Match Rewind: Vote for Chicharito’s best match

We’d not won a league game at Stamford Bridge since 2002, but when a David Luiz own-goal and the obligatory van Persie strike gave us a 2-0 lead before the interval, this was surely to be the day, right? Not necessarily. The Blues struck back through Juan Mata’s excellent free-kick and a finish from Ramires, leaving the contest finely balanced at 2-2. Chelsea then saw Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres controversially sent off, but the Reds were still searching in vain for a winner against opponents who saw themselves as unfairly scorned. But up popped the Mexican, after being sent on in the 64th minute. Within 10 minutes, he’d tapped home the winner, ever alive on the goalline to clip home Rafael’s speculative shot.

ASTON VILLA 2 UNITED 3 (2012/13)

Arguably the outstanding contribution of Hernandez’s 2012/13 season arrived at Villa Park, where Ferguson’s side found ourselves 2-0 down five minutes into the second half, thanks to a double from German forward Andreas Weimann.

Chicharito had been introduced at half-time and, despite the setback of Villa’s second soon after the break, he quickly got to work. First he latched onto Scholes’s aerial through ball to half the deficit, and then his back-post shot was diverted into the home-team goal by Ron Vlaar. Then, with three minutes remaining, the killer punch: van Persie’s free-kick came swinging in from the right, and the ‘Little Pea’ stooped to head home the winner. It felt like a hat-trick – given his impact on the Vlaar own goal – but, regardless, he’d turned zero points into three in a title-winning campaign.