A coronavirus outbreak within Rafa Benitez’s squad has denied Everton a Boxing Day fixture this year with the trip to Burnley postponed but the Blues have enjoyed many memorable matches on the date throughout the Premier League era.
Here’s a rundown of five of the best Everton Boxing Day victories of recent decades.
1995: 4-0 v Middlesbrough (home)
Having snapped up little maestro Juninho in October, Bryan Robson’s newly-promoted Middlesbrough side were making a splash in the Premier League backed by the fortune of local boy made good Steve Gibson.
The Teessiders were riding high in the table in fifth position when they came to Goodison Park – where Juninho had played for reigning world champions Brazil in their 3-0 Umbro Cup win over Japan six months earlier – but this would be a more chastening experience for him.
With Joe Royle selecting an unusual 3-5-2 formation – there were no centre-halves playing as wing-backs here in a more defensive-minded system Walter Smith would later adopt – but rather Andrei Kanchelskis and Anders Limpar out on the flanks, the Blues ran riot against what until that point had been the best defence in the Premier League that season.
One of Everton’s three centre-backs, Craig Short broke his scoring duck for the club with a back post header from Limpar’s left wing cross just 10 minutes in to set the ball rolling.
Graham Stuart doubled the hosts’ advantage by stabbing home from close range following a penalty box scramble a minute before half-time as Boro failed to clear their lines from a corner and he added a third just before the hour mark by pouncing on a loose ball when keeper Gary Walsh made a hash of trying to punch away a Kanchelskis right wing cross.
The flying winger, Everton’s record signing at the time, who was net 16 times that season, would complete the rout on 67 minutes as fed by Barry Horne he burst through the middle before coolly despatching a low finish.
1999: 5-0 v Sunderland (home)
Walter Smith’s men produced a five star display against Peter Reid’s side as Everton played their final home game of the Millennium and first after Bill Kenwright had taken control of the club from Peter Johnson.
Perhaps it was poignant that Peter Johnson, the businessman who had made his fortune flogging Christmas hampers, sealed a deal to sell Everton over the festive period but many Blues fans certainly saw his departure as a welcome present.
The visitors came into the game in third place but the ECHO’s David Prentice reported they were: “annihilated by a wonderful Everton performance.”
Don Hutchison opened the scoring on 16 minutes as “he sweetly clipped Mark Pembridge’s mis-kick past Thomas Sorensen from the edge of the area” and Prentice observed: “With a sense of theatre worthy of the finest hams, Kenwright had just taken his Main Stand seat seconds earlier. He was up and down out of it for the rest of the afternoon.”
Hutchison netted again 10 minutes later “with a stunningly struck 20-yard volley” while Francis Jeffers added a third four minutes before half-time when the 37-year-old Richard Gough “waltzed upfield like a continental sweeper, carrying the ball deep into Sunderland territory before slipping a wonderful pass into Jeffers’ path with the teenager’s finish clinical.”
On 61 minutes, Jeffers slid the ball across to provide Pembridge with a tap in for his first goal for the club while the far more prolific Kevin Campbell finished proceedings on 72 minutes as he “wheeled before clipping the ball into the Gwladys Street net.”
2004: 2-1 v Manchester City (home)
Having already defeated Bolton Wanderers (twice coming from behind before winning 3-2) and Liverpool (1-0) at Goodison Park that month, Everton rounded off the year at Goodison Park with a hard-fought, crucial victory that kept them on course for their highest ever Premier League finish.
This result kept them third in the table and although David Moyes’ side would slip up 2-0 at Charlton Athletic 48 hours later, they’d remain in the top four for the rest of the campaign and secure Champions League qualification for the first and only time in the club’s history to date.
The ECHO’s Scott McLeod observed how the Blues’ strong end to matches had proven a key element to their rise.
He wrote: “There is one surprising statistic which backs up the argument that it is Everton’s excellent organisation and superior stamina which has provided the bedrock for this season’s success.
“They have been ahead at half-time on just one occasion so far this term – the 3-2 win at Norwich. This was the 11th of the 12 league wins this season earned in the second period of matches.
“As has become the norm, they proved the better outfit by capitalising on their impressive resolve and reserves of energy.”
A well-timed near post header from Tim Cahill – who had been sent off for a second booking when removing his shirt after grabbing the winner in the reverse fixture back in September with his first goal for the club – put Everton ahead midway through the first half.
However, former Liverpool striker and boyhood Blue Robbie Fowler, who had been getting dog’s abuse from the home crowd all day, struck Kevin Keegan’s side level three minutes before the interval with a header of his own.
McLeod wrote: “He took great pleasure in antagonising the Goodison faithful, sprinting along the touch-line smacking his head with delight.
“It was an over-the-top celebration which justifiably earned the former Red a booking. But, thankfully, it was the home side who enjoyed the last laugh. And the fans made sure he realised it.”
Everton’s winner arrived in the 63 rd minute as McLeod enthused: “It was the magnificent Gravesen who turned provider once again.
“A Tony Hibbert cross was half-cleared straight to the Dane on the edge of the area. Most players would have drilled in a shot.
“Everton’s number 16 opted to produce a deft chip, wrong-footing the defence and teeing up Bent beautifully for a close range effort.”
2015: 1-0 v Newcastle United (away)
Other than a 2-0 success at Middlesbrough in the League Cup quarter-final on the first day of the month, Everton had been without a victory throughout December going into this fixture but Tom Cleverley’s last-gasp looping header secured them three points at St James’ Park.
Magpies fans were relieved when Chancel Mbemba’s crucial challenge deflected Romelu Lukaku’s shot away for a corner kick when the prolific Belgian striker had burst through on goal with just seconds remaining.
However, with three minutes of stoppage time played, substitute Gerard Deulofeu’s subsequent set-piece delivery was punched away by home keeper Rob Elliot on to Cleveley’s head.
Despite being on the edge of the area, the midfielder was able to get the necessary power and direction on his effort for it to nestle into the net.
It was the former Manchester United player’s first goal for Everton and arguably his greatest contribution to the Blues cause – unless you count him firing a penalty wide for Watford 12 minutes into stoppage time almost two years’ later to ensure David Unsworth’s men secured a 3-2 win over Marco Silva’s side in what was the club’s first successful recovery from a two-goal deficit since ‘The Great Escape’ against Wimbledon in 1994.
2018: 5-1 v Burnley (away)
Without a win in their previous five matches throughout December and having been thrashed 6-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur just three days later, this demolition job of the Clarets was as welcome as it was unexpected.
A towering header from Yerry Mina put Everton ahead just two minutes in while Lucas Digne’s free-kick on 13 minutes doubled their advantage.
The Blues added a third midway through the first half with a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty but given their recent wobbles under Silva, who would be sacked the following December after the side dropped into the relegation zone, nerves were still jangling when Ben Gibson – nephew of aforementioned Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson – pulled a goal back on 36 minutes on what was his only Premier League appearance for Burnley.
There was no fightback after the break though and Digne’s second of the afternoon with a low drilled shot on 71 minutes extended Everton’s lead before substitute Richarlison completed the rout in stoppage time.
How the Blues could have done with a repeat today but given the kind of side Benitez would have been forced to field, that would have looked like a long shot.
