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

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 didn’t score the first of his final moments until the dramatic competition with Southampton was 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 teams up with Christian Eriksen to fire United in front for the first time of the 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 spread among spectators preparing to celebrate a victory after what had been a largely listless performancethe club’s familiar savior completed his hat-trick in stoppage time.

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 able to achieve ever since. Ronaldo delivered the goods against Norwich City in April 2022.

There had been 34 Premier League hat-tricks, scored by 22 unique players for 14 different clubs between United’s last two entries. Erling Haaland had collected eight match balls alone, 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 Premier League hat-trick 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

READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP