There have only been seven Premier League hat-tricks by substitutes since the competition began in 1992, the last coming in September 2022.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest: 6 February 1999
Not only was Ole Gunnar Solskjær the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick after coming on as a substitute, but he also remains the only player to score four goals after coming off the bench in a game.
What makes that feat even more impressive is that he only came off the bench in the 71st minute of Man Utd’s 8-1 away win at Nottingham Forest. None of the seven players to score a Premier League hat-trick as a sub have come on as late as Solskjær did that day.
With United leading 4-1, Alex Ferguson replaced two-goal Dwight Yorke with the Norwegian super sub. Solskjær scored his first goal past Dave Beasant in the Forest goal in the 80th minute, before adding further goals in the 88th, 91st and 94th minutes of the match.
Overall, Solskjær scored 17 times as a substitute in the Premier League – only three players have scored more – and his four goals in this match helped United record the biggest away win in the Premier League until Leicester City’s 9-0 victory over Southampton in October 2019.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers: 27 March 2004
When Claudio Ranieri brought on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Geremi in their game against Wolves at Stamford Bridge in March 2004, his Chelsea side were 2-1 down.
The Blues were expected to pick up an easy win in their quest to catch up with Arsenal at the top of the table, up against a side who were bottom, but despite taking a fourth-minute lead via Mario Melchiot, they fell behind in the 57th minute. Three minutes later, Hasselbaink entered the match from the bench.
Ten minutes after the Dutch striker’s introduction, Frank Lampard equalised for Chelsea. It was then left to Hasselbaink to inflict the damage in the final 13 minutes of the match with a sensational hat-trick.
Even better for Hasselbaink is that this hat-trick came on his 32nd birthday. As a result, he is one of only two players to score a Premier League hat-trick on their birthday alongside Carlos Tevez on 5 February 2011 (27th birthday).
Robert Earnshaw
West Bromwich Albion vs Charlton Athletic: 19 March 2005
West Brom were deep in relegation trouble when they travelled to The Valley to face Charlton Athletic in March 2005. Coming into the match, WBA were in 19th place and five points from safety with just nine matches left to play.
At the time of Rob Earnshaw’s introduction in this fixture, the teams were tied at 1-1 with just 26 minutes remaining. Within nine minutes, Earnshaw had put the Baggies in front, before adding further goals in the 84th and 90th minutes to seal his only Premier League hat-trick.
This 4-1 away win started a run of just two defeats in their final nine matches and sealed one of the most unlikely relegation survivals in Premier League history.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Arsenal vs Derby County: 28 April 2008
Emmanuel Adebayor became just the fourth substitute to score a Premier League hat-trick in this win over Derby back in April 2008. Not only this, but this treble was also his second against the beleaguered Rams in the competition that season. As a result, he remains the only player to score a hat-trick home and away against the same opponent in the same Premier League campaign.
The Togolese striker came on for Robin van Persie at half-time and took just 14 minutes to open his account on the day, before adding two further goals to complete his hat-trick in the final nine minutes of Arsenal’s 6-2 victory.
Romelu Lukaku
West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester United: 19 May 2013
It’s likely that you’ll remember this match for two reasons. First, it was Alex Ferguson’s final match as Manchester United manager, and second, it was the only 5-5 draw in Premier League history. Therefore, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Romelu Lukaku scored a second-half hat-trick as a substitute for West Brom.
Lukaku went on to score three Premier League hat-tricks in his career, but this was his first. The treble took his seasonal goal tally in the competition to 17 while at the Baggies on loan from Chelsea – he only surpassed that tally in two of his other seven seasons in the competition.
West Brom found themselves 3-1 down at half-time, which forced boss Steve Clarke to make an attacking change at the break. Lukaku came on for defender Liam Ridgewell before scoring his first goal five minutes into the second half, before he then added another in the 80th minute, and completed his hat-trick in injury time to record history and make it 5-5 at the Hawthorns.
Steven Naismith
Everton vs Chelsea: 12 September 2015
Scottish forward Steven Naismith became the sixth substitute to score a Premier League hat-trick in September 2015 after coming on against Chelsea at Goodison Park as an early first-half replacement for Muhamed Besic.
Within 13 minutes he’d already helped himself to two goals, before adding a third to complete his treble in the 82nd minute. With his three goals, he became the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick against a side led by José Mourinho.
Naismith scored his three goals in this match from just three shots, but he wouldn’t score in any of his other 16 Premier League appearances for Everton in 2015-16 before moving to Norwich City in January 2016, with these his final goals in an Everton shirt. What a way to go out, though.
Son Heung-Min
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City: 17 September 2022
Son Heung-Min is the last player to score a Premier League hat-trick after coming on as a substitute. His treble arrived in Spurs’ 6-2 win over Leicester at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2022 and ended a personal barren run for the South Korean forward – a run that had led to him being dropped for this game.
Before scoring his opening goal in this match, he’d failed to score with each of his 17 shots to open 2022-23 in the Premier League. By full-time, he’d added three goals from just four more attempts.
Son helped Spurs score as many as six times in a Premier League home game for the first time since their 9-1 win over Wigan Athletic in November 2009. He only entered the match in the 59th minute after replacing Richarlison but took just 14 minutes to find his first league goal of the campaign, before adding two more in the 84th and 86th minutes to seal victory for Antonio Conte’s side.
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