Ranking of top scorers in the English Premier League

Boxing Day football in England is a tradition dating back over 160 years when Sheffield FC and Hallam FC faced each other on 26 December 1860.

Sheffield, founded in 1857 and known as the world's oldest football club, won the match 2-0.

Boxing Day matches did not become a regular feature of the football calendar until after World War I, and have since become one of the most eagerly awaited highlights of the English football season.

Every year, fans across the country flock to stadiums or gather around their screens to enjoy festive matches, with matches often providing dramatic moments, memorable performances and plenty of goals.

Ahead of this year's big event, we took a look at the top 10 Boxing Day scorers in their history. Premier League date.

Related to

Every club tops the Premier League on Christmas in history

Football FanCast analyzes every club that has topped the Christmas charts in Premier League history.

10

Frank Lampard

5 goals

Frank Lampard enjoyed a three-day scoring streak in successive Boxing Day between 1999 and 2001 – twice. West Ham United And once for Chelsea.

Two more of his goals were scored on Boxing Day for the Blues – in 2005 in a 3-2 win over neighbors Fulham and in 2008 in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

9

Steven Gerrard

5 goals

Despite Steven Gerrard's height Liverpool In his career, he did not score on Boxing Day until 2004, when he scored in the Reds' 5-0 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns.

He scored five goals in total, with his last goal coming on Boxing Day in 2012 when Brendan Rodgers' side were beaten by Stoke City.

Possibly Gerrard's best Boxing Day goal came in 2005 when Liverpool won Newcastle United 2-0 at Anfield. the previous England The international latched on to a pass from Peter Crouch, took one touch inside the box and slotted the ball into the top corner.

8

Andrew Cole

5 goals

Andrew Cole scored for three different clubs on Boxing Day, with his first three goals arriving Manchester United In the 1990s. He also scored for Blackburn Rovers and rival United City before retiring from playing.

Cole's goal on Boxing Day Blackburn Rovers Against Liverpool in 2002 is one of the best Boxing Day goals in the history of the English Premier League.

The Reds were 1-0 up late in the second half when Cole chested down Stefan Heinchoz's ball before curling home a stunning shot from 30 yards.

7

Dimitar Berbatov

5 goals

Three of Dimitar Berbatov's five goals on Boxing Day all came on one day when the Bulgarian striker scored a hat-trick in Manchester United's 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic in 2011.

Park Ji-sung opened the scoring inside eight minutes, with Berbatov scoring twice before half-time to make it 3-0. Antonio Valencia completed the scoring in the second half.

Berbatov had also scored a year ago against Sunderland, while he also scored in 2012 in a 1-1 draw with Southampton while playing for Fulham.

6

Jermain Defoe

6 goals

Jermain Defoe's tally of 162 Premier League goals ranks 10th in the competition's history.

Six of those strikes came across 10 matches on Boxing Day – one for West Ham and five Tottenham Hotspurincluding twice against Aston Villa in a 2-1 win in 2006.

Defoe also made two appearances on Boxing Day against Fulham and Villa again, but was unable to add to his tally after 2012.

5

Thierry Henry

7 goals

Like Berbatov, three of Thierry Henry's seven goals on Boxing Day came in one day.

Arsenal Leicester City won 6-1 in 2000, with Henry scoring a brilliant hat-trick. The Frenchman also provided two assists on the day, setting up Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams. It was Henry's first hat-trick of eight with Arsenal.

He also beat Leicester City, Wolves and Fulham during his time in the N5, with the Gunners winning every time the King scored on Boxing Day.

4

Alan Shearer

8 goals

Given that Alan Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top scorer with 260 goals, it's no surprise that he's also one of the top scorers on Boxing Day.

He scored twice in 1992 against Leeds and scored in successive Boxing Day victories over Manchester City In 1994 and 1995. He continued his post-Christmas exploits with Newcastle, scoring four more goals.

“For me as a player, I loved playing during the Christmas period,” Shearer said. This was stated by the official website of the English Premier League in 2018.

Regarding playing on Boxing Day specifically, he said: “When you drive your car to the ground, whether it was in your own car or on the team bus, it seemed more like a festive atmosphere. Everyone seemed ready for it. There the atmosphere was a little different. “There was great excitement and I enjoyed everything.”

3

Robbie Kane

8 goals

Robbie Keane scored the same number of goals as Shearer on Boxing Day, but in two fewer matches.

The most memorable of those moments came against Arsenal in 1999, when the young Irishman scored the decisive goal in a memorable 3-2 win for Coventry City.

While playing for Tottenham in 2007, he also scored twice in a 5-1 win over Fulham, his second goal being the 100th of his Premier League career.

2

Robbie Fowler

9 goals

Robbie Fowler held the Boxing Day record for the most goals until Harry Kane came along, scoring nine goals during his playing days with Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester City.

Interestingly, Robbie Fowler scored goals for and against Leeds on Boxing Day. In 1997, he scored both goals for Liverpool in a 2-0 win at Anfield.

Four years later, this time wearing white, he scored a hat-trick on Boxing Day as Leeds beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Elland Road, shortly after his controversial transfer.

1

Harry Kane

10 goals

Harry Kane is the Premier League's all-time top scorer with 10 goals.

The former Tottenham Hotspur striker surpassed Fowler's record previously held in 2022 with a goal in the 2-2 draw against Brentford.

Kane's goals came in consecutive singles matches on Boxing Day, his seven matches being the longest in Premier League history.