Liverpool’s last Boxing Day game was played under the lights at Anfield in 2024, when the Reds beat Leicester City 3-1
Many players wearing red have delivered gifts to the Anfield faithful through the years since English football started the tradition of staging games on Boxing Day in 1958. Liverpool took a 1-0 win at Rotherham United that Christmas, thanks to Jimmy Melia after 61 minutes, too.
But Boxing Day did not bring festive football to Anfield in the maiden Premier League season in 1992/93 with Liverpool getting Christmas off that term. Instead, their first Boxing Day win of the Premier League era only came for Liverpool in 1994 with a 2-1 result at Leicester City.
Who is the biggest Liverpool legend of all-time?
Steven Gerrard
- 710 appearances
- 186 goals
- 145 assists
- 8 major trophies
Kenny Dalglish
- 515 appearances
- 172 goals
- 172 assists
- 15 major trophies
Mohamed Salah
- 421 appearances
- 250 goals
- 114 assists
- 7 major trophies
Liverpool even had to wait until 1996 for the first Boxing Day match at Anfield in the Premier League. But the Reds would not mark it with a win as Leicester held them a 1-1 draw. It took until Liverpool beat Leeds United 3-1 in 1997 to post their first win on Boxing Day at Anfield.
Festive joy has not always been on the cards through Liverpool’s record on Boxing Day in the Premier League era, too. Yet with that in mind, Rousing The Kop looks at who Liverpool’s top goalscorers on Boxing Day since the breakaway Premier League began back in 1992/93 are.
John Arne Riise is among Liverpool’s top-five Premier League goalscorers on Boxing Day
Despite John Arne Riise being a defender, the Norway hero ranks among Liverpool’s top-five goalscorers on Boxing Day with three goals in festive fixtures. Those efforts account for circa 10% of the left-back’s goals with the Reds after scoring 31 and assisting 33 in 348 games.
Riise’s Boxing Day goals in Premier League games further helped Liverpool to get a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Anfield in 2002 plus ruin Christmas for West Bromwich Albion fans in 2004 with a brace in a 5-0 win at The Hawthorns. Andy Cole salvaged Blackburn the draw.
Robbie Fowler scored three Boxing Day goals for Liverpool in the Premier League era
Liverpool academy product Robbie Fowler enjoyed playing on Boxing Day with three goals in the festive fixture for the Anfield team. The forward first hit the back of the net on Boxing Day in 1994 against Leicester City before Fowler struck a brace against Leeds United in 1997.
Fowler put Liverpool ahead at Leicester and Reds icon Ian Rush doubled their lead at Filbert Street, before the Foxes found a way back into the Boxing Day fixture late on thanks to Iwan Roberts. Leeds also hit late on Boxing Day in 1997 but Fowler had already dealt the damage.
Mohamed Salah has scored three Premier League goals on Boxing Day for Liverpool
Given Mohamed Salah boasts one of the top spots in Liverpool’s all-time record goalscorers list, it is no surprise that the Egypt winger also ranks highly among the Reds’ goalscorers on Boxing Day in the Premier League era. He has so far scored three goals in the festive fixture.
Liverpool coaches have trusted Salah to play on Boxing Day six times so far since the winger joined from AS Roma for £34m in 2017. His first festive goal arrived in the second of Salah’s Boxing Day appearances against Newcastle United in 2018 as he hit home once in a 4-0 win.
But after failing to find the net against Leicester City in 2019, Salah had to wait until 2022 for his second Boxing Day goal as Liverpool won 3-1 at Aston Villa. He even failed to find the net at Burnley in 2023, before firing in another 3-1 win on Boxing Day in 2024 against Leicester.
Even though Salah did not score a goal in his first Boxing Day game with Liverpool, he helped the Reds beat Swansea City 5-0 at Anfield with a pair of assists, as well. The Reds’ Egyptian King even laid on one assist against Newcastle in 2018 and Aston Villa in 2022 while scoring.
Liverpool hero Roberto Firmino scored four Premier League goals in Boxing Day games
Roberto Firmino brought his Brazilian charm to Anfield between 2015 and 2023, resulting in the forward also becoming one of Liverpool’s best goalscorers on Boxing Day in the Premier League era with four goals. He even struck those goals over just two games on Boxing Day.
Firmino scored a total of 111 goals in 362 fixtures for Liverpool across all competitions, with four of those matches coming on Boxing Day in the Premier League. He missed out on a fifth Boxing Day fixture with a calf injury when Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1 on the road in 2022.
Swansea City in 2017 and Leicester City in 2019 would have wished Firmino had missed the Boxing Day games those years, too, after he fired Liverpool to 5-0 and 4-0 wins with braces. Firmino fired their first and third goals at Swansea plus second and fourth against Leicester.
Michael Owen scored four Boxing Day goals for Liverpool in the Premier League era
Few players have scored more goals on Boxing Day in the Premier League era with Liverpool than Michael Owen managed between 1997 and 2004 with his four. The forward’s haul also helped to wins against Leeds United and Middlesbrough plus a draw with Newcastle United.
Owen found the back of the net once each against Leeds and Middlesbrough on Boxing Day in 1997 following his first-team breakthrough and in 1998. The Reds’ academy product then hit the back of the net twice at St James’ Park in 1999 to help take a 2-2 draw at Newcastle.
Steven Gerrard is Liverpool’s top Premier League scorer on Boxing Day with five goals
To date, no player has scored more Premier League goals on Boxing Day with Liverpool than Steven Gerrard. The Reds’ academy product turned long-time captain found the back of the net a total of five times in festive fixtures between 1998 and 2015, before joining LA Galaxy.
The midfielder fired his first festive goal to help Liverpool thrash West Brom 5-0 on the road in 2004. Gerrard hit further Boxing Day goals in the Premier League to beat Newcastle 2-0 in 2005, Derby County 2-1 in 2007 and Wolves 2-0 in 2009, but lost 3-1 at Stoke City in 2012.
Every Liverpool player to score a Premier League goal on Boxing Day
Ahead of Liverpool hosting Leicester City on Boxing Day in 2024, a total of 35 players have scored at least one goal in the festive fixture through the Premier League era yet. They are:
| LIVERPOOL PLAYER | BOXING DAY GOALS | SCORED AGAINST |
| Steven Gerrard | 5 | West Brom (1x 2004), Newcastle United (1x 2005), Derby County (1x 2007), Wolves (1x 2009), Stoke City 2012 (1x) |
| Michael Owen | 4 | Leeds United (1x 1997), Middlesbrough (1x 1998), Newcastle United (2x 1999 (x2) |
| Roberto Firmino | 4 | Swansea City (x2 2017), Leicester City (x2 2019) |
| Robbie Fowler | 3 | Leicester City (1x 1994), Leeds United (2x 1997) |
| John Arne Riise | 3 | Blackburn Rovers (1x 2002), West Brom (x2 2004) |
| Mohamed Salah | 3 | Newcastle United (1x 2018), Aston Villa (1x 2022), Leicester City (1x 2024) |
| Vladimir Smicer | 2 | Aston Villa (1x 2001), Bolton Wanderers (1x 2003) |
| Florent Sinama-Pongolle | 2 | Bolton Wanderers (1x 2003), West Brom (1x 2004) |
| Robbie Keane | 2 | Bolton Wanderers (x2 2008) |
| Philippe Coutinho | 2 | Manchester City (1x 2013), Swansea City (1x 2017) |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 2 | Swansea City (1x 2017), Leicester City (1x 2019) |
| Ian Rush | 1 | Leicester City (1x 1994) |
| Stan Collymore | 1 | Leicester City (1x 1996) |
| Jamie Redknapp | 1 | Middlesbrough (1x 1998) |
| Vegard Heggem | 1 | Middlesbrough (1x 1998) |
| Christian Karembeu | 1 | Middlesbrough (1x 2000) |
| Jari Litmanen | 1 | Aston Villa (1x 2001) |
| Sami Hyypia | 1 | Bolton Wanderers (1x 2003) |
| Luis Garcia | 1 | West Brom (1x 2004) |
| Peter Crouch | 1 | Newcastle United (1x 2005) |
| Fernando Torres | 1 | Derby County (1x 2007) |
| Albert Riera | 1 | Bolton Wanderers (1x 2008) |
| Yossi Benayoun | 1 | Wolves (1x 2009) |
| Maxi Rodriguez | 1 | Blackburn Rovers (1x 2011) |
| Raheem Sterling | 1 | Burnley (1x 2014) |
| Christian Benteke | 1 | Leicester City (1x 2015) |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 1 | Swansea City (1x 2017) |
| Dejan Lovren | 1 | Newcastle United (1x 2018) |
| Xherdan Shaqiri | 1 | Newcastle United (1x 2018) |
| Fabinho | 1 | Newcastle United (1x 2018) |
| James Milner | 1 | Leicester City (1x 2019) |
| Virgil van Dijk | 1 | Aston Villa (1x 2022) |
| Stefan Bajcetic | 1 | Aston Villa (1x 2022) |
| Darwin Nunez | 1 | Burnley (1x 2023) |
| Diogo Jota | 1 | Burnley (1x 2023) |
| Cody Gakpo | 1 | Leicester City (1x 2024) |
| Curtis Jones | 1 | Leicester City (1x 2024) |
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