The matches with the highest score in the history of the highest category

Premier League fans got an early Christmas present on Sunday when Tottenham and Liverpool played out a nine-goal thriller.

The Reds triumphed 6-3 in north London as Ange Postecoglou’s side once again threw caution to the wind against the league leaders.

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah scored twice, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister scoring while James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored for the hosts.

Only six times has a Premier League match had more goals since the competition’s inception in 1992. Here’s how those matches played out.

Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (2007-08)

The highest-scoring Premier League match of all time was an 11-goal thriller between Portsmouth and Reading in September 2007 that finished 7-4.

In the ‘Barclays’ era classic, perhaps equally remembered for Chris Kamara’s account of the football Saturday’s events, Benjani scored a hat-trick.

Players like Hermann Hreidarsson, Niko Kranjcar, Dave Kiston, Stephen Hunt, Shane Long and Sulley Muntari were also on the scoresheet to add to the nostalgia of this match.

Tottenham 6-4 Reading (2007-08)

A few months later, during a visit to Tottenham, Reading encountered another top scorer, who also has a habit of appearing in goal-laden matches.

Postecoglou has summoned much of the spirit of the 2007-08 Spurs team this season; This December 2007 match was one of several high-scoring matches they participated in.

In this match at White Hart Lane, Dimitar Berbatov scored four goals, with Steed Malbranque and Jermain Defoe also scoring.

Tottenham 9-1 Wigan (2009-10)

Tottenham’s second 10-goal game in the space of a year was much more one-sided as they put Wigan Athletic to the sword.

Peter Crouch scored the only goal in the first half before Defoe took center stage with five, while Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and that man Kranjcar made another appearance.

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal (2011-12)

Manchester United’s 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal remains one of the most iconic and shocking results in Premier League history.

They are two of the most successful teams in the country and have had some contentious encounters in the past, but this encounter came when the Gunners were in decline under Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal seemed unable to stop United at Old Trafford as Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, including two free kicks, and Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-Sung also found the net. Arsenal also finished the game with 10 men after Carl Jenkinson’s red card.

Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle (2012-13)

Another 10-goal game for Arsenal followed, but this time they were on the right side thanks to a masterclass from Theo Walcott in December 2012.

The former England winger scored a hat-trick and set up two more during an entertaining festive match in north London.

Newcastle had drawn three times in a 3-3 thriller before the Gunners pulled away, with Alex Oxlade-Chamerlain, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud the other scorers.

West Brom 5-5 Manchester United (2012-13)

The last of Sir Alex’s 1,491 games in charge of Man Utd was perhaps the strangest, as United drew 5-5 at West Brom.

Having already clinched the title, the Red Devils (and indeed West Brom) decided to put on a show.

United took a 3-0 lead before the Baggies got back to 3-2 through James Morrison and Romelu Lukaku, only for Robin van Persie to inspire the hosts to a 5-2 lead.

But just when it looked like Sir Alex would celebrate one more of his many victories, a brace from Lukaku and Youssouf Mulumbu denied the great Scot a victorious farewell.