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New York Times
01-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Premier League returns: Our writers' verdicts on the end-of-season run-in
If a week is a long time in football, then a break of more than two weeks? Well, that's simply an eternity. But if you've found yourself longing for the warm embrace of England's top flight over the lonely days when international football, FA Cup quarter-finals and children being perched atop telephone boxes have dominated the agenda, then fear not. The Premier League is back. Advertisement Starting with three games on Tuesday night, we have a full slate of midweek action to get our teeth into. So now is as good a time as ever for a discussion. Who holds the edge in the race for European qualification? What are the plotlines that will dominate proceedings between now and May? And who are the unsung heroes of the season? Our writers Mark Carey, Oliver Kay, Caoimhe O'Neill, Carl Anka, Jacob Whitehead and Tim Spiers chew the fat as the Premier League returns. Mark Carey: I'm simply looking forward to the crescendo of the season. The final stretch is when champions are crowned and relegation candidates are confirmed — what more drama can you ask for? Yes, we are already pretty confident of who those respective teams are, but dig a little deeper and it is still all to play for in the quest for European football next season. After so much discussion, debate and deliberations throughout the campaign, now is the time to see those crucial moments play out. Might there even be a twist in the tale? I cannot wait for the action to unfold. Oliver Kay: Are we saying the title race is done and dusted? Liverpool are 12 points clear but there are still nine games to go. They have a Merseyside derby against a revitalised Everton at Anfield on Wednesday night, which should be a great occasion and a significant test. Liverpool have only won the league title once in 35 years — and that ended up being celebrated behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic — so even if it ends up being a procession, I don't think it's something to be blase about. There could yet be some tension along the way. Caoimhe O'Neill: Football stadiums in the sunshine. Is there a better place to be than a match when the sun is shining? It warms the soul, even watching from an armchair. In England, blue skies are never guaranteed, so aside from the weather, the pressure is on Liverpool to wrap up the title. The race for European football will be topsy-turvy, which should keep us picking popcorn out of our teeth until the end of May. Carl Anka: The Champions League race has the most appeal from a team perspective but I'm going hyperfocus on a collection of players between now and the end of the season. Can Alexander Isak finish the season strongly at Newcastle United? Can Evan Ferguson reignite the fire on loan at West Ham United and play back-to-back 90-minute games? Will Chelsea's experimentation of Reece James in central midfield come good? Will Luke Shaw or Mason Mount come back at Mancheter United? When Bukayo Saka returns from his hamstring surgery, will he still have the same explosiveness? (I hope so!) Which team (Nottingham Forest) would make a good fit for Ipswich Town's Liam Delap this summer? Advertisement Jacob Whitehead: The chase for the top four — or more realistically, given UEFA coefficients, top five. If Forest hold on, it will be one of the most surprising storylines of recent seasons — but the stakes are high across the top of the league. Chelsea are slumping badly and the hierarchy's faith in Enzo Maresca may waver. Newcastle's spending will hinge on whether they can play Champions League football. Tenth-placed Bournemouth are only four points back from fifth-placed Manchester City — half the league are eyeing European football. Tim Spiers: With the title and relegation places surely already sewn up, there's intrigue about teams and matches instead. This week throws up the Merseyside derby and, given their form before the international break, perhaps a rare opportunity for Everton to win at Anfield and an even rarer chance for David Moyes to win at Anfield (he's never done it from 21 attempts). Then there's Chelsea versus Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday: always a keenly-fought derby with a surprising amount of needle, it is a big game for both managers. Maresca seems to be strongly admired by Chelsea's players but less so by their supporters, and Ange Postecoglou has precious little time to prove he deserves another season in charge. Carey: History will arguably be more favourable to Liverpool. As good as they have been in Arne Slot's first season in charge, there has been an underlying narrative that their success has come from other teams not providing a sufficient challenge to their title push. The forensic lens on teams has never been sharper. When that lens softens over the years, fans will only remember the name on the trophy. Liverpool have put together a strong campaign and deserve their position in the table. Advertisement Kay: Usually, you would judge a title-winning side over years but this Liverpool team will look very different next season, with a summer of change ahead. It's also harder to evaluate a title-winning team when their competitors fall short. I wouldn't put Slot's Liverpool in the same elevated class as the team that won the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp in 2020 or even the side that finished just behind Manchester City a year before that. Equally, I wouldn't put last season's Manchester City in the same class as their earlier title-winning teams under Pep Guardiola, but that's holding them to an exceptional standard. The levels at the very top of the Premier League have dropped slightly over the past couple of seasons but the standard from top to bottom is extremely high, so it takes a seriously impressive effort to be as dominant as Liverpool have been. Short answer: I would probably put them on a similar level to last season's Manchester City or Antonio Conte's Chelsea — worthy, impressive, creditable champions, but not likely to be recalled as vintage conquerors. O'Neill: They would be remembered as unexpected but deserved champions. The implosion of their rivals at crucial stages of the season has helped but to win a title, you still have to win a title — and who here among us expected Slot to lead his team to 12 points clear with nine games to go? Not me. Credit will be due. Anka: This is the most volatile the top of the Premier League has been since the 2015-16 season. Slot's men have done very well to keep on trucking when many others imploded. However, their real 'legacy' might not become clear until the end of next season, and we see how they defend their title. Liverpool have a big summer ahead to remain at the front of the pack for the next campaign (they could end up reworking their left and right flanks simultaneously). This title win could be the start of something special. If it is, we can class them in the same tier as Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City side of 2013-14 — good but not great in the way that Klopp's 2019-20 side were. Whitehead: Some league winners are viewed through the lens of the manager rather than the individual. Think of Sir Alex Ferguson's last title at Manchester United — despite Robin van Persie's excellence, that season is predominantly remembered for Ferguson's final glory. For Van Persie then, read Salah now. This is not to compare Slot to Ferguson in historic achievement, but in terms of narrative, Liverpool's head coach is the dominant storyline. Taking over from Klopp, Liverpool's own legendary manager, before triumphing with his first attempt? Think of how 2013-14 would have been remembered if Moyes had marked his arrival at Manchester United with a league title. Advertisement Spiers: Not as a premium title-winner compared to some of the great Premier League sides, but as worthy winners and as the season of Slot and Salah, like how 2013-14 (for me, anyway) is remembered as the season of Brendan Rodgers and Luis Suarez. That team famously fell just short, partly because of the pressure put on them by Manchester City and Chelsea. This Liverpool team have not felt a rampant challenger breathing down their neck but history is unlikely to emphasise that fact. It may also be seen as the end of an era, not the beginning of one. One of the oldest squads in the league needs a refresh. Carey: As a data analyst, I am obliged to turn to the numbers. Liverpool, Arsenal and Forest look nailed on for a Champions League place, with Opta's predicted table (established by simulating the remaining matches hundreds of thousands of times) tipping Manchester City and Newcastle United to claim the remaining two spots. The pair have the most straightforward fixtures remaining among the sides pushing for Europe — on paper, at least. Statistically speaking, Guardiola's men have the easiest run-in, with Newcastle having the sixth-easiest among all Premier League sides. There might be some twists and turns along the way — but, in order, I am saying Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, City and Newcastle. Kay: Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, Manchester City and… despite having little enthusiasm for this team and this project, I'm going to say Chelsea. O'Neill: Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, City and… Newcastle. This was difficult to decide on but with the black and white pyro smoke still clinging to their nostril hairs after that special parade last weekend, Newcastle are going to finish with a flurry of wins, even with plenty of teams hot on their heels. Advertisement Anka: Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, City and… Newcastle. A series of managers have used a League Cup triumph to put the battery in the back of their players, and they'll finish the season strongly. That dogs-of-war midfield trio they have must be an agony to play against. Dribble passed Joelinton and he tries to suplex you. Whitehead: Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest, City, Newcastle. First and second feel done and dusted, while there is no evidence but entrenched dogma and underestimation that Forest will stumble. They feel like the Newcastle of two seasons ago. Eddie Howe's current iteration have a tough end to the season — playing at Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion and hosting Chelsea among their final four games — but should reemerge from their Carabao Cup celebrations refocused and remotivated. This is not the Manchester City we are used to but it feels like they are through the worst of it. It would surprise me if Chelsea better their results. Spiers: Liverpool, Arsenal, City, Forest, Brighton. Chelsea's form since December is really poor and their run-in is tough (Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle and Forest away, plus Liverpool at home), so I can envisage them dropping out. City's fixtures are much kinder (they play none of the top seven), which leaves Brighton, Newcastle or an outlier from the chasing pack to finish fifth. Brighton and Newcastle play each other on May 4 at the Amex Stadium, which may decide it. I'll go with the former. Carey: With the title race and relegation battle almost wrapped up, a smattering of teams have little to play for domestically in the remaining weeks. Manchester United and Spurs are two of those teams, but both must end the campaign strongly to show green shoots of recovery after torturous seasons. For United, Ruben Amorim needs some positive examples of his 3-4-2-1 system in full operation to provide a clearer window into the long-term intentions. For Spurs, it would be a return to their high-intensity, possession-dominant style that Postecoglou had initially imposed in north London when he joined. With his job seemingly on the line, a strong finish could provide the morale boost Tottenham need. Kay: In a way, it's Chelsea. Everyone at Manchester City accepts they've had a bad season. Everyone at Manchester United accepts they have a massive rebuilding job to do. But people at Chelsea are still trying to convince themselves and the world that they're onto a good thing. Advertisement A couple of points here or there won't change my impression of this Chelsea 'project', but at least they would finally feel able to claim some minor vindication if, having spent more than £1billion ($1.3bn) in the transfer market over the past three seasons, they manage to scrape into the Champions League places (as well as win the Conference League, which is surely a given). O'Neill: For some reason, I think it is Liverpool. They are still not confirmed as champions and are either going to make it a waltz to the finish or a bit of a clamber over the finish line. How they complete this season will go a long way in determining how we define them. Anka: Southampton. You need to earn three more points to avoid historic humiliation. You can do it. I believe in you. (Also, let me know if any spares are going for the trip to Leicester City on May 3.) Whitehead: It feels as if, whatever happens from here, the verdicts on Manchester United and Tottenham's seasons have been established. United have been disappointing but Amorim will get more time, Spurs have been disappointing and Postecoglou probably won't, but Maresca's Chelsea future is most up in the air. This is a facsimile of last season at Leicester. Maresca's side scraped over the line in the Championship without turning a corner — if Chelsea continue to slump, missing out on Champions League football, the owners have already displayed their impatience. Spiers: So many teams have underperformed, which means a few could do with proving they're not as bad as we think they are: chiefly Southampton, who need one victory to avoid Derby County's all-time-low Premier League points record. Manchester City have to prove they are capable of belatedly engineering some consistency from their expensively assembled but endlessly underachieving team; ditto Chelsea, to a lesser extent. The biggest underachievers are Manchester United and Spurs, but their seasons are all about the Europa League now. Advertisement Carey: I am interested to see if a dark horse can sneak into Champions League spots. It looks like Forest are already one of those but if Brighton, Bournemouth or even Fulham were to make a late dart into those top five places, it would be incredible. It is remarkable how tight things are in the top half of the table. Five points separate Chelsea in fourth and Bournemouth in 10th — and teams are likely to take points off each other. Kay: The biggest story of this season will be the outcome of the Premier League's case against Manchester City and whether that outcome is a) a complete acquittal or b) a complete damnation of the club that has been English football's dominant force over the past decade — or, more likely, c) somewhere in between — the repercussions will be far bigger than anything that has happening on the pitch. O'Neill: Watching how the managers of the clubs chasing Europe go about their business. Many of them, including Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, have multiple prospective clubs watching their every move closely. It will be interesting to see how that plays out and who remains in their jobs come August after a summer of headhunting. Anka: Can Aston Villa elbow past their other top-half rivals and qualify for the Champions League? The club had a wage-to-turnover ratio hovering at 96 per cent last season, according to Deloitte's Football Money League. Almost half the league are chasing Champions League qualification but Villa's accounts might need it the most. It's been an excellent season for Unai Emery's men but a strong finish is required, or belts may be tightened in the summer. Whitehead: I'd love to keep this answer light — but mine is the repercussions of a verdict in City's case with the Premier League. If it drops in April or May, expect City's fate to dominate the news agenda for weeks. Spiers: The ongoing refereeing conspiracy against Arsenal? Who loses the Jadon Sancho tug of war? Precisely how much can the PGMOL, the refereeing governing body, balls-up the forthcoming introduction of semi-automated offside technology? Who wins the 'used to be good but not anymore' 13th-to-16th mini-league comprising fallen giants Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and West Ham? Advertisement But no, seriously, with the bottom three already decided, the title wrapped up and Crystal Palace finishing 12th again, the only thing that remains of real interest in the Premier League is the race for Champions League football, which is genuinely quite enthralling given there are some new teams in the mix this season. There's also the potential for Salah to break Erling Haaland's Premier League scoring record in a single season — he's on 27 with nine games left and needs to score another nine to equal Haaland's 36. If you add Salah's 17 assists, he could record the best individual season in the Premier League era. Carey: I do not expect so. The teams in the relegation zone have not done anywhere near enough to warrant survival after their promotion and, for the second season running, all three look set to go straight back down. It is a shame because the overriding narrative is that the gap between the Championship and the Premier League has become a chasm — but plenty of teams have shown that you can thrive, not just survive, in the top division. Fulham, Nottingham Forest, and Brentford were Championship teams in 2020, and all are set to have top-half Premier League finishes this season. Kay: I don't think so. I don't think Ipswich and Leicester are capable of hauling back that deficit — and that's more a reflection of the league's rising quality than their shortcomings. If you somehow were to parachute this Ipswich team into the Premier League of, say, eight or nine years ago, never mind further back, they would be comfortably in mid-table. The problem they have — and it's a serious problem in English football — is that the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is so big. O'Neill: I'm sorry, Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton, but you are like the horses at the Grand National whose jockeys have been unseated and are now very much on your own for the run-in. So run free with the wind in your hair and enjoy it. Anka: Nope. The 1997-98 season used to be unique as a Premier League season where all three promoted clubs went straight back down. A creeping tactical and financial instability is affecting England's top 25 or so clubs. Whitehead: No. Between them, Ipswich, Southampton, and Leicester have a record of 14 losses and one draw from their last 15 games. A reversal of that would not be a 'great escape', it would be a miracle. If Wolves beat Ipswich on Saturday, even prayers to a power above would be in vain. Advertisement Spiers: Nope. Even as a pessimistic Wolves fan, it's job done for Vitor Pereira. If Wolves don't pick up another point in their final nine matches, on current form, neither Ipswich nor Leicester will even come close to catching them; they've earned a combined five points from 20 matches in 2025. Carey: Slot has made light work of his debut season but Nuno Espirito Santo's job at Forest is remarkable. Sure, Forest have overperformed a little bit at the top end of the field — scoring 11.5 goals more than their expected goals (xG) suggests — but Nuno has imposed a style that is defensively disciplined and devastating on the counter-attack. Given how they finished 17th last season, even pushing for the top half would have been impressive. Securing a place in the Champions League spots would be dreamland stuff, thanks to Nuno. Kay: There are five or six managers who have had excellent seasons but it boils down to three who have impressed in very different ways: Slot, Iraola, Nuno. There is a bit of revisionist talk about Slot and the size of the challenge he faced after taking over from Klopp at Liverpool. (Did anyone predict they would be 12 points clear at the top of the league by this stage? I certainly didn't.) But in terms of performance vs expectations, I'm going to say Nuno at Forest — not just because he's taken a previously relegation-threatened team to third in the Premier League but because the place was a madhouse when he arrived last season. He has done a remarkable job. O'Neill: In reality, it is Slot — especially if he does, in his first season at Anfield, deliver Liverpool's 20th league title and equal Manchester United's record. Shouts to Nuno, Howe, Iraola, Fulham's Marco Silva, Emery and Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler, though. They have all made it a proper anyone can beat anyone league. Anka: *Bruce Forsyth voice* Nuno Espirito Santo, come on down! Forest ended up in some hot water last season for their odd activities in the transfer market but they've ended up ahead of the curve on what a Premier League squad needs. Nuno created a rugged team that can be lethal on the counter-attack. There will be some excellent photos of the City Ground under the Champions League lights next season. Advertisement Whitehead: It would be easy to search around for a hipster answer but if Nuno doesn't get it for taking Forest from 17th to third, it's difficult to know what else could justify it. Spiers: For Slot to win the title in his debut Premier League season is extremely impressive but in judging this award, you'd have to say he did inherit a ready-made team and squad that only lost four league games last season. Forest, on the other hand, have gone from relegation fodder to (probably) the Champions League under Nuno. His two previous standout achievements in management were taking Rio Ave to Europe for the first time in their history and Wolves to Europe for the first time in almost 40 years. He's no one-trick pony and his incredible work this season deserves the highest recognition. Carey: Again, I'm going to lean on the data here but Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard has quietly been one of the most creative forces in the Premier League this season. His 7.1 expected assists — which measures the xG of the shot that is assisted — is bettered only by Son Heung-min, Cole Palmer and Mohamed Salah. Damsgaard's appreciation of space, intelligent movement, and deft passes can sometimes go unnoticed, but watch him for a full game and you can see how deserving he is of praise. Given his previous injury struggles, I am happy that he has found fitness and form. He has already played more league minutes than in any of the previous four seasons. The quality has always been there but he is showing it consistently. Kay: How unsung are we talking? If we're calling Salah a shoo-in for the individual awards, then that downplays the brilliance of his Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk, Arsenal defender Gabriel and Newcastle forward Isak, all of whom have been outstanding. But here, we're talking about Bryan Mbeumo at Brentford and a handful of players from Forest: Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood. O'Neill: I'll try to save flowers for some names not already mentioned. Three that spring to mind are Milos Kerkez, Antonee Robinson and Ryan Gravenberch. And not forgetting Wataru Endo, Liverpool's official closer-out of games — mentioning him feels like a fitting way to end my answers. Advertisement Anka: Ryan Christie had spent his career as a decent No 10 (attacking midfielder) or hard-working winger but has been recalibrated into a sensational box-to-box midfielder. The 30-year-old is a professional pest (that's a compliment) and a key component in the perpetual pressing machine that Iraola has forged at Bournemouth. Christie is more than just a ball-winning water-carrier — he sprinkles flair in with the fight, too. Iraola has said Christie dealing with a chronic groin issue and will need surgery in the summer. I hope he'll find a way to continue his good form next season. We're obsessed 🤩 — AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) February 22, 2024 Whitehead: Salah is deservedly receiving the plaudits but outside the Egyptian, Liverpool's most integral player this season has been Alexis Mac Allister. He links defence and attack as well as any midfielder I've watched this season, and really puts his body on the line for such a slight figure. A word for another Merseyside-based midfielder, Everton's Idrissa Gueye, who has been outstanding at 35. Spiers: Depends how unsung we're talking. Wood and Isak are both quite well sung, so I'll jointly go for Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa for helping spearhead Brentford to another comfortable mid-table finish. I thought they would struggle this season but they're 24 points clear of the bottom three and batting well above their weight yet again. Thomas Frank is probably the Premier League's most underrated manager.
New York Times
20-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Messi, Mbappe, Ronaldo… and Windass: Our writers' favourite hat-tricks
Kylian Mbappe reaffirmed his status as one of the world's marquee players with a remarkable performance against Manchester City on Wednesday. The Frenchman's hat-trick was an exhibition of finishing and came on one of the sport's grandest stages in Real Madrid's Bernabeu, but it was also a reminder of just how thrilling a feat hat-tricks can be. In football, nothing rivals one. We asked some of our writers to nominate their favourite hat-tricks from their time watching and covering the game. Check out our choices, then share yours in the comments below. I had witnessed Lionel Messi's brilliance before this — his technique, his guile, his mesmerising ability in tight spaces — but this was off the scale. It was one of those games where he had me gasping in disbelief in the press box, trying and struggling to find the words to do justice to his performance. Advertisement A Champions League quarter-final tie hung in the balance after a 2-2 draw in London. Arsenal had come from two goals down in the first leg and then took a shock early lead through Nicklas Bendtner at the Camp Nou. For a short time, this was shaping into one of their greatest European nights. And then Messi took over. He looked angry that night, a man on a mission. It was Arsenal's profound misfortune to be the team theoretically standing in his way. His first goal was lashed home angrily from just outside the box and his second was a delightfully composed finish after seizing on a loose ball. He completed his hat-trick before half-time with one of those dinked/scooped finishes that became one of his many calling cards. Messi scored a fourth in the closing stages with what was a scruffy goal by his standards, but a classic by almost anyone else's. My match report from that night seems to have vanished into the ether, but I've managed to recover a few tweets that I think capture my sense of awe at the time. It only increased in the years that followed. Oh for god's sake. That is genius. Messi hat-trick. Barcelona 3-1 — Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) April 6, 2010 Disappointed that Guardiola isn't taking off Messi. Would have been worth it for the standing ovation, which the press box would have joined — Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) April 6, 2010 Sod it. Let's applaud him anyway. Messi 4 Arsenal 1. 87 min. Genius — Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) April 6, 2010 Oliver Kay In the 2022 World Cup final, it looked like defending champions France were about to meekly give up their crown. Argentina had been leading 2-0 since the first half and were in total control until Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty with less than 10 minutes of the 90 remaining. Sixty seconds later, Mbappe equalised with a stunning right-footed volley following a slick one-two with Marcus Thuram. Advertisement The French journalist who was sitting next to me in Qatar's Lusail Stadium quickly went from being slumped in his seat with his head in his hands to crying tears of joy. While his attacking team-mates Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were ineffective, Mbappe was a one-man whirlwind Argentina's defence could not contain. Lionel Messi put Argentina back in front in extra time, but Mbappe dragged France level again with another penalty. At the time, those two were team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain. It felt like we were watching the next global icon ruthlessly destroy the dreams of his predecessor. In the end, Messi had the last laugh and lifted the trophy as Argentina captain after he and Mbappe both scored again in the penalty shootout. Mbappe deserved to be on the winning side but had to make do with his own small piece of history by becoming only the second player, after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966, to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Jay Harris Earlier that Saturday, I'd been wandering around Munich and happened to turn the wrong corner at precisely the wrong time: England fans were singing 10 German Bombers outside a bar and as a couple of locals walked by a bottle was in the air, arcing above my head and smashing into a shop window. Suddenly, fists were flying (and I was running). I can vividly remember how furious I felt. I wanted England to get hammered that night. I wanted them (us) to be humiliated. To feel shame. A few hours later, I was dancing in the press box at the Olympic Stadium, on my feet and laughing, in the company of grizzled hacks whose usual emotional range stretched from grunt to sneer. The cause of this lapse of decorum? Germany 1 England 5. A reversal of everything we thought we knew, a demolition job by a team that specialised in self-demolition against a team that had only ever lost one World Cup qualifier at home until that night and had always been our nemesis. It was astonishing, unbelievable, hilarious and improbable, doubly so given Germany had scored first. Advertisement But there was Michael Owen, hooking in an equaliser on the volley, Steven Gerrard firing one in from long range, then two more for Owen and a cake-topper from Emile Heskey. Owen was cold-blooded, quick, ruthless, unstoppable, and the scorer of the most remarkable English hat-trick since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final. George Caulkin For Gareth Bale, it was the night that changed his career and, in his own words, 'when everyone got to know me as a player'. Inter were the reigning European champions. Bale was 21 years old. As for Tottenham, they were losing 4-0 at half-time at San Siro and down to 10 men. In other words, the stage was hardly set for anyone in a Spurs shirt to score one of the great Champions League hat-tricks. Bale, however, was on a mission. Shortly after the interval, he picked up the ball inside the Inter half, sprinted between Javier Zanetti and Maicon, outpaced Lucio and drilled an angled left-footed shot inside the far post. He outpaced Zanetti again before scoring his second, which was an almost identical finish — hard and low across goalkeeper Julio Cesar. As for the third, naturally, it ended up in the same place as the other two — the far corner via the Welshman's left boot. It was an astonishing individual performance from Bale and, as he proved against the same opponents the following month, no fluke. Indeed, he never looked back. Maicon? He never recovered. Stuart James Crystal Palace were in dire straits on February 2, 2010. Then a Championship club, they had fallen into administration and, financially stricken with the winter transfer window having closed the previous evening, were desperate to progress through a replay with Premier League visitors Wolves and into a televised FA Cup last-16 tie. That would guarantee at least £330,000 ($420,000 at the current exchange rate) in income to keep the lights on. But, having just sold star forward Victor Moses to Wigan on deadline day, Palace had no striker to partner Alan Lee. Step forward, Danny Butterfield. The 30-year-old was a club stalwart, but a right-back by trade. He had scored six times in 240 Palace appearances, with his most recent goal coming over a year earlier. The last time he'd played up front was at under-12s level. But Palace manager Neil Warnock's wife, Sharon, had a dream that a right-back would score the winner and Butterfield 'had been lively in training'. So he began the match as a striker and, in six second-half minutes, ran riot. He nodded the home side into the lead, scuffed a second in with his right foot and added a third with his left as Palace won, 3-1. Scrappy? Yes. But still a perfect hat-trick to savour. Not least as Butterfield played another six years of first-team football and never scored another goal. Dominic Fifield GO DEEPER 'It's what I'll get remembered for, but it's not me. It's unrealistic' — Danny Butterfield on his perfect hat-trick It doesn't get much bigger than a Champions League quarter-final between these two giants of the sport. And, boy, Ronaldo lived up to his billing that night as arguably the most exciting and dynamic striker in the business. And yet, it is not actually the goals that provide the starkest memory, more the reaction when the Brazilian was substituted to a standing ovation. The crowd at Old Trafford knew this was genuine greatness. It needed something of that level to deny Sir Alex Ferguson's men because United were a brilliant side in their own right. So, when the substitutes' board went up to signal Ronaldo was going off, with Madrid 6-3 up on aggregate and 23 minutes of the 90 to go, the reaction was instinctive and unanimous and born from the knowledge that, quite simply, you don't see these acts of genius very often. All four sides of the ground rose to applaud him and you could see from the way Ronaldo was looking around that he could not quite believe the opposition fans would react this way. The three goals? They weren't too shabby, let's put it that way, even if Fabien Barthez's team-mates might have hoped United's goalkeeper would not be beaten twice in one night from 20 yards. Madrid went on to meet Juventus in the semi-finals and Ronaldo went down in history as one of the greatest opponents Old Trafford has ever seen. Daniel Taylor You've all seen that Dennis Bergkamp goal for the Netherlands against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals, right? Hopefully with the Dutch commentary, which adds to the sense of hysterical wonder. Well, if some people watched it and thought, 'Hey, I've seen that goal before somewhere', they were right. Advertisement Bergkamp himself scored a goal born out of similarly exquisite touch and imagination less than a year earlier at Leicester's old Filbert Street home. Just in case one of the most delightfully executed Premier League goals of all time was not enough for one evening, it happened to complete a hat-trick — in second-half stoppage time. His first that night was stunning enough, picking up a short corner to bend ferociously into the far corner. The second was routine compared to everything else he did in the game — nicking the ball into space before flicking over the goalkeeper. The third was quintessential Bergkamp in his pomp, all about the quality of his touch and the brain that computed exactly what to do before his marker could figure out what day it was. It was a goal good enough to win a thousand games. However, ridiculously, Arsenal then allowed Leicester to scramble an equaliser, so it wasn't even a winner. He would be entitled to be annoyed with that. At the time, Bergkamp was playing with such mastery that it was not even such a surprise when the BBC's flagship highlights show Match of the Day decided to award him a rare 1-2-3 in its Goal of the Month competition. The best two of his Leicester goals made it, and seeing as one of them was only average, they found another great goal of his three from that August to make up the numbers. Perfect. Amy Lawrence With respect to my colleagues, please ignore the other entries here. On June 17, 2001, Rivaldo scored the greatest hat-trick of all time. That night, Rivaldo's Barcelona had to beat Valencia at Camp Nou to steal a Champions League place from them by virtue of their superior head-to-head record that season. His opener — a free kick almost dead centre, just over 30 yards from Santiago Canizares' goal — evaded a six-man wall jumping in hopeful unison, dipping into the bottom-right corner, off the post. Advertisement Valencia pulled level. Then Rivaldo received a square pass, on almost the same patch of grass from which he'd scored his first. After an emphatic dummy to send Kily Gonzalez spinning 360 degrees, Rivaldo threw his entire body into a brutal, low, daisy-annihilating shot and, thanks to his own sheer torque, left the ground and landed on his backside. The ball had already screamed past Canizares. Then, with 90 seconds left on the clock — after Valencia had equalised again — Frank de Boer chipped the ball to Rivaldo on the edge of the box, Barcelona's Cruyffian approximation of sticking it in the mixer. After his chested first touch sent the ball 12 feet into the air, he launched into a cinematic masterpiece of this particular goalscoring sub-genre — no suspicion of contact with the shin, no panicked hitch-kick, no cartoonish loop to the trajectory, no danger of the referee calling it dangerous play. Rivaldo produced not just the greatest hat-trick of all time that day and not just, as UK newspaper The Observer declared it, 'the most gloriously implausible hat-trick anyone has ever scored in a top-class game'. It was (narratively, at least, given Rivaldo found no use for his head or his right boot in the process) the most perfectly formed hat-trick ever seen. Its goals came in the third, 45th and 89th minutes. Adam Hurrey Desperate times call for desperate measures and with Bradford hovering over the Premier League relegation trapdoor, manager Paul Jewell chose the 'must-win' Good Friday six-pointer with Derby to go full Tropic Thunder. Or so it seemed, as their central defensive lynchpin David Wetherall was shunted up front to start alongside Robbie Blake, with top scorer Dean Windass shifted into midfield. Within 20 seconds of the match kicking off, Derby were ahead. Six minutes later, it was 2-0 as a back line shorn of the ever-dependable Wetherall collapsed. By half-time, however, Jewell had been vindicated — Bradford led 4-3 and Windass had scored a hat-trick. Advertisement His first came from a Wetherall knock-down, while the lead-up to the second — a fizzing 30-yard shot — saw the defender-turned-striker's mere presence next to Steve Elliott force a poor clearing header from the Derby defender. Jim Smith's side eventually rescued a point from a 4-4 draw that saw referee Alan Wilkie award four penalties, three to the visitors, and send a Derby player off. But the day still belonged to Windass, especially as his hat-trick proved to be the launchpad to a quite remarkable 'Great Escape' as Bradford won three of their remaining four games to stay up. This was not only an iconic hat-trick (actually, four goals), it was entirely predictable. Luis Suarez's love affair with facing Norwich had already brought him two trebles in four previous meetings — both at Carrow Road and against goalkeeper John Ruddy. One of those goals came from just inside Norwich's half. But his third and final time facing Norwich at Anfield saw Suarez catch fire. Suarez got going with an audacious, dipping 40-yard effort, before his second showed determination to beat his marker and fire Philippe Coutinho's corner high into the net, with a finish of high technical quality. But the third was the pick of the litter as Suarez dazzled and danced through a bewildered, beleaguered defence. He then flicked the ball beyond Leroy Fer before waiting an extra beat for it to bounce and drilling an incredible shot on the rise into the far corner. A 20-minute first-half hat-trick even allowed time for a fourth as he curled a delicious free kick inside Ruddy's near post. The goalkeeper's dive to try to save it was a captivating exercise in futility. That intoxicating first half will forever be at the heart of Suarez's impact at Anfield. Michael Bailey GO DEEPER Golden Games: No 23, Luis Suarez for Liverpool v Norwich There will be very few entries on this list that meant more than this one and surely none that were as dramatic. Lucas Moura's hat-trick in Amsterdam on May 8, 2019, is one of modern football's greatest stories. At half-time in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against visitors Tottenham, Ajax were 3-0 up on aggregate, cruising to the final. Spurs' European journey, including a shocking and hugely dramatic 4-3 win against Manchester City on away goals in the previous round, had run out of steam. Advertisement And then Lucas willed it otherwise. Ten minutes after the restart, he scored his first on the break after winning the ball himself on the halfway line and storming forward. Three minutes later, Lucas was the only cool head in a busy penalty area to score a second. And then with the game's last kick, he received Dele Alli's flick and buried his third from the edge of the box. That made it 3-3 on aggregate and Spurs were again through on the since-scrapped away goals rule. The Ajax players collapsed to the floor, their dreams shattered. The Tottenham team and staff were ecstatic, in tears, unable to process what they had just seen. GO DEEPER Tottenham's Ajax miracle: the stories you've never heard before Jack Pitt-Brooke 'His first two goals were for his club, but the third was for the streets.' Those words, spoken by TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole, are my abiding memory of Ademola Lookman's hat-trick for Atalanta in last season's Europa League final. The opponents were significant — Bayer Leverkusen hadn't lost a game all season in any competition and were on course for a historic invincible treble. But Lookman was in such a flow state in Dublin that evening that every trick came off; every position taken up was optimal. So it was no surprise when he crept in at the back post, unmarked, to open the scoring with a precise jab. A goal scored after a nutmeg is a humbling experience for the victim, so when Granit Xhaka saw the ball slide between his legs after a Lookman shimmy, he would have feared the worst. The ball was in the back of his net before he could even turn around, Lookman generating ridiculous power with his instep to slot it into the bottom corner. If Leverkusen were on the ropes at that point, the knockout blow came in the second half. There was to be no usual comeback, no late flurry, from Xavi Alonso's side this time. Advertisement One-v-one, Lookman had his prey exactly where he wanted him, weary and backpedalling. One touch, stepover, bang. It was emphatic as much as it was significant as Atalanta won their first major trophy in 61 years. Instinct, bravery, skill — all attributes honed in the caged-in pitches of south London, where the now Nigeria international was born and raised. Crazy, really, that this was only nine months ago. A reminder of Lookman's importance to Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, if ever he needed it. Richard Amofa (Top photos: Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi; Getty Images)
