Manchester City striker Erling Haaland's menacing start to the 2023/24 season included the fifth hat-trick of his Premier League career.
The reigning champions won 5-1 at home to Fulham on September 2 with the help of a rapid treble from the Norway talisman.
Could new Man City talisman Erling Haaland find himself among the league's most iconic goalscorers by the time his career is through?
The Sporting News brings you every bit of information regarding the hat-trick records in the English Premier League.
MORE: Updated Premier League top goal scorers 2023-2024
Who has the most hat-tricks in Premier League history?
There have been more than 200 hat-tricks since the Premier League launched in 1992/93. Yet one man stands above the rest, with 12.
It's not Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Manchester United for Real Madrid and briefly returned to bag three in the English top flight. It's not Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who has four league trebles for the Reds to his name.
It's not Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, whose seven hat-tricks helped rank him among the league's all-time goalscorers. It's not even Alan Shearer, the Premier League's all-time career goalscoring leader, though he holds the single-season record.
Former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has the most hat-tricks in Premier League history, bagging 12 during his 10-year stint with the club.
Aguero joined Man City from Spanish club Atletico Madrid in 2011, making 275 league appearances for the Citizens and scoring 184 top-flight goals. He would claim his first hat-trick just a month into his first season at the club, hitting three against Wigan in September 2011. His final hat-trick came in a demolition of Aston Villa, winning 6-1 on the road at Villa Park in January of 2020.
After moving to Barcelona, the Argentine striker was forced to retire due to a heart condition.
Premier League legend Shearer is immediately behind Aguero with 11 hat-tricks, while Robbie Fowler sits third with nine.
Haaland shattered the record for fewest games needed to three hat-tricks, achieving the feat in just eight matches and beating Michael Owen's previous mark of 48 games. He also became the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home league matches.
| Player | Premier League Hat-Tricks |
Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Sergio Aguero | 12 | Man City |
| Alan Shearer | 11 | Blackburn, Newcastle |
| Robbie Fowler | 9 | Liverpool, Man City |
| Thierry Henry | 8 | Arsenal |
| Harry Kane | 8 | Tottenham |
| Michael Owen | 8 | Liverpool, Newcastle, Man United |
| Wayne Rooney | 7 | Man United |
| Luis Suarez | 6 | Liverpool |
Most hat-tricks in a Premier League season
During the 1995/96 campaign, the legendary Alan Shearer scored an incredible five Premier League hat-tricks for Blackburn Rovers.
His first came on September 23, 1995 against Coventry City. He notched two more trebles before the holidays, striking against Nottingham Forest and West Ham. His fourth came against Bolton in February 1996, before logging his final against Tottenham in March.
Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) scored a hat-trick on his full Southampton debut, against Arsenal. He was 17 years old👏⚽️ #ARSSOU pic.twitter.com/xDoEIY0Fg4
— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) April 21, 2023
Shearer missed three of the club's final seven matches, finishing the year with 31 total league goals. His five hat-tricks in 1995/96 accounted for nearly half of Shearer's career haul of 11 trebles in the modern Premier League, and he also became the youngest player – at 17 years and 240 days old – to score a hat-trick in the old top division with three against Arsenal on his full debut for Southampton in 1988.
Harry Kane is second in this ranking with four hat-tricks in the 2016/17 season, scoring all his after the calendar flipped to the new year. He scored his last two on the final two matchdays of the season, helping Spurs to a second-place finish behind champions Chelsea.
Other players with multiple hat-tricks in a Premier League season include Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry (who bagged two hat-tricks in three consecutive seasons), Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Michael Owen, and now Erling Haaland.
Most hat tricks in a Premier League season
| Season | Player | Premier League Hat-tricks |
|---|---|---|
| 1995/96 | Alan Shearer | 5 |
| 2022/23 | Erling Haaland | 4 |
| 2016/17 | Harry Kane | 4 |
| 2017/18 | Sergio Aguero | 3 |
| 2018/19 | Sergio Aguero | 3 |
Who has the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history?
Son Heung-min delivered a sublime response to being dropped from Tottenham Hotspur's starting lineup against Leicester City during the 2022/23 season, coming off the bench to score a stunning hat-trick in just 13 minutes and seal a 6-2 win.
In so doing, Son became the first Spurs player in the competition's history to score three goals in a single game as a substitute, and the first to do so in the division since Steven Naismith against Chelsea way back in September 2015.
2015 - Son Heung-min is the first Tottenham player to score a Premier League hat-trick as a substitute, and the first overall in the competition since Steven Naismith against Chelsea in September 2015. Impact. pic.twitter.com/1jV9ejt3eA
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 17, 2022
Son's sensational hat trick against Leicester came in just 13 minutes in the second half, and yet it wasn't even close to being the quickest in English football's top flight.
Former Southampton and Liverpool forward Sadio Mane scored the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history when he scored three goals in 2 minutes, 56 seconds for Southampton against Aston Villa in May 2015.
📆 #OnThisDay in 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣6️⃣
— GOAL (@goal) May 1, 2020
Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick for Southampton against Manchester City ⚡️pic.twitter.com/GMtV7DXuNs
It was an astounding performance, with Southampton up 3-0 by the 16th minute. There were less than three minutes between the first and last goal from Mane – the quickest span in league history.
The stunning hat-trick beat the previous record held by Robbie Fowler, who hit three in four minutes and 33 seconds for Liverpool against Arsenal in August 1994.
Other Premier League hat-trick records
First Premier League hat-trick: The first-ever Premier League hat-trick was scored by Eric Cantona for Leeds United in August 1992 against Tottenham. Since then, over 200 hat-tricks have been logged in Premier League action.
Most hat-tricks vs. same club: Luis Suarez is the only player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks against the same club, terrorizing Norwich City for a third time in December 2013. Suarez would log six total Premier League triples for Liverpool, meaning half of his hat-tricks came against the Canaries.
Two hat-tricks vs. same club in single season: In the 2007/08 season, Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat-trick for Tottenham in both league games against Bolton that season, marking the first time a Premier League player scored a hat-trick in both fixtures against the same opponent in the same season.
3 - In Erling Haaland, Son Heung-min, and Evan Ferguson, today is only the second time three different players have scored a Premier League hat-trick on the same day, after September 23rd, 1995 (Robbie Fowler, Alan Shearer, and Tony Yeboah). Magic. pic.twitter.com/jAb0q1Rhhe
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 2, 2023
Hat-tricks in consecutive matches: Seven players have scored hat-tricks in consecutive matches, the first being Les Ferdinand for Queens Park Rangers in 1993. The feat has also been done by Ian Wright, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane (twice), Sergio Aguero, and most recently, Erling Haaland.
'Perfect' hat-tricks: Erling Haaland became the 35th player to score a 'perfect' hat-trick with his triple against Nottingham Forest on August 31, 2022.
A 'perfect' hat-trick is when three goals are scored, one with the left foot, one with the right foot, and one off a header.
Robbie Fowler is the only player in Premier League history with three "perfect" hat-tricks, while Sergio Aguero and Yakubu are the only ones to have done it twice.
Hat-trick of headers: Everton's Duncan Ferguson and Salomon Rondon of West Bromwich Albion are the only players in Premier League history to score a hat-trick with each goal coming off a header.
MORE: What is Erling Haaland's salary at Man City?
Erling Haaland begins hat-trick record chase
Haaland could eventually find himself gunning for Sergio Aguero's Premier League record of 12 career hat-tricks.
The 22-year-old picked up back-to-back hat-tricks in only his fourth and fifth career Premier League appearances, scoring against Crystal Palace and then Nottingham Forest four days later in August 2022.
Another against Wolves took him to four by January 22 2023, but that was his last of the campaign in the league.
At such a young age, it's entirely possible that Haaland breezes past Aguero's record and becomes a Premier League legend.
