Premier League: 7 Players who previously scored a hat-trick on opening weekend

Raheem Sterling opened his account for the new season with a hat-trick!
Raheem Sterling opened his account for the new season with a hat-trick!

There is no stopping Manchester City star Raheem Sterling at the moment. He's back in business with a bang - scoring a hat-trick against West Ham as the defending champions romped to a 5-0 victory.

In doing so, the 24-year old also became only the eighth player in the Premier League history to score a hat-trick on the opening weekend of a season. And a first since 2010.

That's no mean feat, which is why only a handful of them can boast such a feat in the league's glorious history.

However, do you know who are the seven other players? Against whom did they score that treble? In what year? We're here to help you out exactly with that.

And let me warn you, they ain't Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo or Alan Shearer or even Thierry Henry. So let's begin...


#1 Micky Quinn - vs. Arsenal (1993)

Quinn (centre) served Arsenal a baptism of fire in 1993
Quinn (centre) served Arsenal a baptism of fire in 1993

Just a year since it's inception, Premier League already witnessed a unique milestone being set when Coventry City's Micky Quinn scored thrice in the 3-0 drubbing of Arsenal on matchday one in 1993.

He became the first-ever player to score a hat-trick on the opening weekend, and in the most unlikely of the surroundings at Highbury.

Albeit this was in the pre-Arsene Wenger era and much before the Gunners became a reckoning force under the Frenchman, they were nevertheless the reigning FA Cup champions and had also won the league in 1992 - just a year before the Premier League came into effect.

So watching the Sky Blues put the hosts to the sword should've surely come as a surprise, but Quinn was the indisputable star of the evening - netting a penalty in the first-half past David Seaman, before adding a brace after the break to round off his treble, thereby setting a new record.

#2 Matthew Le Tissier - vs. Nottingham Forest (1995)

Le Tissier's hat-trick went in vain as Southampton still lost
Le Tissier's hat-trick went in vain as Southampton still lost

Scoring a hat-trick for your team normally ensures a victory, or at least helps salvage a draw in some situations. But for Southampton legend Le Tissier, it was neither.

The former England forward's treble on the opening weekend of the 1995/96 season was unfortunately rendered futile as Nottingham Forrest won 4-3 regardless.

He dispatched a pair of penalties before completing his hat-trick from a direct free-kick - Le Tissier's forte, as he'd strike 47 times from 48 attempts in the league in all in his career.

This was also his second treble in a losing cause, having experienced a similar fate against Oldham on the final matchday of the 1992/93 season when the Saints were once again beaten despite Le Tissier's hat-trick.

Roque Santa Cruz, Dion Dublin and Dwight Yorke have all bagged thrice in a defeat, but Le Tissier is the only player in the Premier League history to done so on two occasions.

#3 Kevin Campbell - vs. Coventry City (1996)

Campbell was at his ruthless best that day
Campbell was at his ruthless best that day

Just a year after Le Tissier's feat, Kevin Campbell kept the tradition of scoring a hat-trick on the opening weekend alive with one of his own against Coventry.

This time around though, Nottingham Forrest were the beneficiaries of it as the visitors rode on his incredible outing to secure a 3-0 victory at the Ricoh Arena on matchday one.

Campbell put the Colliers to the sword, netting twice in the first half before slaloming past his markers at the edge of the area for a wonderful third right after the interval.

All his goals on the day were struck just 34 minutes apart - already equalling his tally from the entirety of the previous season!

Despite such a prolific start to the campaign, Campbell couldn't anchor the ship from going down as the Tricky Trees were eventually relegated at the end of the season after finishing at the rock bottom of the table.

And just to get you up to speed, he struck 23 times in the following season in the Championship to help Forrest win the league and get back to Premier League in 1998!

#4 Fabrizio Ravanelli - vs. Liverpool (1996)

Ravanelli's blistering start at Middlesbrough met with an equally tragic end
Ravanelli's blistering start at Middlesbrough met with an equally tragic end

Just hours after Campbell got the ball rolling with a fabulous display of individual brilliance, Middlesbrough's new recruit Fabrizio Ravanelli replicated the magic in Teesside.

Fresh from winning the Champions League with Juventus, the former Italian striker responded to the raucous reception he received from the fans with a hat-trick against Liverpool to settle a riveting 3-3 draw at the Riverside stadium.

Quite astonishingly, Ravanelli cancelled out the Reds on all three occasions in the game, equalising for Middlesbrough each time the visitors went ahead.

Stig Inge Bjornebye, John Barnes and Robbie Fowler all struck apiece for Liverpool, but each was dealt a with leveller soon after through Ravanelli.

Yet, for all the hullaballoo that he caused with this treble on the opening day, Middlesbrough went down by the end of the season, raking up only 39 points from 38 games as Ravanelli could muster only 16 goals overall.

#5 Dion Dublin - vs. Chelsea (1997)

Dublin (centre) put the Blues to the sword
Dublin (centre) put the Blues to the sword

Coventry City haven't featured in the Premier League for 18 years now, yet a unique record which the club continues to boast is having provided two hat-tricks on the opening weekend of two different seasons.

Dion Dublin provided the second, and ensured the Premier League witnessed a hat-trick on the first week of the season for the third consecutive year by netting thrice against Chelsea in the unlikely 3-2 win.

He headed home his first of the evening from a throw-in, then headed in again, this time through a corner, for a brace.

But Dublin reserved his best for the last - slamming an outrageous half-volley into the net to round off his hat-trick.

Unlike Ravanelli, Dublin's form didn't dissipate as the season progressed, and netted another 20 to post the highest figures in the league and claim the Golden Boot.

#6 Gabriel Agbonlahor - vs. Manchester City (2008)

Perhaps Agbonhalor's finest performance for Villa
Perhaps Agbonhalor's finest performance for Villa

It was only a good 17 years later that Premier League witnessed another opening weekend hat-trick, and it wasn't Wayne Rooney or Robin Van Persie or Dimitar Berbatov or even Didier Drogba - but instead, Gabriel Agbonlahor!

The Aston Villa legend was never a prolific striker, posting double-digit figures in only three out of 13 seasons with the club. However, he too belongs in the bracket of those eight players to score a hat-trick in the opening game of the season.

Agbonlahor pulled it off against Manchester City - that same side which went on to lose 8-1 to Middlesbrough later that season. After all, this was much before the influx of Arab money, when the Skyblues were not a top-six side.

Nevertheless, the English striker, who had just signed a new four-year contract with Villa, appeared to be more than just eager to repay the faith and bagged a hat-trick in a space of just seven minutes.

Yes, you read that right: a right-footer in the 69th minute, a header in the 74th minute and a left-footer in the 76th minute to round off a 'perfect hat-trick' and ensure a perfect start to the season as Villa won 4-2.

Good times...

#7 Didier Drogba - vs. West Brom (2010)

Drogba doing what he does best...
Drogba doing what he does best...

So what if Agbonlahor was the first in this millennium to score an opening weekend hat-trick in the Premier League? Drogba has done that too. And he was the last until Sterling came along today.

A peerless tormentor back in the day, the Ivorian devoured West Brom with his blistering exploits and scored thrice as then-reigning champions Chelsea romped to a 6-0 win on matchday one.

Not amongst his best trebles for the Blues, but Drogba nevertheless made his chances count - opening his account with a sublime free-kick, followed by a simple tap-in and then rounding off with a wicked deflection.

And by the way, this was his second consecutive hat-trick in the Premier League, having also netted three times against Wigan Athletic on the final day of the previous season. And the final score? 8-0.

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Edited by Alan John