
Goals are what makes football matches memorable for both fans and players. There is nothing as sweet for a footballer as scoring a hat-trick, particularly when it happens in the top European leagues.
TeamKenya.co.ke looks at the top five fastest hat-tricks that have been scored in the English Premier League.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane holds the record for the fastest hat-trick scored in the history of the English Premier League. The Senegalese forward ended his first season in England in style, scoring three goals in the space of 2 minutes and 56 seconds in Southampton's 6 - 1 hammering of Aston Villa.
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The newly crowned African Player of the Year opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a lovely solo goal, getting the best of two defenders as well as the goalkeeper before tapping the ball into an empty net.
Mane scored the second goal a minute later by directing the ball into the net after the Aston Villa shot stopper was involved in a collision with a Saint's player.
The third goal, which came in the 16th minute, was a beauty. Mane volleyed in a pin point cross from Shane Long to make it 3-0 to Southampton, much to the delight of the home fans.
Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler held the record for the fastest goal scored in the English Premier League for over 14 years. It only took him 4 minutes and 33 seconds to score three goals in the 1994 clash between Liverpool and Arsenal.
Fowler put the Reds ahead in the 26th minute by taking advantage of a loose ball in the penalty box. The pacey forward then directed a low shot towards the bottom corner in the 29th minute, which hit the post and rolled in. Fowler completed his hat-trick two minutes later.
Jermaine Defoe
The England international scored a hat-trick in the 2009/2010 season to help Tottenham Hotspurs record their biggest win in EPL history. Tottenham thrashed Wigan Athletic 9 - 1 in a match played at White Hart Lane.
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Wigan Athletic opened the scoring in the first half through Peter Crouch. However, in the second half, Tottenham ran riots, scoring 9 goals in less than 45 minutes. Among the scorers was Defoe who bagged a hat-trick in 7 minutes.
Gabriel Agbonlahor
It took Gabriel Agbonlahor 7 minutes to score a hat-trick against reigning EPL champions, Manchester City, during the 2008/2009 season.
He headed in Aston Villa's first goal after receiving a wonderful cross from Ashley Young. Before the Cityzens had put their house in order, Agbonlahor struck again, this time volleying in from inside the penalty box. Similar to the first goal, the third one came courtesy of a powerful header.
Sergio Aguero
Records in the English Premier League are not memorable without Sergio Kun Aguero. The Argentine international holds most records in the lucrative league.
Apart from being the player with the most hat-tricks in the English League, Aguero is also among the five players who have scored the fastest hat-tricks.
He scored three goals in a space of 8 minutes in Manchester City’s 2015 win against Newcastle United. Aguero opened the scoring in the 34th minute, heading in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross from a cross range - he then converted a penalty minutes later before tapping in a Leroy Sane assist to complete his hat-trick.