On Thursday evening, Amad Diallo became the first Manchester United player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League since Cristiano Ronaldo almost three years ago.
United’s modern-day talisman did not score the first of his latest surge until the dramatic match with Southampton began in the 82nd minute. Amad’s initial effort was blocked by a quickly fading Kyle Walker-Peters, but the ball bounced kindly for the Ivorian who coolly slotted past Aaron Ramsdale at the second attempt.
Amad linked up with Christian Eriksen to pull United in front for the first time all evening in the 90th minute, stretching to hook a volley beyond the former Arsenal keeper. As Old Trafford bounced back in unison, a collective sense of shock and awe seeping into spectators ready to celebrate a victory after what had been a largely listless performance, the club’s familiar savior completed his hat-trick in stoppages in play.
Not only was it the first hat-trick of Amad’s senior career – doubling his Premier League goal tally for the season in the space of eight second-half minutes – but it was the first high-profile hat-trick that United was capable of achieving since Ronaldo. delivered the goods against Norwich City in April 2022.
3 – Amad Diallo is the third player in Premier League history to score three times in the last 10 minutes of a match after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Nottingham Forest in February 1999 and Wayne Rooney against Hull City in January 2010, the three cases being Manchester. United… pic.twitter.com/ttCGlYKSWb
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 16, 2025
There have been 34 hat-tricks in the Premier League, scored by 22 unique players for 14 different clubs between United’s last two registrations. Erling Haaland alone collected eight match balls, including one during a Manchester derby.
This is not a modern phenomenon.
Much like most vaguely positive statistics, Manchester United’s hat-trick tally has plummeted since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The Red Devils won the title that year thanks to a trio of Robin van Persie goals against Aston Villa, but failed to do so. I didn’t record another top-flight hat-trick until June 2020, when Anthony Martial struck a rare pocket of good form during a visit from Sheffield United.
Bruno Fernandes completes the quartet of players to have scored a post-Ferguson hat-trick in the Premier League for United. Including Romelu Lukaku’s trio of goals in Ferguson’s bonkers farewell match, six different players have scored hat-tricks against the club in the same period.
Every Man Utd hat-trick in the Premier League after Sir Alex Ferguson
Player | Opponent (Date) |
|---|---|
Antoine Martial | Sheffield United (June 24, 2020) |
Bruno Fernandes | Leeds United (August 14, 2021) |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Tottenham (March 12, 2022) |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Norwich City (April 16, 2022) |
Amad Diallo | Southampton (January 16, 2025) |
