Villa, Gareth Barry secured the distinction of sending Nottingham Forest into Division 2 by scoring the killer goal in a 2-0 win for the Villans. To top it off, it was also Barry’s very first goal in senior professional football which did the job.
Nottingham Forest were already having a troubled time in their newest spell back into the Premier League, after being relegated in 1994 for the first time in 16 seasons. In their second comeback to the Premier League, they had a barren run of results during which they failed to win a single Premier League game in 19 tries, after kicking off the season relatively fast.
By the time this game was played, Forest were hanging on for dear life to survive in the Premier League, and they needed to win this game dearly. However, they missed a sitter in the first half, before Mark Draper scored a header from an indirect free kick. While they showed some signs of a comeback in the second period, Barry’s goal finished them off for good, and they never looked likely to score after that.
Nottingham Forest never returned to the Premier League after that and have since then endured a spell of being under administration for bankruptcy.
5) Michael Hughes for West Ham vs Manchester United, ‘94-95 Season
Heading into the final day of the 1994-95 Premier League season, Blackburn Rovers led United by 2 points. They were to travel to Liverpool for their last game, while United were to play at Upton Park against the Hammers. Rovers’ 2-1 defeat to Liverpool meant that United had the opportunity to win the league by beating West Ham.
They were in for a shock, however, as Michael Hughes volleyed in a shot from close range to give West Ham an early lead. United clawed their way back into the game and dominated proceedings for the most part. They could, however, not find a way past Ludo Miklosko, custodian for the Hammers. Though Brian McClair found a way past him once, early in the second half, the Russian keeper played like a man possessed, and refused to give in to sustained pressure from United.
While his heroics kept the scoreline intact for West Ham at 1-1, the early goal was what set the tone for a Premier League classic, and deservedly, Michael Hughes has a place in Premier League history.
4) Mark Viduka for Leeds United vs Arsenal, ‘02-03 Season
Arsenal, who had led the Premier League standings for most of the season, had let an 8-point lead over Manchester United slip away in dramatic fashion, and they found themselves in the unenviable position of not having their fate in their own hands during the close-season.
They were slated to meet Leeds United at home. Leeds were struggling that season themselves, in a rather gloomy glimpse of their next season in which they were relegated. Leeds needed a win at Arsenal to confirm their Premier League status, and they set out to do that in typical Yorkshire fashion as they scored one in the 5th minute through Harry Kewell.
Thierry Henry levelled for the Gunners at 30 minutes, but Leeds scored another early in the second half via an Ian Harte free kick. Bergkamp provided Arsenal with another leveller, and the tension in the match kept mounting. Mark Viduka popped up at a crucial moment to curl an unerring shot past David Seaman in goal, with a goal that worthy in quality for its importance.
The loss consigned Arsenal to second place on the Premier League table that season.
3) Didier Drogba for Chelsea vs Manchester United, ‘09-10 Season
Manchester United approached their away fixture against Chelsea with some trepidation, despite leading the Premier League table by 2 points. This was because of 2 reasons: (a) Didier Drogba’s hot run of goalscoring form; (b) Wayne Rooney’s freak injury in a Champions League game 3 days before this match, which put him on crutches. Oddly enough, though, Ancelotti opted to keep his in-form striker on the bench.
Chelsea took a deserved lead in the first half after Florent Malouda’s cross was sweetly turned in by Joe Cole. After the hour-mark, with the tide of the game turning, Drogba was brought on by Ancelotti for Anelka. Fresh legs and Drogba’s capacity to create chances with good hold up play gave Chelsea the initiative once again, and they created a chance for Drogba in the 79th minute.
While Drogba was clearly offside in the move that led to his finish, his presence and the eventual result of the missed call by the referee was United’s loss. The match ended with United pulling a goal back to make the scoreline a little less embarrassing, but their inevitable loss of the Premier League lead was a heavy price to pay from the fixture, as it handed Chelsea the edge in the closing stages of the season.
This season was one of Sir Alex’s most heartbreaking ones, and he made sure United reached the league title home and dry with 2 games to spare in the following season.
2) Demba Ba for Chelsea vs Liverpool, ‘13-14 Season
Liverpool headed into the home stretch of their Premier League campaign in pole position to take the trophy. They had one tough fixture left: a game at home to Chelsea, who were mathematically still in the title race, but did not have much of a chance to win.
Jose Mourinho, however, fielded an extremely defensive starting XI that wam,as focussed mainly on dealing with Liverpool’s freely-flowing attack spearheaded by the SAS duo. Liverpool dominated all of the possession and Chelsea could not muster any significant goalmouth activity on Mignolet’s end.
Until Steven Gerrard slipped while receiving a pass from his centre back. He could not recover before Demba Ba dispossessed him and raced past the defence line to finish beyond an advancing Mignolet in goal. This goal piled humongous pressure on Liverpool, and they succumbed in second-half extra time to another counterattack, lost the game 2-0 and blew their best chance for a Premier League title in decades.
1) Sergio Aguero for Manchester City vs Queens Park Rangers, ‘11-12 Season
Sergio Aguero was Manchester City’s top scorer in the 2011-12 season, and it is fitting that he scored the goal that won them the Premier League title. Following Edin Dzeko’s goal in extra time, Manchester City began pressing for the winner in the precious final seconds of the game.
QPR needed a draw to secure their Premier League future, and they set up for the game in ultra-defensive mode. Patrolling their half with discipline, they managed to keep the game scoreless till late in the first half, when Toure provided City with a breakthrough, setting up Zabaleta for the opener.
QPR responded with commendable gusto and scored 2 of their own in the second half. Djibril Cisse scored the first by capitalising on an error by Lescott before Joey Barton got himself sent off in typical Barton fashion. However, the game turned on its head soon after, as Jamie Mackie placed a header past Joe Hart and gave QPR the lead.
They then held out with 10 men till stoppage time, while City brought on Dzeko and Balotelli and threw in the kitchen sink. They received their rewards early in stoppage time when Dzeko rose highest headed in the equaliser from a corner taken by David Silva.
Aguero initially held the ball with him, ventured into the final third and played it at the feet of Mario Balotelli. The Italian managed to keep hold of the ball, and despite losing his balance, played an acceptable ball into Aguero’s path. Aguero took it forward with a touch and drove the ball into the far corner.
The commentators’ shouts of ‘Agueroooooooooo!’ are probably the most recognisable commentary clips in the Premier League era, and Aguero has been a cult figure in Manchester since that day.
