Boxing Day 2007 delivered one of the most chaotic afternoons Stamford Bridge has ever seen, as Chelsea and Aston Villa refused to settle for a Christmas loss.
With Chelsea preparing to face Aston Villa on Saturday, now feels like a good time to look back on a blockbuster clash between the two sides 18 years ago that had a bit of everything.
Chelsea were just getting used to life after Jose Mourinho, and the once impregnable defensive line at Stamford Bridge was anything but.
Eight goals went in over the 90 minutes in what has to go down as an all-time Premier League classic.
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Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa, Boxing Day 2007
The hosts were stunned early on, falling two goals behind after a rare Petr Čech error. A Villa red card before the break gave Chelsea a lifeline, with Andriy Shevchenko scoring from the spot to shift the momentum.
The Ukrainian struck again soon after half-time to level things, before Alex weaved through the defence to put Chelsea ahead. That advantage was short-lived, as Villa equalised once more and the match descended into pure chaos.
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Late drama followed as Chelsea were reduced to nine men, yet still found the net through a Michael Ballack free-kick in the closing minutes.
Even that wasn’t the end. Ashley Cole was sent off in stoppage time for a goal-line handball, and Gareth Barry’s penalty ensured the points were shared.
Chelsea won’t let four goals in this time
That Chelsea team was two seasons removed from conceding 15 goals across the entire campaign under Mourinho, making the four goals they conceded a shock at the time.
But there was a noticeable difference in how Avram Grant set his team up, and it allowed Villa to keep getting back into the game.
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Would you start either of Estevao or Delap against Villa? Or can a better attack be formed…?
This season, Chelsea have been much improved defensively. Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana are forming a formidable partnership and helped Enzo Maresca find a winning formula.
Villa have lethal attackers like Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins, but Chelsea will fancy themselves to shut that down.
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