Feature

My favourite match: Shay Given

19 Feb 2018

Despite being on losing side ex-Man City goalkeeper calls seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford best match out of 10,000

To celebrate Brighton & Hove Albion v West Ham United being the 10,000th Premier League match, we asked past players to name their favourite.

Shay Given

With 451 appearances under his belt Shay Given had plenty of matches to choose from, yet to select one in which he conceded four goals and ended up on the losing side is a mark of just how extraordinary his favourite PL encounter was.

In September 2009, Given visited Old Trafford with a Manchester City side featuring former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez, seeking to prove their worth as more than just "noisy neighbours" against the dominant force in the Premier League.

In a pulsating Manchester derby, City forward Craig Bellamy levelled in the 90th minute to make the score 3-3, but in the sixth minute of stoppage time Michael Owen produced a memorable winner for United.

“We were devastated afterwards but I think Man Utd realised they were in a proper game that day,” says Given.

“As a spectacle that game had everything, and I think that’s why all around the world people love the Premier League, because there were so many goals, so many mistakes, saves – it had the lot.”