The most goals scored by a single player in a Premier League match

Goal-fests in the Premier League are always well received by supporters around the world.

But, every now and then, we are treated to a display of finishing so good that we can only sit and watch in awe of the quality on show.

Here are the records around the most goals scored by one player in a single match in England's top flight.

Most goals scored by a single player in a Premier League match

1. Andy Cole - 5 goals vs Ipswich (1994/95)

The first player in the Premier League to ever score as many as five goals in a match was Andy Cole, and he did it whilst playing for Manchester United. It was inevitable that they would feature on this list somewhere.

This 9-0 victory over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford is still the joint-biggest Premier League, on par with the 9-0s that Leicester City and Man Utd handed to Southampton in recent years. Ironically, Ipswich had won the reverse fixture 3-2.

Eric Cantona was serving his nine-month suspension for and that means Cole and Mark Hughes started upfront together. Cole scored five, with the other four coming from Roy Keane, Hughes (2), and Paul Ince.

2. Alan Shearer - 5 goals vs Sheffield Wednesday (1999/00)

Before the new millennium, Alan Shearer became the second player to score five goals in one game. It is fitting for the highest scorer in Premier League history to be on this list.

In September 1999, Newcastle blew Sheffield Wednesday away by winning 8-0 at St. James' Park. Shearer scored five of the goals, two of which were penalties, whilst Gary Speed, Aaron Hughes and Kieron Dyer got the others.

It was a jubilant day in Newcastle because the Magpies had been in poor form, but this was Sir Bobby Robson's first match in charge. There could be no better start.

3. Jermain Defoe - 5 goals vs Wigan (2009/10)

Jermain Defoe will always be remembered as one of the Premier League's great strikers, but Wigan Athletic fans are stuck with the memory of him putting five past them at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham made history when they beat Wigan 9-1, and Defoe actually has something over everyone else on this list. He got all five of his goals in the second half of the game, becoming the first player to do so.

It was only 1-0 at half time, with Peter Crouch having scored. The other Spurs goals came from Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar.

4. Dimitar Berbatov - 5 goals vs Blackburn Rovers (2010/11)

Dimitar Berbatov was a truly wonderful footballer that some people are too quick to forget. He is the only one on the list who is not your conventional, out-and-out striker. He would drop very deep to build attacks, and that is what he did when Man Utd beat Blackburn Rovers 7-1.

The best goal saw him receive the ball near his own box and play a great one-two with Patrice Evra, before hitting a pass to Nani with the outside of his foot. He eventually met Nani's delivery in the box and scored his third. He didn't break a sweat.

5. Sergio Aguero - 5 goals vs Newcastle (2015/16)

Another striker that you would perhaps expect to be on such a list is Sergio Aguero. He was so ruthless for Man City during his time there, and he grabbed five of their six goals when they beat Newcastle 6-1.

His extra bit of trivia is that all five of his goals were scored within the space of 20 minutes. The Argentine got his first in the 42nd minute, when Man City were 1-0 down, and his fifth in the 62nd minute. Kevin De Bruyne had knocked one in somewhere in the middle.

6. Cole Palmer - 4 goals vs Brighton (2024/25)

Talk about bats*it mental football games. Chelsea's 4-2 victory over Brighton must've hard purists weeping, but hipsters were thriving.

Suicidal high lines, dire build-up play, and genius set-piece taking meant Palmer became the first-ever player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match.

Chelsea's superstar forward was clinical from the spot and pinpoint from a long-range free-kick. His other two strikes were emphatic with that sweet left boot, and any folk who opted against an Erling Haaland captaincy in favour of Palmer in the land of FPL were absolutely laughing.

7. Erling Haaland - 4 goals vs Wolves (2023/24)

Sky Sports had Wolves manager Gary O'Neil performing a segment on Monday Night Football explaining how his team were able to shackle Man City's goalscoring machine in a 2-1 victory at the start of the 2023/24 season.

Haaland was kept quiet at Molineux by wily veteran Craig Dawson, but there was no taming the Norwegian in this one. The Norwegian hitman ran riot in the reverse fixture with Dawson missing out, although it's hard to imagine that the defender's presence in the middle of Wolves' back three would've had a major impact.

Haaland's on a quest to break an array of Premier League scoring records, and he bagged his quartet of strikes within 54 minutes against Wolves on this occasion.

8. Cole Palmer - 4 goals vs Everton (2023/24)

His majesty against Brighton was remarkably not the first time Palmer has scored four times in one Premier League outing.

The England international's first rodeo arrived during the backend of a sensational debut season in west London, with Palmer putting Everton to the sword on Monday Night Football.

It was a performance full of trademark Palmer cheek and guile, with the playmaker's first and third goals being of the highest quality. A penalty put the finishing touches on his rampant night in the second half as Chelsea trounced the Toffees 6-0.

9. Kevin De Bruyne - 4 goals vs Wolves (2021/22)

The all-time Premier League great has scored just one hat-trick in the competition, and De Bruyne ensured it was a special one.

The Belgian netted three within 24 minutes in an end-of-season encounter at Wolves as Man City stormed towards the league title.

De Bruyne ran riot in the left half-space and netted his first three goals with his 'weaker' left foot. He crashed home a fourth with his preferred right in the second half.

10. Gabriel Jesus - 4 goals vs Watford (2021/22)

Arsenal fans have figured out that Jesus is no goalscoring machine, but he did have his days out during his five-year spell with Manchester City.

He netted four hat-tricks for the Cityzens, and the Brazilian went on to net four in a single game on two occasions. His sole Premier League hat-trick arrived at the Etihad against Watford in April 2022.

This was an opportunistic quartet of finishes from Jesus, who was seemingly always in the right place at the right time to convert from close range.

Most goals scored in a single Football League game

Football did indeed take place before the Premier League was created and a number of large goal hauls were recorded in the 1930s.

Joe Payne netted a ludicrous ten goals in Luton Town's 12-0 victory over Bristol Rovers back in April 1935. You'd say the quality is worse for one player to be able to net every nine minutes on average, but it doesn't seem too far away from the statistics Manchester City's Erling Haaland is putting up.

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