10= Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (1999)
Manchester United appears more than once in this list, and it’s perhaps no surprise given their dominance for much of the Premier League era. Alex Ferguson’s second famous United team, the treble winners, recorded plenty of notable, late victories that season.
United was 2-1 up at halftime at Nottingham Forest, as part of a run that saw them go undefeated in the second half of the season. With 10 minutes to go, they were 4-1 up and cruising, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was introduced in the 72nd minute and had his own scoring tally to worry about. Four goals from the Norwegian in 10 minutes left Forest crushed, and they would go on to be relegated. Forest manager Ron Atkinson later credited United’s victory to “Eight lucky breaks.”
10= Middlesbrough 8-1 Manchester City (2008)
In the summer of 2008, Sven-Goran Eriksson and his Manchester City captain were relaxing by the pool in Thailand as part of a postseason promotional jolly for owner Thaksin Shinawatra. The Swede ambled over to his sunbathing German skipper and handed him a glass of champagne.
“But what are we celebrating, boss?”
“Life, Kaiser, we’re celebrating life.”
*Adopts smirk* Well, there wasn’t too much to be celebrating on the last day of the season. A demob happy City turned up at the Riverside to play Middlesbrough for their final game of the campaign. They had been third earlier in the season, but after this game, they ended in ninth after being demolished.
Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough side put eight past City, who deigned to score a consolation goal.
5= Chelsea 8-0 Wigan (2010)
Carlo Ancelotti opened his autobiography with a loving description of potentially eating part of one of his players. It was perhaps not anything to do with the game against Wigan, but it’s the best thing he’s done, so it will be included here.
Ancelotti enjoyed two seasons in Chelsea, the second being when he was hooked for failing to win the league after his first-season success.
That came when a hat-trick from Didier Drogba, two from Nicolas Anelka, and one apiece from Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, and Salomon Kalou ensured they finished top of the league and helped the club finish with 103 goals for the season.
5= Manchester City 8-0 Watford (2019)
Manchester City celebrated life a little more impressively under Pep Guardiola, and in 2019 they demolished Watford 8-0.
Scoring eight goals is impressive enough, but managing to get Nicolas Otamendi on the scoresheet as part of the haul is even more impressive. And keeping a clean sheet while he’s on the pitch, doubly so.
5= Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa (2012)
Aston Villa fans remember Paul Lambert’s time at the club as one that produced thrilling, enjoyable football with a joie de vivre that was enthusiastically matched from the sidelines.
That was upset when Chelsea, back again on this list, invited Villa to Stamford Bridge in 2012 and unloaded eight goals, as Rafa Benitez oversaw his biggest Premier League win. That season he took his Chelsea side to the Europa League, gaining them Champions League football in the process. Of course, Chelsea fans remember Benitez’s time at the club as one that produced thrilling, enjoyable football with a joie de vivre that was enthusiastically matched from the sidelines.
5= Newcastle 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday (1999)
Ruud Gullit committed the cardinal sin of being unimpressed by Alan Shearer's contributions on the pitch, and after leaving him on the bench, the writing was on the wall. The club's fans were, in the words of Richie Aprile, in no mood.
Neither were the club's owners, and they promptly binned the Dutchman to replace him with Bobby Robson. Shearer, back in favour under Robson as he enjoyed another lease of life despite a mounting list of knee problems, hit five goals as Newcastle enjoyed their best spell under a manager since Kevin Keegan.
4 Tottenham 9-1 Wigan (2009)
Perennial never-winners Tottenham managed a fourth-place finish in 2009-2010 courtesy of Harry Redknapp.
His Spurs side managed a huge win on their way to that achievement, bunging nine goals past Wigan Athletic.
As often happens when the floodgates open, most of the goals came in a remarkable flurry. Spurs were up 1-0 against Wigan after a relatively taxing first half, but managed to consistently evade their opponents in the second half of the match, adding another eight — with Jermain Defoe scoring five of them.
1= Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich (1995)
Manchester United were beaten 3-2 in the 1994-1995 season by Ipswich at Portman Road, and they were somewhat miffed to come away without at least a point given the chances they created despite the loss.
They put that mistake to bed later in the season when Ipswich made the return journey to Manchester.
Since his arrival, Andy Cole had struggled a little to adjust to life at Old Trafford. He wasn’t playing in the same way as he had been at Newcastle, and he was being asked to adjust to playing with the ball into his feet and the goal behind him and being afforded different kinds of chances.
Against Ipswich, Cole managed to make his mark as he scored five goals. Mark Hughes scored two goals while Roy Keane and Paul Ince also added one each. It would be 25 years before United managed so many goals again in the league.
1= Southampton 0-9 Leicester (2019)
Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League title win might have been seen as an aberration when they struggled the following year under Claudio Ranieri. Still, while they may not be credible title challengers this year, they appear well set to compete for Champions League spots.
In 2019 they displayed their ability when they visited Southampton. Unfortunately, for the home side, they suffered an early red card when Ryan Bertrand saw red, in the same minute Ben Chilwell struck the opener.
By 19 minutes, it was 3-0, and Jamie Vardy grabbed a hat-trick with an added-time penalty to complete the rout.
1= Manchester United 9-0 Southampton (2021)
An early red card also helped the latest nine-goal haul. Alexandre Jankewitz decided the best course of action on his Premier League debut was introducing Scott McTominay’s thigh to his studs cheerfully and promptly receiving a red after 79 seconds.
After that, United added four goals by halftime, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, and Jan Bednarek adding to the scoresheet.
At 87 minutes, it was only 6-0. Bednarek clipped Bruno Fernandes to take Southampton down to nine men and gift a penalty. Fernandes took the tally to seven before Anthony Martial and Daniel James added two more late in the game. And here we are.