Photo by Flickr, CC by 2.0
A football match is supposed to last 90 minutes but it never ends up that way.
Unlike other sports where a countdown clock dictates the duration of play, the amount of time allowed for stoppages is decided upon by the officials, and it is only in the last couple of decades that fans were given any indication as to how many minutes would be added on.
In the 2023/24 Premier League season, a new rule was implemented to prevent teams from trying to run down the clock. It insisted on adding more extra time to account for every minute lost during the match.
This had an interesting impact on the length of games in the English top-flight. 100-minute-plus matches became quite common. While the intention was to make the matches more fair, it drew severe criticism from players and fans alike. It was seen as an additional burden on players who were already finding it hard to cope with the busy schedule.
The Premier League since revised its rules in the 2024/25 season, so matches now have less stoppage time than the previous season. But just how long did the matches get in the 2023/24 season? Below, we go over the longest games in Premier League history—and remarkably, all five are from that very season.
5. Newcastle 5-1 Aston Villa (12 August, 2023 – 107:39)
Newcastle United smashed five goals past Aston Villa at St. James Park to launch the new season in style. In his Tyneside debut, former AC Milan player Sandro Tonali found the back of the net. Then Alexander Isak fired a brace to carry the game beyond the reach of the guests.
Later on, substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes joined in on the fun to take the score to 5-1. After the opening goal, Mousa Diaby had equalised for Villa; yet, Unai Emery’s team lacked reaction to the turbo-charged hosts later.
When Villa defender Tyron Mings fell with an injury and had to be brought to the hospital, the game was halted for a long time. Andy Madley blew the last whistle to clock the game at 107:39.
4. Aston Villa 4-0 Everton (20 August 2023 – 108:03)
Only a week after receiving a drubbing at St. James Park, Aston Villa made amends for their disastrous Premier League. They scored four unanswered goals against Sean Dyche’s Everton.
Leon Bailey stole the show with a goal and an assist, while Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby had a lively debut in front of the Villa Park crowd.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered a horror face injury in the first half that paused the game for a considerable amount of time. This match dragged beyond the 108-minute mark at full time.
3. Tottenham 2-1 Sheffield United (16 September 2023, 109:15)
In the first two matches we discussed, the extended gametime had no effect on the final result. This match was different.
A Gustavo Hamer strike brought Sheffield United close to a memorable victory against Tottenham. But a late Richarlison party kept the Lilywhites’ unbeaten run under new manager Ange Postecoglou alive.
The Brazilian forward equalised in the 98th minute before setting up the winner for Dejan Kulusevski three minutes later. It’s the latest turnaround a Premier League match has seen till now.
2. Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace (16 September 2023, 112:02)
Aston Villa were involved in another Premier League marathon on the same day Tottenham played a 109-minute thriller at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The match followed a similar script as well. Villa were on the brink of a home defeat against Crystal Palace before a late surge brought them all three points.
Jhon Duran restored parity in the 87th minute; nevertheless, more late drama was to follow. Douglas Luiz scored a penalty and Leon Bailey also hit the target to steal a 3-1 victory for Villa.
Coincidentally, the stoppage-time goals were scored in the same minutes as those in the Tottenham match. This game can therefore also be regarded as the latest comeback in Premier League history.
1. Fulham 3-1 Sheffield United (10 October 2023, 113:54)
The record amount of injury time for any British game was the 28 minutes that was featured in a league Cup game between Burton and Bournemouth in September, 2019.
No Premier League game has surpassed that mark, but Fulham vs Sheffield United ran the clock close in 2023.
Sheffield United’s nightmare campaign continued as they fell to yet another defeat. After a battle that lasted nearly 114 minutes, the scoreline read Fulham 3-1 Sheffield.
Chris Basham’s lower leg injury suspended the match for 13 minutes. The Blades captain had to leave the pitch on a stretcher before play could continue.
The match officials added a total of 23:54 minutes in stoppage time to make up for the lost time, making it the longest Premier League match in history.
