Julio Baptista and 10 Other Players Who Had 4-Goal Games
It is eight years to the day since Julio Baptista enjoyed the finest moment of what was otherwise a somewhat underwhelming year-long loan spell at Arsenal.
The Brazilian remarkably scored four goals—and even found time to miss a penalty—as the Gunners beat Liverpool, 6-3, in a League Cup quarter-final tie at Anfield that had more ups and downs than your average roller coaster.
Baptista scored twice in the first half as the Gunners raced into a 4-1 lead at the break, and although Liverpool threatened to produce one of their trademark comebacks when Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypia took the score from 5-1 to 5-3, it was Baptista who had the final say as Liverpool conceded six goals at Anfield for the first time in 77 years.
Nicknamed "the Beast," Baptista returned to parent club Real Madrid after his one and only season at the Emirates Stadium, but this night in 2007 ensured that Gunners fans always had something to remember him by.
Is Baptista's quartet your favourite occasion when a player has scored four goals in a game? Here are 10 other examples of when a hat-trick just wasn't good enough.
Robert Lewandowski, Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, April 24, 2013
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This was the night when Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid Champions League dream was left in tatters by a clinical performance from a polished Polish poacher.
Robert Lewandowski battered Real in the first leg of this Champions League semi-final, opening the scoring with a close-range finish before taking over in the second period after Cristiano Ronaldo had equalised.
The pick of Lewandowski's goals was his third, as he collected Marcel Schmelzer's ball across the box, rolled away from Pepe and dispatched a shot into the top corner just a few minutes before grabbing his and Dortmund's fourth from the penalty spot.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United, February 6, 1999
2 of 10It's hard enough to score four goals in 90 minutes, but getting them all in 18 is something truly special.
Manchester United's formidable 1998/99 team were in treble-winning form when they went to Nottingham Forest in the February 1999, with two goals apiece from Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole putting them 4-1 up after 72 minutes.
That was when super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Yorke. The Norwegian remarkably scored four times in the final 10 minutes of the match to take the scoreline from 4-1 to 8-1.
Three of Solskjaer's finishes were his trademark penalty-area poacher's goals, but his second was a brilliant strike from the edge of the box after he'd fooled goalkeeper Dave Beasant.
Eusebio, Portugal vs. North Korea, July 23, 1966
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England may have won the 1966 World Cup, but there is little doubt that the individual star of the show was Portugal's Eusebio.
The forward was the top goalscorer at the tournament with nine goals. Four of those goals went in on one afternoon at a captivated Goodison Park, as Portugal came from three goals down to beat North Korea 5-3 in the quarter-finals.
Eusebio—who also scored two goals against Brazil at Everton's home ground—would later describe Goodison as a "special place" to the Blues' official website, and the club marked the football legend's death early last year with a special tribute.
His four-goal feat had been previously achieved by four different players at a World Cup, but since his 1966 heroics, only Spain's Emilio Butragueno (versus Denmark in 1986) and Russia's Oleg Salenko (a record five goals versus Cameroon in 1994) have matched it.
Mark Viduka, Leeds United vs. Liverpool, November 4, 2000
4 of 10Back when Leeds United were a Premier League force, they had regular battles with some of the division's elite, and this clash with Gerard Houllier's Liverpool was dominated by Australian forward Mark Viduka.
The visitors raced into a two-goal lead at Elland Road, thanks to headers from Sami Hyypia and Christian Ziege in the opening 17 minutes, only for a Ziege error to gift Viduka a chance to pull one back before the break. The forward then made it 2-2 with a header of his own at the start of the second half.
In a topsy-turvy game, Liverpool retook the lead through Vladimir Smicer, but two goals in two minutes from Viduka remarkably put Leeds 4-3 ahead and completed his brilliant afternoon's work in a Premier League classic.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona vs. Arsenal, April 6, 2010
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After a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, Barcelona and Arsenal reconvened at the Nou Camp for the second leg, with the Gunners taking a shock lead through Nicklas Bendtner (yes, Nicklas Bendtner).
That only served to get the hosts angry, though—specifically Lionel Messi, who struck a clinical first-half hat-trick in the space of 21 minutes to completely take the game away from the Premier League side.
Messi saved the best for last, and a brilliant solo run led to his fourth goal two minutes from time, at which point the Gunners were sick of the sight of him.
Luis Suarez, Liverpool vs. Norwich City, December 4, 2013
6 of 10Luis Suarez's time in English football was certainly eventful, and rarely was it more eventful than when the former Liverpool forward came up against Norwich City.
The Uruguayan has a remarkable record of 12 goals in his last five appearances against the Canaries, with four of those coming on a stunning Anfield evening when he delivered the best individual performance of the 2013/14 campaign.
It wasn't just that Suarez scored four goals that made his performance so special, but it was more about the quality of his goals. Strikes number one, three and four were simply brilliant, and there was nothing that Chris Hughton's men could do to stop him.
Andrey Arshavin, Liverpool vs. Arsenal, April 21, 2009
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We might be remembering Julio Baptista's four-goal feat here, but the Brazilian is far from the most recent Arsenal player to score four in a game. Nor is he the most recent Arsenal player to score four in a game against Liverpool at Anfield.
Russian Andrey Arshavin's star might only have burned briefly at the Gunners, but he was the shining light on a remarkable night as Arsenal drew 4-4 with a title-chasing Liverpool at the tail end of the 2008/09 season.
Arshavin fired the visitors ahead at the Kop end in the first half before all hell broke loose in the second.
Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun scored in quick succession to put Liverpool 2-1 up, but Arshavin scored his second and third goals in the space of three minutes to make it 3-2 to Arsenal. Torres then made it 3-3, only for Theo Walcott's breakaway to lead to Arshavin's fourth in the 89th minute.
Liverpool refused to be beaten, though, and Benayoun scored his second of the game to level things up in stoppage time, with the final whistle blown on a breathless night moments later.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden vs. England, November 14, 2012
8 of 10In a game remembered for his stunning last-minute strike, it is easy to forget Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored all four of Sweden's goals in their friendly win over England in Stockholm in 2012.
The forward poked his side in front before goals from Danny Welbeck and debutant Steven Caulker turned the tables and gave England a lead that they protected until 13 minutes from time.
That was when Zlatan took over, with a couple of quick-fire strikes—the latter a free-kick—before his stunningly brilliant fourth, which saw him acrobatically volley an overhead kick over a stranded Joe Hart.
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur, October 18, 2014
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The stellar performance of this season's Premier League so far was surely delivered by Sergio Aguero when he demolished Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium, even finding time to miss a penalty.
He still scored two other spot-kicks, though, with Spurs' only response being a well-worked equaliser from Christian Eriksen, which made it 1-1 after 15 minutes.
Aguero scored either side of that goal and also missed his penalty in the first half before his double strike—the first another penalty—in the second period.
Ian Rush, Everton vs. Liverpool, November 6, 1982
10 of 10They still sing about this Merseyside derby on the Kop, with 1980s goalscoring icon Ian Rush responsible for a one-man demolition job on a helpless Everton at Goodison Park.
Rush grabbed his first goal from a fine Alan Hansen pass in the first half before firing three more goals in the second period to secure a stunning 5-0 victory and his place in Merseyside folklore.
Rush's four-goal feat was the last time a hat-trick was scored in a Merseyside derby until man-of-the-moment Steven Gerrard scored all three goals in a 3-0 Reds win at Anfield in 2012.
