To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a special, festive edition of The List which looks at five memorable St Stephens’ Day matches.
Middlesbrough 1936/37
City recorded a Boxing Day 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at Maine Road on their way to their first league title.
Goals from Rodger and Brook were enough to give the Blues their triumph which sent them on a 22 match unbeaten run which remains a club record.
Sheffield United 1992/93
Lightning quick City Academy product David White made it a very Merry Christmas for City supporters in the inaugural Premier League season.
His two goals against Sheffield United – a team he would go on to play for – were two of 16 Premier League goals White would score for City that season.
City went on to finish in ninth place.
West Bromwich Albion 1999/00
City may have failed to find the target in their last Boxing Day visit to the Hawthorns in 2011 but that wasn’t the case 12 years earlier.
Danny Granville and Shaun Goater both found the back of the net in a convincing 2-0 triumph over the Baggies on their way to a second place finish in the old Division One which resulted in promotion back to the Premier League.
Goater would go on to become the division’s top scorer with 23 goals.
Aston Villa 2002/03
City’s old stager Ali Benarbia climbed off the bench to inspire an impressive 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day back in the 2002/03 season.
Kevin Keegan’s side were struggling to cope with the aerial threat of Dion Dublin but the 34-year old’s introduction after 64 minutes enabled the Blues to gain control of midfield and, crucially, he also laid on a goal for Mark Vivien Foe and bagged one himself.
“Ali changed the game,” said Keegan after the game, “Before he went on I said to him, ‘give me a bit of magic’. He said ‘no magic, just a bad goal’. Well, he got a very good goal today.”
Hull 2008/09
Hull City manager Phil Brown famously gave his half-time team talk on the pitch at the City of Manchester Stadium after his side were blown away in the first-half by the rampant home team.
Felipe Caicedo and Robinho helped themselves to two goals each in a devastating first-half before Stevie Ireland grabbed the fifth after the break in a 5-1 City win.
