Nottingham's striker replicated two rare accomplishments

On Tuesday, December 26, the first match of the 19th round of the English Premier League took place. Newcastle hosted Nottingham at their home ground.

The visitors secured a sensational yet convincing victory with a scoreline of 3-1, and all three goals for Nottingham were scored by Chris Wood. According to Opta, thanks to this, the striker achieved a rare feat, becoming the seventh footballer to record a hat-trick in the Premier League on Boxing Day. Prior to him, this accomplishment was achieved by Thierry Henry (2000), Kevin Phillips (2000), Robbie Fowler (2001), Dimitar Berbatov (2011), Gareth Bale (2012), and Harry Kane (2017).

Furthermore, Chris Wood became the fourth player in Premier League history to complete a hat-trick against a team for which he played in the past. It's worth noting that Wood transferred from Newcastle to Nottingham in the summer of 2023 for €17 million.

Incidentally, on August 21, 2017, Wood moved to the Premier League club Burnley, signing a four-year contract. The transfer cost approximately £15 million, making Wood the most expensive acquisition in Burnley's history. On January 13, 2022, Chris Wood transferred to Newcastle United for €30 million, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.