On This Day in Football History - 5 April: Macheda Scores on Debut, Arsenal Win the Cup & More

​There's not a lot of football to look forward to right now, but there is an awful lot to look back on.

April has been a day for wonder goals, cup finals and even Premier League promotion over the years, creating some of the best storylines which are still remembered to this day.

So, who's ready for a trip down memory lane?

1987 - Arsenal End Their Trophy Drought

Arsenal hadn't won a major honour throughout the 1980s, but they were able to end that drought in the League Cup - then known as Littlewoods Cup - against Liverpool.

Ian Rush actually put Liverpool into the lead, but Charlie Nicholas was the hero as Arsenal ended an eight-year run without a trophy, scoring both goals for George Graham's side at Wembley.

1998 - Alan Shearer Sends Newcastle to Wembley

For Newcastle United, it's no surprise that it was hometown hero Alan Shearer who ended their 24-year wait for a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup final, back in 1998.

The Magpies enjoyed some success in the competition in the 1950s, as well as even earlier in the 20th century, but Newcastle hadn't reached a final since 1974, where they were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline against Liverpool.

Newcastle went on to lose the final in 1998 too, but it was Alan Shearer's goal against Sheffield United which gave fans in the northeast their long-awaited day out in the sun at Wembley.

2005 - Luis García's Wondergoal Against Juventus

Luis García might not be remembered as much of a Premier League great outside of Liverpool, but when the Spaniard came up with the goods, he always managed it in the most spectacular style.

He'd scored in both Champions League last-16 games against Bayer Leverkusen when the Reds were drawn up against Juventus in the next round, where García set up Sami Hyypiä's opener before scoring one of the best goals ever in Europe's elite competition.

Liverpool didn't get up to anything else spectacular in the Champions League during the 2004/05 season, did they?

2009 - Federico Macheda Achieves Immortality

Perhaps like no one else throughout history, Federico Macheda's career has been defined by two touches of a football.

The first, on his Manchester United debut, was to create some space away from the defender with a classy spin, almost akin to Johan Cruyff's classic turn, inside the Aston Villa penalty area.

Macheda followed that up with a shot, which curled into the far corner of the net to give Manchester United a 93rd-minute winner. 

Poetry in motion.

2014 - Gareth Bale Punishes Claudio Bravo From Range

Asier Illarramendi opened the scoring against his boyhood club after swapping Real Sociedad for Real Madrid before the start of the season, but it was Gareth Bale's second-half strike which stole the show in San Sebastián.

The Welshman capitalised on a mistake from Claudio Bravo to fire in Real Madrid's second of the match from distance, while Pepe and Álvaro Morata padded out the scoreline in the last few minutes of the match.

Bravo, famously, never made another mistake in his career. 

2014 - Leicester City Get Promoted

Although they had to wait a few more weeks to wrap up the Championship title, Leicester City were able to secure automatic promotion on this day in 2014.

Just two years later, they'd lift the Premier League title.

2015 - Jermain Defoe Wins the Tyne-Wear Derby

Any goal that wins a local derby is remembered for years, but Jermain Defoe's was special.

It was first-half added time when Costel Pantilimon lumped the ball forward for one last attack before the break, aiming for the big frame of Steven Fletcher, who could then knock the ball on for one of Sunderland's other attackers.

And that's exactly what happened. But rather than take a touch, Defoe took a shot early and fired a left-footed volley into the top corner of Tim Krul's net, giving Sunderland all three points in the Tyne-Wear derby - a fixture Newcastle haven't won since 2011.

2017 - Antonio Conte Makes History Over Pep Guardiola

Antonio Conte's time at Chelsea didn't come to an amicable end, but the Italian was able to make history during his time at Stamford Bridge.

During the 2016/17 season, Conte became the first manager to ever win both league games against a Pep Guardiola side, winning 3-1 away from home before completing the historic achievement with a 2-1 win at home.

2018 - Aaron Ramsey Stuns the Emirates in Europa League

Aaron Ramsey left Arsenal with a wonderfully symmetrical 65 goals and 65 assists to his name, but the Wales international's best arguably came during the club's run in the Europa League in the 2017/18 season.

Ramsey actually scored twice when CSKA Moscow visited north London in the quarter finals, as well as having another ruled out for offside, and it was that second goal which will be remembered by Arsenal fans for quite some time.

The ball broke to Mesut Özil on the edge of the area who crossed the ball towards Ramsey, and the Welshman produced an unorthodox chip over Igor Akinfeev when left the home crowd with their heads in their hands in amazement.

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