It took Amad Diallo just 12 minutes to score three goals and spare Manchester United's blushes against Southampton, but surprisingly he doesn't make the top 10 for fastest hat-tricks in Premier League history.
The in-form Ivorian, fresh from penning his long-term contract extension, scored in a breathless second half in last night's 3-1 win at Old Trafford to become the fastest United player to bag a top-flight hat-trick. the process.
United looked to be on the verge of another defeat under Ruben Amorim after Manuel Ugarte's own goal, but Diallo single-handedly inspired them to a comeback, scoring in the 82nd, 90th and fourth minutes of stoppage time.
However, it has emerged that despite his best efforts, Diallo narrowly missed out on one of the fastest hat-tricks in the competition.
It was only the eleventh fastest hat-trick in a top-flight match since the 2006–07 season, when exact goal times became available.
The record for the fastest hat-trick still belongs to Sadio Mane, who scored three times in two minutes and 56 seconds for Southampton against Aston Villa in 2014/15.
Robbie Fowler is next on the list after his three goals in just four minutes and 33 seconds in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Arsenal in the 1994-95 season.
Jermaine Defoe, meanwhile, scored a devastating hat-trick after seven minutes from the spot in Tottenham's 9-1 thrashing of Wigan in 2009-10.
Gabriel Agbonlahor, who scored his three goals in seven minutes and ten seconds against Manchester City in 2008-09, and Ian Wright, who scored his third against Ipswich in exactly nine minutes in 1994-95, round out the top five off.
But Diallo can take solace in some other impressive achievements.
The only player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League at a younger age for United is Wayne Rooney, who achieved the feat against Bolton in 2006.
Diallo is also the first United player to bag a top trio since Cristiano Ronaldo's heroics against Norwich City at Old Trafford in April 2022.
He is also only the third player in Premier League history to score three goals in the last ten minutes of a match, after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Nottingham Forest in February 1999 and Rooney against Hull in February 2010.
United boss Ruben Amorim praised Diallo after the match but told him to keep his feet on the ground, saying: 'He needs to rest, eat well and we need him again on Sunday. He did great, a good moment for a young boy to score a hat-trick for a club like this.
'He has helped us and he is having a very good season. I've already talked about this.
'You have to be careful with young children. Congratulations to him, enjoy tonight and he should appreciate these moments.”
“Maybe one of the best weeks of my life,” Diallo said. 'I am very happy with this victory. This team deserved to win this match, so I'm very happy.
“We know we have quality players in this team. Sometimes we need to be hungrier in the final third. Today we showed at the end that we are the best team. I'm so happy with the win today because this team deserves it.”
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