Joy, pain and greatness
It's 30 years today since Liverpool 4 Newcastle United 3
It’s hard to know what feels crazier: the fact that 30 years have flown past since Liverpool 4 Newcastle United 3 on April 3, 1996, or the mad game itself, topsy-turvy fare, relentless entertainment and climaxing with Stan Collymore’s injury-time winner and Kevin Keegan slumped over the Anfield hoardings.
Narrowing the focus solely to Premier League games, the elite division of English football has celebrated many epics since 1992/93. Everyone will have their favourites: whether Sergio Aguero deciding the title; Manchester United recovering from 3-0 down to win 5-3 at Spurs; Michael Owen settling the Manchester Derby in the sixth minute of stoppage time; Leicester City triumphing at nearest rivals Manchester City en route to the fairy-tale title; Cole Palmer’s two injury-time goals to give Chelsea a 4-3 win over United. Throw in the efforts of Mourinho’s Chelsea sides, Wenger’s Invincibles, Ferguson’s indomitables and the Kloppites and there is such a choice.
But for sheer drama and significance, a game that you could watch for 90 absorbing minutes, starting with Robbie Fowler’s early opener and climaxing with Collymore’s late winner, Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 has to be the greatest Premier League game. It even has its own Wikipedia page running to 2,567 words. It’s worth a trip down memory lane 30 years on.