Sadio Mane created Premier League history today, scoring a hat-trick inside three minutes at St. Mary’s Stadium. Southampton shot into a 3-0 lead within a quarter of an hour against Aston Villa, with Mane scoring after 13, 14 and 16 minutes.
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The Saints clearly came into the game with something to prove, having won just one of their last six league matches and seeing Swansea City close the gap on them for the final Europa League spot.
They certainly haven’t been messing around. Mane got a bit lucky with his first. Goalkeeper Shay Given came out quickly to close him down but the ball fell kindly for the midfielder who was able to squeeze it into the net.
His second was simply terrible defending from Villa. Ron Vlaar passed the ball straight to Shane Long, who beat Given and sent the ball to Mane, who was left with the simplest of tasks to tap home.
The third was all about the finish. There was more good work from Long to get down the flank and pull the ball back, but Mane still had it all to do before he rifled his shot into the top corner of the net. Incredible!
The treble has now been precisely clocked at two minutes and 52 seconds, surpassing the previous record of four minutes and 33 seconds, set by Robbie Fowler for Liverpool in August 1994. It’s a record that has stood for more than 20 years, underlining the incredible nature of Mane’s achievement.
The 23-year-old Senegal international has enjoyed a wonderful debut season with the Saints, scoring 12 Premier League goals – more than any other midfield player in the division. The former Red Bull Salzburg star has proved a real bargain for the South Coast club and after this latest success, imagine what he could achieve next.
Mane has now scored 12 Premier League goals this term, more than renowned attacking midfielders such as Coutinho, Mesut Ozil and Yaya Toure.
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