Chris Wood became the latest Premier League to score a hat-trick on Boxing Day when he put three past his former club on Tuesday.
The Nottingham Forest striker rolled back the years as he put three past Newcastle United at St James’ Park during a 3-1 win, handing new manager Nuno Espirito Santo his first victory since replacing Steve Cooper in the dugout.
Examples of players taking home the match ball on this particular are surprisingly rare in the English top flight; Wood is just the seventh man to do it since 1992. But the New Zealand international joins a star-studded list of names in the process.
Every Premier League player to score a Boxing Day hat-trick:
Thierry Henry (2000)
Arsenal completely demolished Leicester City on the first Boxing Day of the new millenium, beating the poor Foxes 6-1 at Highbury. A 23-year-old Thierry Henry scored the first hat-trick of his Premier League (he would go on to get eight before joining Barcelona in 2007) and assisted another two for good measure.
???? Boxing Day, 2000
???? Arsenal 6-1 Leicester
???? @thierryhenry's first hat-trick"Thierry was one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a few good ones.” – Arsène Wenger pic.twitter.com/74MqsFqlYs
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 26, 2018
Noughties Nines: Thierry Henry
Kevin Phillips (2000)
After winning the European Golden Boot the previous season, Kevin Phillips continued his goalscoring exploits for Sunderland in 2000/01, finding the net 14 times in 34 appearances.
Three of those goals came against lowly Bradford on Boxing Day as the Black Cats rolled over the Yorkshire outfit, winning 4-1 at Valley Parade. Niall Quinn opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime before Phillips – one of only ten players to score 30 or more goals in a single Premier League campaign – ripped the Bantams defence apart in the second half.
#onthisday in 2000 Kevin Phillips scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Bradford City at Valley Parade #SuperKev pic.twitter.com/mPTSgWGfss
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) December 26, 2015
When Kevin Phillips ruled the Premier League and won the Golden Boot
Robbie Fowler (2001)
Following his shock Liverpool exit in the middle of the 2001/02 campaign, Robbie Fowler scored 12 goals in half a season for Leeds United. The striker got his first hat-trick for the club less than a month after moving to Elland Road, putting three past Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
Dimitar Berbatov (2011)
The Premier League would have to wait a full decade before it saw its next Boxing Day hat-trick, which came from the mercurial Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian forward put three past Wigan Athletic during a 5-0 win for Manchester United, but he would struggle to find the net throughout the season, scoring just seven in total before leaving Old Trafford in the summer.
Golazo Merchants: The silky skilled assassin Dimitar Berbatov
Gareth Bale (2012)
Tottenham cut short the festive at Villa Park in 2012 when they picked Aston Villa apart, winning 4-0 on their patch on Boxing Day. Gareth Bale was responsible for three of those goals and would go on to score 21 in the Premier League that season as his career exploded into life. The Welshman joined Real Madrid the following summer and the rest is history.
A brilliant Bale hat-trick at Villa Park ????#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/mlSVZxoiBj
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 15, 2020
Remembering Gareth Bale’s phenomenal 2012/13 Premier League season
Harry Kane (2017)
Another Spurs favourite would get the next Boxing Day hat-trick, on this occasion it was Harry Kane. The England striker put Southampton to the sword during a 5-2 win in 2017 on his way to a 30-goal campaign for the north London outfit, helping the club finish third in the Premier League table.
The best Boxing Day goals in Premier League history
Chris Wood (2023)
Newcastle’s miserable December continued on Boxing Day as they followed up Champions League and EFL Cup exits with their fourth Premier League defeat of the month. It was compounded by the fact it came at the hands of one of their former players, Chris Wood, as Forest ran out 3-1 winners.
Anthony Elanga pulled the ball back for the ex-Magpies centre-forward to tap home for his first before the winger set him up for his second of the afternoon. Wood proceeded to twist Dan Burn in knots before deftly chipping over Martin Dubravka.
Another ball over the top, this time from Murillo, saw Wood run in behind the Newcastle backline, round the goalkeeper and slot it home for his third of the day.
Chris Wood todaypic.twitter.com/o6aa6nc9uz
— FPL Marcin (@FPLMarcin) December 26, 2023
It might be the former Burnley man’s finest ever performance in English football, one that has made him just the second Forest player to ever score a hat-trick in the Premier League.
Read – The best Boxing Day games in Premier League history
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