12 Goals of Christmas – Most iconic festive Premier League goals
There’s a particular kind of magic to the Premier League over Christmas and New Year. Heavy legs, loud scarves, weird bounces, and goals that feel like they were scored by someone who has just remembered football is meant to be fun. The fixtures come thick and fast, the box is always crowded, and the weather always has a say. It is the perfect laboratory for iconic finishes.
So here are the 12 Goals of Christmas. This is not a definitive “best-ever” list, but a curated tour of festive-period Premier League strikes that live permanently in the collective memory. Some are thunderbolts. Some are about technique. Others are the kind of goal that makes you pause mid-leftovers and just laugh at how ridiculous this league can be.
Premier League football at Christmas, nothing better
Tony Yeboah turns Boxing Day into folklore (Leeds vs Liverpool, 23 December 1995)
If festive Premier League goals had a founding document, this would be page one. Yeboah’s strike against Liverpool is still the reference point for the phrase “absolute screamer”. The ball sits up, Yeboah barely adjusts, and then he unloads. It is hit with such purity that it feels like the net is the only thing capable of stopping it.
Gary McAllister fires the starter’s pistol (Coventry vs Arsenal, 26 December 1999)
Boxing Day football is meant to ease you back in gently. McAllister had other ideas. From range, he strikes a goal that immediately alters the mood inside Highfield Road. Arsenal, one of the league’s benchmark sides at the time, suddenly look rattled, and Coventry smell blood.
Jamal Musiala celebrates Christmas in the style of Kevin from the movie Home Alone 2 🍕🎄 pic.twitter.com/Gs6ORc2jlw
— 365Scores (@365Scores) December 30, 2024
Robbie Keane adds the festive flourish (Coventry vs Arsenal, 26 December 1999)
Same match, different energy. Where McAllister’s goal is about authority, Keane’s is about imagination. His late winner completes a 3-2 victory that still feels slightly unreal, even now.
Keane’s finish has that impish quality that would define his Premier League career. He spots the opportunity before anyone else, commits fully to the idea, and executes it without hesitation.
Thierry Henry announces Boxing Day dominance (Arsenal vs Leicester, 26 December 2000)
Some festive games are about endurance. This one is about Arsenal switching on the turbo. Henry’s first Premier League hat-trick comes in a 6-1 demolition of Leicester, and it feels like a star stepping into the role everyone suspected was waiting for him.
Henry’s goals are varied but united by clarity. No panic, no excess touches, just an understanding of space and timing that makes the whole thing look effortless. Boxing Day has produced plenty of goalfests, but few have felt as controlled as this.
Wayne Rooney reminds everyone what instinct looks like (Hull vs Manchester United, 26 December 2013)
Festive fixtures are fertile ground for instinctive finishes, and Rooney’s volley at Hull is a perfect example. The ball drops awkwardly, defenders are scrambling, and Rooney does not wait for permission. He hits it cleanly, low, and true.
It is an equaliser in a comeback win, but it feels bigger than that. There is something reassuringly old-school about it: see ball, hit ball, celebrate. On Boxing Day, when rhythm is hard to find, that simplicity can be devastating.
Vincent Kompany leads from the front in a title-defining moment (Manchester City vs Liverpool, 26 December 2013)
Not every iconic festive goal curls into the top corner. Some arrive via sheer force of will. Kompany’s goal against Liverpool is a captain’s intervention in the clearest sense. He attacks the situation, wins his duel, and finishes with conviction.
The context matters. This is a match between two title contenders, and the goal shifts the atmosphere inside the stadium. City go on to win, and the sense that this fixture mattered beyond Boxing Day is impossible to ignore.
Time to settle it: Which Christmas dinner table are you claiming from here? 🎄🍽️
— 365Scores (@365Scores) December 25, 2024
Choose wisely—because not all tables serve the same vibes. 👀👇 pic.twitter.com/ZZJaTotRer
Harry Kane rings in the New Year with authority (Tottenham vs Chelsea, 1 January 2015)
New Year’s Day football often carries a strange, slightly sluggish energy. Kane’s opening goal against Chelsea slices straight through it. From distance, he drives the ball low and hard, the sort of strike that barely gives the goalkeeper time to react.
In a wild 5-3 win, the goal stands out because it feels like a statement. Kane is not just scoring tap-ins anymore. He is deciding games against elite opponents, and doing it with confidence that borders on inevitability.
Theo Walcott completes a festive classic in stoppage time (Arsenal vs Newcastle, 29 December 2012)
A 7-3 scoreline already qualifies as festive nonsense. Walcott still finds room to add a signature moment. His late goal completes a hat-trick and lands as the calmest finish in a match defined by chaos.
The run is direct, the finish composed, and the timing immaculate. It is the kind of goal that sends people reaching for the remote just to check the scoreline again. December football does not always make sense, and this match never tried to.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan bends reality on Boxing Day (Manchester United vs Sunderland, 26 December 2016)
Every now and then, the Premier League produces a goal that feels like it should not exist. Mkhitaryan’s scorpion kick is one of those moments. The movement, the contact, and the outcome all seem slightly disconnected from normal physics.
What elevates it further is the setting. Boxing Day, Old Trafford, full house, and suddenly everyone is laughing in disbelief. It is a goal that bypasses analysis and goes straight to the highlight reels, where it will live forever.
Olivier Giroud makes it even sillier a week later (Arsenal vs Crystal Palace, 1 January 2017)
Just when it seemed the festive period had exhausted its supply of absurdity, Giroud produced another scorpion kick. His New Year’s Day effort is elegant, audacious, and completely unapologetic.
The finish drops in off the bar, and the collective reaction is instant. Two scorpion kicks in the space of a week feels like a glitch in the system, but that is exactly what makes this one so memorable. The Premier League rarely does moderation at Christmas.
Steven Defour plays the Boxing Day villain (Manchester United vs Burnley, 26 December 2017)
Boxing Day at Old Trafford is meant to be comfortable. Defour’s free-kick ensures it is anything but. He strikes the ball with precision and confidence, sending it past the goalkeeper and into a stunned silence.
Burnley’s early lead turns the match into a tense, unexpected battle, and Defour’s goal sits at the heart of it. Festive football always leaves room for the uninvited guest, and this was a perfect example.
Trent Alexander-Arnold seals a statement performance (Leicester vs Liverpool, 26 December 2019)
By the end of the decade, Liverpool had turned Boxing Day into a stage for authority. Alexander-Arnold’s goal against Leicester is the clearest expression of that dominance. First time, low, and struck with complete assurance.
It is not a moment of chaos or surprise. It is a moment of control. Against the side chasing them in the table, Liverpool deliver a reminder of who is in charge, and Alexander-Arnold’s finish provides the punctuation mark.
FAQs
What counts as a festive Premier League goal?
Goals scored during the traditional Christmas and New Year fixture period, including Boxing Day and New Year’s Day matches.
Are these the 12 best festive goals ever?
No. They are 12 of the most iconic and memorable, chosen for their impact, context, and staying power.
Why include multiple goals from the same match or period?
Because some festive fixtures are simply too influential, or too entertaining, to ignore.
Is Boxing Day really that important in Premier League history?
Yes. The volume, intensity, and tradition of fixtures often make it a defining moment in seasons and careers.
Will there be more iconic festive goals in the future?
Almost certainly. The schedule, the conditions, and the chaos ensure December always has something special waiting.
By Nicky Helfgott – NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter)
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