Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is looking to make history in his upcoming game against Brentford. Should he secure another hat-trick on Saturday, he’d join a short list of players who’ve accomplished the same feat in three successive English top-flight matches, a record that hasn’t been touched since 1946. This accomplishment has only happened four times before, three of which were prior to 1930.
Frank Osborne is one notable figure in this history. Despite having a dry spell of no goals in the 1924-25 season with Tottenham, the change in offside law the next year allowed him to make a dramatic comeback. He scored a hat-trick in three successive games against Liverpool, Leicester City, and West Ham United. However, Osborne is the only player among the four who didn’t score four goals in at least one of the matches in question.
Tom Jennings of Leeds United is another historical figure, having scored three consecutive hat-tricks in 1926 against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Blackburn Rovers. this incredible performance lifted Leeds from 16th place to seventh early in the 1926-27 season. Despite failing to score a fourth consecutive hat-trick, this remains the closest anyone has come to achieving such a record.
Dixie Dean, an Everton player and renowned goalscorer, made history in the 1927-28 First Division. Scoring an astonishing 60 times that season, he additionally managed to maintain a hat-trick streak for three consecutive games. He remains a legendary figure, having scored a record 30 hat-tricks in the top division of English football.
Liverpool’s Jack Balmer also left an impression in the 1946-47 season, after three games of consecutive hat-tricks. The season marked the first completion in the English League since World War II’s onset, and Balmer’s tenacity contributed significantly to Liverpool’s title win after 24 years. However, his performance took a sharp decline after December of that year.
Haaland is now poised to take his place among these renowned players, having scored back-to-back hat-tricks earlier in the 2022-23 Premier League season. Known for his impressive performances, all eyes are on him as he takes on Brentford, a match that could secure his place in football history or leave him just shy of an extraordinary achievement.
