The players to score a Premier League hat-trick against former club | OneFootball

Chris Wood became just the fourth player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick against his former club as Nottingham Forest produced a shock 3-1 win against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Boxing Day.

Alexander Isak had put The Magpies in front from the penalty spot, before Anthony Elanga squared the ball to Wood for a simple tap in to equalise. His other two goals, however, deserve a lot of praise. Wood scored his second after he got on the end of a through ball from Elanga, twisted and turned his way past Dan Burn, before lifting it over Martin Dubravka in the Newcastle goal. Wood completed his hat-trick with another great goal, this time it was a long ball from Murillo which sent Wood through on goal, and he had the coolness to take the ball round Dubravka and finish, completing the hat-trick in the process.

Wood was previously at Newcastle for two seasons. The New Zealand international managed just four Premier League goals during his time at St James’ Park, however, scoring two goals in the 21/22 season following a move from Burnley, and two more goals in the 22/23 season. Wood made the move to Forest initially on loan last season, scoring one goal in seven appearances. His tally this season is now up to seven goals after haunting his old club on Boxing Day.

Wood has now scored 62 goals in 214 Premier League appearances for West Brom, Leicester, Burnley, Newcastle, and now Nottingham Forest. Following his hat-trick against Newcastle, let’s look at the three other players to complete a hat-trick against their former clubs - Andy Cole against Newcastle, Marcus Bent against Blackburn Rovers, and Josh King against his former club, Everton.

Andy Cole

Andy Cole scored four goals in a 5-1 victory for Manchester United, which also came against Newcastle, on the 30th of August 1999. Cole scored his first when he was sent through on goal by David Beckham and slotted the ball home. He then got his second when Paul Scholes played the ball over the top of the defender, and he took it away from the ‘keeper before putting the ball in the back of the net. The striker then completed his hat-trick when Ryan Giggs played a perfect ball through to the striker, who produced an unstoppable finish with his left foot. As if a hat-trick wasn’t enough, Cole bagged his fourth of the day when Gary Neville played the ball into him, who swivelled and unleashed a fine strike into the bottom left-hand corner.

Cole had previously played for Newcastle in the 93/94 and 94/95 seasons, scoring 43 Premier League goals in 58 appearances. He made the shock move to Manchester United in the 94/95 season for £7 million in a deal which saw Keith Gillespie move in the opposite direction. This was a new record for the most expensive British transfer. Cole would go on to score 93 goals in 195 appearances for Manchester United. He then scored 187 goals and provided 73 assists across 414 appearances for Newcastle, Manchester United, Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, and Sunderland.

Since retiring in 2008, Cole has gone into coaching. His last role was as one of three assistants to Sol Campbell at Southend United, leaving the role in June 2020.

Marcus Bent

For Wigan Athletic vs Blackburn Rovers in 2007

Another player who scored a hat-trick against his former club was Marcus Bent, who did so for Wigan Athletic against his former club Blackburn Rovers in an eight-goal thriller on the 15th of December 2007. Bent got his first goal when he flicked the ball over the head of the defender and produced a finish into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

Roque Santa Cruz also scored a hat-trick in this game, managing to level it up at 3-3. This was the first time in the Premier League that two opposing players scored hat-tricks in the same match. Bent got his second when he got on the end of a cross into the box and made no mistake. He then sealed his hat-trick when the ball was put on the plate for the striker, who made no mistake and made it a hat-trick against his former side.

Bent had previously played for Blackburn in the 2001/2002 season, failing to score in any of his nine Premier League appearances. He joined Wigan on a season-long loan from Charlton Athletic and scored seven goals in 31 Premier League appearances. Bent scored 40 goals in his Premier League career, featuring for the likes of Crystal Palace, Blackburn, Ipswich, Leicester City, Everton, Charlton, Wigan, and Wolves from 1997 to 2011.

Joshua King

For Watford vs Everton in 2021

The final player to score a hat-trick against his former club in the Premier League was Josh King for Watford in a 5-2 win against Everton on the 23rd of October 2021.

King scored his first when he got on the end of a flick on from a free-kick on the right-hand side to put the ball past Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. Richarlison managed to put Everton in front with a header, and it looked like they were in firm control of the game, until, with the game level at 2-2, King got his second by getting on the end of a cross-field pass from Emmanuel Dennis and fired the ball into the net. This was King’s 50th Premier League goal. He would then complete his hat-trick when some questionable Everton defending led the Norwegian striker with the ball at his feet turning smartly past Michael Keane and blasting the ball past Pickford to seal the hat-trick on his return to Goodison Park.

King had made 11 appearances for Everton in the 20/21 season, failing to score in any games for The Toffees. King joined Watford on a free transfer the following season and scored five goals in 32 appearances, with three of them coming against his former club Everton. In his Premier League career, King scored 53 goals in 204 appearances for AFC Bournemouth, Everton, and Watford.