West Ham 3-2 Manchester United, 10 May 2016
Lineups:
West Ham - Darren Randolph, Michail Antonio, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Manuel Lanzini, Cheick Kouyate, Mark Noble (C), Dimitri Payet, Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll.
Manchester United - David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Morgan Schneiderlin, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Wayne Rooney (C), Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford.
A game which wrote itself into the Premier League and West Ham’s history books. Farewell Boleyn, the final game at the Hammers’ precious home. Fans packed the roads, swarmed the team coaches and caused mayhem down Green Street, to celebrate what would be the last time they step foot in the Boleyn Ground.
Havoc in the streets caused a delay to kick-off. Fans of the hosts bombarded Manchester United's team coach. Nerves were already high in East London, and this only added to that.
The game lived up to the occasion, producing what can only be described as an exhilarating match-up. The players were spurred on by a raucous atmosphere, which was enough to take your breath away.
Man United went into this unbeaten against West Ham in 14 games - the night was set up for that to change.
A cagey start, where understandably both teams looked nervous, brought upon the first goal. Aaron Cresswell found Manuel Lanzini's run down the left wing, who picked out a ball for Diafra Sakho who made it 1-0 after nine minutes. A dream start for West Ham on a night which was desperate for some drama.
The same story followed through to the interval, except this time with no more goals to report. West Ham were 45 minutes from a famous victory against a team who they had always struggled to get past.
United came out firing in the second half, and that came with a reward. On 51 minutes, Anthony Martial changed the picture of the game, with his close range strike into an empty net to make it 1-1. The ever-present atmosphere at Upton Park was silenced.
Hearts dropped among West Ham fans globally as a devastating Manchester United counter attack saw Martial bag his second of the evening. David De Gea, who minutes before was toyed with by West Ham fans, turned to the Bobby Moore Lower with his hands in the air.
The away fans celebrated chaotically. Almost like a villain in a film script. Were United about to ruin West Ham's big night?
A foul on Mark Noble by Ander Herrera gave West Ham an excellent opportunity for West Ham to claw their way back into it. A free-kick in a great position, who else would you want over it other than Dimitri Payet? The Frenchman's original effort was deflected off of the well constructed Man United wall, however the ball bounced right back to the playmaker. Michail Antonio's magnificent run was matched by an even better pass by Payet. Antonio leaped into the air and headed into the top right to tie it up again.
At the 80th minute, Winston Reid made the most of a terrific cross from Payet and after a De Gea blunder, West Ham took the lead for the last time this evening. You couldn't write it, no matter how many times that game had played out, an affair as dramatic and enthralling as this would've never been replicated.
"De Gea can't keep it out. Winston Reid is the man, and West Ham lead, for the second time tonight. There is a fifth goal and its theirs!" - Martin Tyler
The last 10 minutes were seen out by the Irons. A dramatic and emphatic win to mark a brilliant send off to the heavily missed Boleyn Ground. West Ham manager at the time, Slaven Bilic, cried tears of joy after the game.
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Manchester United 0-1 West Ham - 13 May 2007
Lineups:
Manchester United - Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Solskjaer, Carrick, Fletcher, Richardson, Smith, Rooney.
West Ham - Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney, Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Noble, Boa Morte, Tevez, Zamora.
In one of the biggest Premier League controversies, West Ham fielded an ineligible player in Carlos Tevez. The 0-1 win was enough to keep the irons in the league for the 07/08 campaign.
Alan Curbishley's men went on an dismal run from December to March, leaving them bottom place, 10 points adrift of safety. A sudden turn in fortunes, West Ham won sic of their next eight matches. Their great form paid dividends, lifting them to 17th place going into the final day.
With just the intimidating visit to The Theatre Of Dreams to face newly crowned champions Manchester United to go, there was not an easy task at hand. If West Ham wanted to stay in the league, they had to pull off a miraculous win.
A complicated and confusing last day dog fight at the bottom of the Premier League. Wigan (35 points. -23 Goal Difference) were against Sheffield United (38 Points. -25 GD), to West Ham's favour.
Wigan simply needed a win to survive, while the hammers needed at least a point off of the Premier League champions to guarantee their safety.
A uneasy start to the game for any East Ender, as Wayne Rooney saw his stunning effort miss by inches. Yossi Benayoun then kept West Ham level with a spectacular double goal-line clearance.
Events at Bramall Lane were hectic and nerve-jangling. Paul Scharner scored the opener for Wigan pummelling the Blades into the relegation zone. That was until a header from Jon Stead flipped everything upside down again.
Bramall Lane was quickly put to the back of West Ham fans minds when Carlos Tevez opened the scoring on the stroke of half time.
With a nervy 45 minutes on the horizon, West Ham just needed to hold on to their one to ensure their Premier League status. Sir Alex didn't do the West Ham fans any favours when he introduced superstars Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes.
Rob Green's last second save against Paul Scholes' sizzler meant West Ham had held on and Carlos Tevez' goal had ensured the hammers would be playing top flight football the following season, completing one of the greatest escapes.
The ineligible player, Carlos Tevez, had scored the winner that kept West Ham in the league. Neil Warnock, who at the time was Sheffield United manager, was outraged by this. West Ham were made to cough up a hefty fine of £30m in the end, the money went to Sheffield United.