Amad Diallo matches Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat with Man Utd hat-trick against Southampton

On Thursday night, 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 talisman did not achieve the first of his last upset until the dramatic contest with Southampton he had scored in the 82nd minute. Amad’s initial effort was saved by a rapidly fading Kyle Walker-Peters, but the ball bounced kindly for the Ivorian, who coolly slotted past Aaron Ramsdale for the second attempt.

Amad combined with Christian Eriksen to shoot United in front for the first time on the night in the 90th minute, stretching to stick a volley past the former Arsenal keeper. As Old Trafford bounced in unison, a collective sense of shock and awe filled the crowd as they prepared to celebrate a victory after a largely lackluster performancethe club’s famous savior completed his treble in stoppage time.

Not only was it the first hat-trick of Amad’s career – doubling his Premier League goals for the season in the space of eight second-half minutes – but it was the first top-flight treble United have been able to achieve since. Ronaldo delivered the goods against Norwich City in April 2022.

There were 34 Premier League hat-tricks, scored by 22 unique players for 14 different clubs between United’s last two appearances. Erling Haaland alone had collected eight match balls – including one in a Manchester derby.

This is not a modern phenomenon.

Like most statistics that are even vaguely positive, Manchester United’s hat-trick tally has plummeted since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013. The Red Devils won that year’s title with a hat-trick of goals from Robin van Persie vs Aston Villa but record another top-flight treble by June of 2020, when Anthony Martial hit a rare form during a visit from Sheffield United.

Bruno Fernandes completes the quartet of players to score a post-Ferguson Premier League hat-trick for United. Including Romelu Lukaku’s three goals in Ferguson’s farewell match, six different players have scored a hat-trick against the club in the same period.

Every Man Utd Premier League hat-trick since Sir Alex Ferguson

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