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April 21st is a significant day for sporting anniversaries - here is why

April 21st is a date that will always be remembered by Manchester United supporters for Roy Keane...



April 21st is a significant da...
Other Sports

April 21st is a significant day for sporting anniversaries - here is why

April 21st is a date that will always be remembered by Manchester United supporters for Roy Keane's performance against Juventus.

However, it turns out there are a few other sporting memories from the same date in April and another featuring Keane.

Here are five memorable occasions in sport which occurred on April 21st.

 April 21st, 1999 - Juventus vs. Manchester United (the Roy Keane game)

Manchester United went to Turin needing to score after the two sides drew 1-1 at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Alex Ferguson's side were really up against it after conceding twice in the opening 11 minutes with both goals coming from Filippo Inzaghi.

However, Roy Keane started the comeback when he nodded in a David Beckham corner in the 24th minute.

Ten minutes later the United skipper was shown a yellow card for a foul on Zinedine Zidane, ruling him out of a potential final.

The former Republic of Ireland midfielder accepted his punishment - after unleashing a verbal lashing on teammate Jesper Blomqvist for the Swede's stray pass which prompted Keane's ill-timed tackle on Zidane - and got on with the task in hand.

Further goals from Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole sent United to the final in Barcelona, a game United would win in dramatic fashion against Bayern Munich.

Keane - along with Paul Scholes - had to watch the final from the stands but his performance in Turin will never be forgotten and the opening lines in the match report on the UEFA (read here) website summed it all up.

April 21st, 2001 - Manchester United vs. Manchester City (the Alf-Inge Haaland revenge game)

Roy Keane was at the centre of things in the Manchester derby but it had nothing to do with the 1-1 scoreline at Old Trafford.

The United captain was sent off late in the second half for a shocking tackle on City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland; father of Borussia Dortmund superstar, Erling Braut Haaland.

The two had previous dating back to 1997 when Haaland was playing for Leeds United and Keane had been waiting for the right moment to exact revenge.

Keane injured his knee lunging at Haaland during a game at Elland Road but the United midfielder didn't get up off the ground.

Leeds United's Nigel Martyn (left) holds back team-mate Alf-Inge Haaland (centre) as Haaland shouts at Manchester United's Roy Keane (on floor)

Haaland believed Keane was faking injury and screamed at the Irishman as he lay there.

The two met on the pitch a few times after the incident but April 21st, 2001 was the day Keane struck.

Keane went in hard on Haaland with his right studs coming down on the right knee of Haaland.

"I'd waited long enough. I f------ hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c---," Keane wrote in his first book, 'Keane: The Autobiography'.

"And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries. Even in the dressing room afterwards, I had no remorse. My attitude was, f--- him.

"What goes around, comes around. He got his just rewards. He f----- me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye."

April 21st, 2009 - Liverpool vs. Arsenal (the Andrey Arshavin game)

Liverpool were in a battle with bitter rivals Manchester United for the Premier League title when Arsenal came to Anfield.

It was a game that had a bit of everything but it was Andrey Arshavin who stole the headlines and in doing so all but ended Liverpool's title hopes.

The Russian gave Arsenal a first-half lead but it wasn't until the second half when the game sparked into life.

Goals from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun put Liverpool ahead and course to open up a three-point lead over United, albeit with two games more played.

Arshavin struck two quick goals complete his hat-trick and tilt the game back in Arsenal's favour. A second from Torres, though, made it 3-3 with 18 minutes to play.

It was all set up for the home side to find a winner as Liverpool threw everyone forward, they left themselves short at the back.

Incredibly, Arshavin bagged his fourth of the night and even though Benayoun equalised for Liverpool deep in injury-time, the result proved crucial in the title race as United went on to win the league again.

A night to remember for the little Russian playmaker, even though Arshavin himself believes he had better games for Arsene Wenger's side.

April 21st, 2013 - Liverpool vs. Chelsea (the Luis Suarez-Branislav Ivanovic game)

Much of the talk in the build-up to the game was about Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez returning to Anfield for the first time since leaving Liverpool in 2010.

However, when the full-time whistle sounded it was all about Luis Suarez and not for his injury-time equaliser, which earned Liverpool a 2-2 draw.

It was an eventual afternoon for the Uruguayan, who also conceded a second-half penalty.

Suarez bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during the second half of the game but there was no VAR back then and referee Kevin Friend did not see the incident.

Instead, Friend spoke to both players as Ivanovic was trying to show the official a mark on his upper arm.

It was not the first time Suarez had committed such an offence and he did something similar playing for Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup when he got stuck into Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Suarez was handed a 10-game ban for the incident with Ivanovic, ending his season.

April 21st, 1997 - Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible

Irish sports fans will remember the 1997 World Snooker Championship because of Ken Doherty.

But before the Dubliner saw off Stephen Hendry in the final, a certain Ronnie O'Sullivan gave a glimpse of what was to come.

The Rocket was drawn against Mick Price in the first round at the Crucible and O'Sullivan needed only five minutes and 20 seconds to record the fastest-ever maximum break.

It works out at an average of 8.8 seconds per shot and it's a record that still stands today.

O'Sullivan went on to beat Price 10-6 before suffering a second-round defeat to Darren Morgan.

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Alf-Inge Haaland Andrei Arshavin Chelsea Juventus Liverpool Luis Suarez Manchester United Ronnie O'Sullivan Roy Keane