Boxing Day came and went by, offering Premier League fans several exciting games, as is the tradition in the English top-flight. A total of six matches were played on December 26, 2020, with the likes of Leicester vs Man United and Arsenal vs Chelsea taking place.
The Red Devils put in a lovely performance at the King Power Stadium but dropped two points as they played out a 2-2 draw thanks to a late Axel Tuanzebe own goal. The out-of-form Gunners, on the other hand, hosted title challengers Chelsea and beat them 3-1 thanks to goals from Lacazette, Xhaka, and Saka.
However, that was not all. Man City were also in action, beating Newcastle 2-0 at home while Aston Villa and Everton registered 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Palace and Sheffield, respectively, to climb up the table. Here are the key stats from the Boxing Day fixtures.
Rashford reaches lovely record, Bruno Fernandes follows in the footsteps of CR7 after 2-2 Leicester draw
Man United traveled to the King Power Stadium in Saturday's early kick-off and went a goal ahead twice only to settle on a draw. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring, burying a lovely pass from Bruno Fernandes past Kasper Schmeichel to break the deadlock. That strike was his 50th goal for the Red Devils in the Premier League, becoming the third-youngest Man Utd player to reach the half-a-century mark after club legends Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
As for Fernandes, he scored his team's second strike of the day, taking his EPL tally this season to 10 goals. As a result, he became the first Portuguese player in this competition to score 10+ goals in a single season since none other than Cristiano Ronaldo himself.
Bruno Fernandes is the first Portuguese player to score 10 goals in a #PL season since Cristiano Ronaldo (2008/09) #LEIMUN | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/9LH8jwD8YK
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 26, 2020
Aston Villa reign supreme in Crystal Palace clash as defensive core remains strong
Aston Villa hosted Crystal Palace and beat the visitors 3-0, an impressive result given the home side were reduced to 10 men after Tyrone Mings first-half sending off. What was even more amazing was the fact that the Villans kept yet another clean sheet, their eighth off the season and fourth in a row, the most shutouts any club has registered this term.
@AVFCOfficial have kept eight clean sheets in the #PL this season, more than any side
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 27, 2020
Their run of four shut-outs in a row is their best in the competition since February 2010 (4)#AVLCRY pic.twitter.com/PJ8VUSuKbr
Arsenal close in on Man Utd record after 3-1 Boxing Day win over Chelsea
The 3-1 win over Chelsea was impressive for Arsenal, ending a seven-game winless run for the club and lifting them six points away from the relegation zone. That victory was their 10 successive triumph on Boxing Day, bringing them closer to the all-time record for most consecutive December 26 triumphs by a single club which is held by Man Utd (12).
@Arsenal have now won each of their last 10 home #PL matches on Boxing Day, the second-best run in the competition's history after Man Utd won 12 in a row between 1997 and 2016#ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/PzL2lebVR7
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 27, 2020
Man City: the best defense in Europe's top-five leagues?
13 – Manchester City have kept their 13th clean sheet of the campaign, more than any other team within the top five European leagues this season. Pragmatism.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2020
Sheffield's misery continues after 1-0 loss to Everton
Sheffield cannot catch a break. The Blades are yet to win a single game this season, suffering their 13th defeat of the campaign with the 1-0 loss to Everton. This mean's Chris Wilder's side are winless in their opening 15 matches of the season, with only QPR (16 in 2012-13) suffering a worse run.