Which soccer team has the most wins on Boxing Day?

Unlike many other European leagues, the football season in England continues throughout the Christmas season. Traditionally, matches were played on Christmas Day until the match was moved to the next day to give families the opportunity to spend more time together.

The first Boxing Day football match took place on 26 December 1860, when Hallam FC hosted Sheffield FC at Sandygate Road. The Blades won 2-0 in what was in many ways their first game. This was the first derby in football, and newly established Hallam were Sheffield’s first local rivals.

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The origins of the Christmas Day match date back to 1888, when the English League was founded. Holding the match on 25 December proved to be very popular, with Everton playing a goalless draw with local rivals Bootle at Anfield on Christmas Day, making it two games in. They were also successful and the following day they returned to draw in the Lancashire Senior Cup.

The first (non-professional) football match played on Christmas Day took place during World War I, with an impromptu kickabout during the 1914 Armistice. How much of the story is myth, and it is unclear whether Allied and German forces actually faced off or whether a soccer match was played between the two countries. However, the idea of ​​a football match being played during a brief pause in fighting permeated the public imagination.

Christmas Day games were popular until the late ’50s. Games usually start at 11am and end just in time to get home for a fancy roast dinner. The first Boxing Day match took place in 1957 and there was plenty of celebratory cheer for Everton. Man City provided some Christmas fun of their own as the Toffees beat Bolton 1-5. Burnley won 4-1 at home.

Oldham score biggest Boxing Day win

These victories were nowhere near the biggest victory on Boxing Day. In 1962, Oldham Athletic fired 11 shots without reply against a groggy Southport side.

Overall, the team with the most wins on Boxing Day in England’s top flight was Manchester United, who won 54 of the 94 matches played on 26 December. Manchester United have not lost a Boxing Day match since 1978, when Bob Paisley’s Liverpool were top of the table. Jimmy Case set up Ray Kennedy and David Fairclough, with one of his own thrown in between.

For a while, Manchester United vs. Liverpool became a Boxing Day staple, but although the Reds won 2-0 at Anfield the following year, the 1980 match ended without a goal. Since then, the two sides have only met once at St Stephen’s, in 1986, with the late Norman Whiteside claiming the title.

Boro overthrow Man United’s impressive run

Manchester United are also the best-performing team in the Premier League era, winning an astonishing 22 of their 28 Boxing Day matches, losing only to Middlesbrough (2002) and Stoke (2015). It’s only two games. Four other clubs, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn, Burnley and Leicester, took something from their Boxing Day clash with Manchester United.

After Man United, the club with the second-best record on Boxing Day is Aston Villa, who we played against during the previous Christmas break. The Midlanders have won 46 games, ahead of Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City, who have won 43.

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Manchester United was the top team in the Premier League, followed by Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, Everton and City.

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