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One in 10,000: The seven scorelines that have occurred just once in Premier League history

10387. That’s how many games that have been played in the Premier League since its inception in 1992.

Among the countless 0-0s and 1-0s, there have been seven games with scorelines that have never been repeated since.

Of these seven, five featured 10 goals, and one each contained nine and 11. There remains only one possible scoreline containing exactly 10 goals that has not yet occurred, 10-0.

Below, we remember each of these seven games. Unsurprisingly, they all contain a fair few goals and they remain among the most memorable matches of recent years. In every one of these, a player scored a hat-trick. Do you remember them all?

Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town (March 1995)

To this day this mauling remains the biggest margin of victory in Premier League history. This game broke and still holds several records.

Roy Keane opened the scoring on 16 minutes, before Andy Cole got in on the act, bagging a brace as United led 3-0 at half time.

Just 15 minutes after the restart Cole had completed his hat-trick and Mark Hughes had notched himself a brace. With 15 minutes to play the score was 8-0 after Cole and Paul Ince piled further misery on the Tractor Boys.

A barren 16 minutes without a goal was then ended as Andy Cole became the first player to score 5 goals in a single Premier League match. He remains one of only five players to achieve the feat, alongside Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe, Dimitar Berbatov and Sergio Aguero.



Bafflingly, the reverse fixture had finished 3-2 to Ipswich just a few months prior. United went on to finish second that season, missing out on the title to Blackburn Rovers. Ipswich finished bottom.

Spurs 6-4 Reading (December 2007)

Reading were a surprise package in their debut Premier League campaign in 2006/07, finishing eighth. Their second proved to be a remarkable, but less successful effort.

The Royals travelled to Spurs in December 2007 and played out the Premier League’s first 10 goal game. Unfortunately for Reading, they were on the wrong side of the eventual scoreline.

At half time the score was just 1-1 Kalifa Cisse cancelling out Dimitar Berbatov’s opener. Reading led 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 in the second half before eventually succumbing to Spurs attacking power.

Reading’s second-half goals came from Ivar Ingimarsson and Dave Kitson x2, while Steed Malbranque and Jermain Defoe added to Berbatov’s eventual four-goal haul for Spurs.

The result began an eight-game losing streak for the Royals which they never recovered from. They suffered relegation on the final day of the season.



Spurs 9-1 Wigan Athletic (November 2009)

Two years after playing in the Premier League’s first 10 goal game, Spurs played out the second in equally as remarkable fashion.

It also became only the second time a team had scored nine in a single game, while its tally of eight second-half goals has never been bettered.

Peter Crouch‘s opener was the only goal of the first period, before Jermain Defoe bagged five and Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar also bagged. Paul Scharner grabbed Wigan’s consolation to at one point reduce the arrears to 3-1.

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal (August 2011)

Look away Arsenal fans, the game most of you would like to erase from history is next on this list.

With fan morale at a low point going into the game after the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and perceived poor reinvestment, this game could not have come at a worse point.

Danny Welbeck put United 1-0 up midway through the first half, before Arsenal were awarded a penalty moments later.

That was the beginning of Arsenal’s troubles, as David De Gea palmed away Robin Van Persie‘s effort before United went up the other end and made it 2-0 within a minute.

The Gunners did manage to get on the scoresheet in the first half through Theo Walcott, but by that time Wayne Rooney had notched his first of the afternoon.

Van Persie made amends for his earlier penalty miss with a second-half goal, but it barely represented consolation as Nani, Park Ji Sung and Rooney had extended United’s lead already.



Rooney completed his hat-trick late on and Ashley Young made it eight, while Carl Jenkinson compounded his side’s misery with a 77th-minute red card.

The game proved to be an eyeopener for the Gunners hierarchy, who signed four first-team players as the transfer window shut three days later. Arsenal eventually finished third, one place but 19 points behind United.

Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle United (December 2012)

You can look back now Arsenal fans. Weeks after beating Reading 7-5 AET in the League Cup, Gunners fans were treated to another goal fest, the only 7-3 in the Premier League.

Perhaps the most forgettable game on this list, the game was much tighter than the scoreline suggests. At half-time, Theo Walcott’s goal was cancelled out by Demba Ba as the score was 1-1.

Newcastle drew level a further two times in the second half before Walcott’s second put Arsenal ahead for a fourth time.

Despite a tense end to the game, the Gunners scored three late goals through Olivier Giroud (x2) and Theo Walcott’s memorable solo effort to seal his hat-trick.

Arsenal’s other goals were scored by Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski, while Sylvain Marveaux and Ba again added the Magpies’ second-half efforts.



West Bromwich Albion 5-5 Manchester United (May 2013)

United’s third appearance on this list is memorable for many reasons. As well as the outrageous scoreline, this was Sir Alex Ferguson‘s final game in charge of the club after 27 years.

Having wrapped up the title with four games to spare, this game was meant to be a procession. In the end, West Brom almost stole the show.

Everything went to plan in the first half, goals from Shinji Kagawa and Alex Buttner and an own goal from Jonas Olsson put the Red Devils 3-0 up after half an hour, before James Morrison reduced the arrears in the 40th minute.

Romelu Lukaku pulled another one back after half time before Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez seemingly put the game out of reach at 5-2.

It was not to be however, and two goals in a minute from Lukaku and Youssouf Mulumbu put the Baggies in touching distance with 10 minutes to play.

Five minutes later, Lukaku sealed his hat-trick. Alex Ferguson’s final game in football management was the only one to finish 5-5. It remains the only occasion a team has scored five and failed to win in the Premier League era.

Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (September 2007)

Last but not least, this famous encounter is the only game in the 27 years of the Premier League to have featured 11 goals.

Those 11 goals came via nine different scorers, also a joint record. Only Portsmouth’s Benjani scored more than once, bagging a hat-trick.

This was a rollercoaster of a game. Benjani put Pompey 2-0 up in the first half before Stephen Hunt reduced the arrears.

Dave Kitson equalised just after half time, but Hermann Hreidarsson restored Portsmouth’s advantage. Having been at fault for Kitson’s equaliser, David James then redeemed himself when he saved Nicky Shorey’s penalty.

Benjani then completed his hat-trick, before further goals were traded through Niko Kranjcar, Shane Long, Sulley Muntari and an own goal each by Ivar Ingimarsson and Sol Campbell.

Sam Hanys

A miserable Ipswich Town fan.

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