An incredible piece of goalscoring saw Southampton star Sadio Mane beat Robbie Fowler’s 21-year-old record for the fastest hat-trick in the English Premier League on Saturday (16 May 2015).
The Senegalese winger was on target three times in an incredible 2 minutes and 56 seconds during Southampton’s 6-1 win over Aston Villa.
Mane notched up his first goal in the 13th minute and had completed his treble by the 16th, over a minute and and a half faster than the 4 minutes and 33 seconds that it took Fowler to score three times against Arsenal for Liverpool in 1994.
The feat marked the ninth time a player has hit three goals in the Premier League in under 10 minutes.
Mane, a summer signing from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, described his record-breaking achievement as his "best moment in football".
"In Senegal they will be happy for me. I have many fans there," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"I am happy. The most important thing today was the victory. It's a special day for that," he added.
Speaking after the match, Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, said he expected more goal scoring feats from to come from Mane. "I didn't have time to think about the hat trick because it was so fast," said Dutchman Koeman.
"I speak a lot to Sadio, he has to know what his best quality is. "He is a scorer and today he demonstrated what we expect. He is a great player, it his first season in the Premier League, he is a young player and he will learn and get better because I believe in the talent of the player."
The fastest hat-trick of all time remains Tommy Ross’ treble scored for Ross County in just 90 seconds in their 8-1 victory over Nairn County at Dingwall Ross-shire, Scotland in November 1964.
Top five fastest Premier League hat-tricks
Date | Player | Team | Opposition | Home/Away | Minutes |
16/05/2015 | Sadio Mane | Southampton | Aston Villa | Home | 3 |
28/08/1994 | Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | Arsenal | Home | 5 |
17/08/2008 | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Aston Villa | Manchester City | Home | 7 |
22/11/2009 | Jermaine Defoe | Tottenham | Wigan | Home | 7 |
15/04/1995 | Ian Wright | Arsenal | Ipswich | Home | 9 |