5 classic Boxing Day Premier League fixtures of the decade

4. Manchester United 2-2 Burnley – 2017

Jesse Lingard rescued Manchester United against Burnley on Boxing Day in 2017

This was a case of another year, another Boxing Day comeback from Manchester United, this time during the ill-fated reign of Jose Mourinho. United were at the time chasing Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, but with their bitter rivals already 13 points ahead, this result left Mourinho angry despite it being an amazing recovery in the end.

The Red Devils capitulated after just 3 minutes when a free kick from Johann Berg Gudmundsson wasn’t cleared properly, allowing Ashley Barnes to bang the ball home during the ensuing goalmouth scramble. And things got even worse for Mourinho’s men when Burnley keeper Nick Pope made a string of key saves before Steven Defour doubled the Clarets’ lead with a beautifully taken free-kick from around 30 yards.

United came out swinging in the second half, and thoroughly dominated Sean Dyche’s men – registering around 75% of possession – but despite substitute Jesse Lingard bringing the Red Devils back into the game with a slick back-heeled finish on 51 minutes, Burnley held firm and you got the feeling that it just wasn’t Mourinho’s day.

The Portuguese boss’s blushes were spared however, as after a frantic moment of play in added time, the ball fell to Lingard – who rifled a right-footed shot into the back of the net, catching Pope entirely off-guard, robbing Burnley of what would’ve been their first victory at Old Trafford since 1962. It was an incredible ending to a truly dramatic Boxing Day clash.