Bournemouth join Man Utd & Leeds in the Premier League’s biggest-ever comebacks
Bournemouth have become just the fifth side – and the first in over 20 years – to win a Premier League game after going three goals behind.
The Cherries came back to beat Luton 4-3 in the rearranged fixture, which was postponed following Tom Lockyer’s cardiac arrest in the original match played back in December.
To mark the occasion, we’ve taken a closer look at the Premier League’s all-time biggest comeback wins – all from three goals behind.
Note: we’re only talking wins here. An honourable mention to Newcastle United and their 4-4 comeback draw against Arsenal in 2010 – the only time in Premier League history a team has taken something after going four goals behind.
Leeds United 4-3 Derby County – November 1997
Leeds United became the first side to win from three goals behind in a Premier League match at home to Derby in November 1997.
A seven-goal classic was a turn up for the books, given that Leeds’ prior results under George Graham looked more akin to binary code. They were legendarily boring the season before, but here they threw off the shackles after going three goals behind to Jim Smith’s Rams.
Two goals from Dean Sturridge and a penalty from Aljosa Asanovic had put Derby in the driving seat, but Leeds responded quickly with goals from Rod Wallace and Harry Kewell to make it 3-2 at the break.
The hosts had all the momentum as they dominated the second half, but they were forced to be patient, eventually levelling up via a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink spot kick in the 82nd minute. Just as it looked as though Derby had held on for a point, Lee Bowyer’s thunderous strike deep into added time blew the roof off Elland Road.
On This Day 1997 #lufc
Lee Bowyer lifts the roof off at Elland Road.
The comeback of all comebacks!
3-0 down to Derby County, Leeds United produce a miraculous recovery to win 4-3, with Lee Bowyers fantastic late winner.
What a day that was!@TheSquareBall pic.twitter.com/Mk3p51yK8M— LEEDS UNITED MEMORIES (@LUFCHistory) November 8, 2020
West Ham 3-4 Wimbledon – September 1998
West Ham looked as though they could be cruising to a cricket score when John Hartson and Ian Wright put them into a two-goal lead over Wimbledon after just 14 minutes. A second goal from Wright just before the half-hour mark looked surely to have sealed all three points, but Marcus Gayle struck back instantly to give the Dons half a chance.
Harry Redknapp’s Hammers proceeded to capitulate in the second half, as further goals from Jason Euell, Gayle and substitute Efan Ekoku completed a famous victory under Joe Kinnear.
Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United – September 2001
“As they traipsed into the dressing room, three goals down, the players were braced for a rollicking,” Sir Alex Ferguson recalled in his autobiography after Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege put Spurs into a commanding half-time lead.
“Instead I sat down and said: ‘Right, I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to score the first goal in this second half and see where it takes us. We get at them right away, and we get the first goal.’,” he said.
“Teddy [Sheringham, the former United striker] was the Tottenham captain and, as the teams emerged back into the corridor, I saw Teddy stop and say: ‘Now, don’t let them get an early goal.’ We scored in the first minute.”
Andy Cole sparked the remarkable five-goal flurry of goals from the visitors in the second half, with Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham and Juan Sebastian Veron following. Super sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on for Nicky Butt, assisted United’s fourth and fifth goals.
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Wolves 4-3 Leicester – October 2003
A thriller at Molineux in the autumn of 2003 saw both Wolves and Leicester demonstrate why they were at the wrong end of the table with some hapless defending.
Leicester went into half-time of the midlands derby with a three-goal lead, with Les Ferdinand scoring twice and setting up Riccardo Scimeca for the third. But Wolves came back from the break swinging, Colin Cameron scoring a brace before Alex Rae levelled things up in the 68th minute.
A veteran Denis Irwin had been subbed off by Ferguson when Manchester United were three goals down to Tottenham, but here he played a vital role in a four-goal comeback, whipping in the cross for Henri Camara’s 86th-minute winner.
Both sides ultimately ended up getting relegated, alongside Leeds, come the end of that 2003-04 campaign.
Bournemouth 4-3 Luton – March 2024
Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth claimed the Premier League’s biggest comeback win in over two decades with four second-half goals against the Hatters.
Star striker Dominic Solanke got Bournemouth back into the contest in the early minutes of the second half, centre-back Iliya Zabarnyi scored the second with a header and Antoine Semenyo completed the turnaround with an exceptionally well-taken brace.
“We needed something to happen early in the second half, the first goal from Dom [Solanke] was key,” Iraola told the BBC.
“Then everyone started believing, we kept putting up the pressure and in the end we came back. We wanted to get back playing as soon as possible. We ended the first half feeling very bad, they had just scored a third goal. We changed some things, made adjustments, changed some players.
“From there we attacked much better and then the goals came from that point onwards.”
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