Breaking the Fastest Four-Goal Record in Premier League History

After the match against Hull City, Manchester City's intense schedule finally took a brief pause.

The players were granted some well-deserved rest.

The club organized a party to celebrate their League Cup victory.

Because of the packed schedule earlier, they hadn't had time to celebrate, so this break was the perfect opportunity to make up for it.

Although the League Cup isn't as prestigious as the league title or the FA Cup, it was still a good start for Manchester City, who were aiming for a treble.

Moreover, their success in reaching the Champions League quarterfinals was a historic achievement for the club.

The club's owner, Mansour, was extremely pleased and generously rewarded each player with a victory bonus.

Lin received £1 million—Middle Eastern royalty knows how to be extravagant.

In addition to the cash, Mansour also prepared many prizes for the players, the most valuable being an Aston Martin supercar worth over a million pounds.

Unfortunately, Lin's luck wasn't great, and he didn't win the grand prize. He got the third prize, which was a luxury home entertainment system package worth £50,000.

The package included speakers, a home karaoke system, a karaoke machine, and an all-in-one home theater system.

It also came with two fully automatic massage chairs, so he could enjoy movies without leaving home.

After the lottery, Lin politely declined his teammates' invitation to hit the nightclubs.

Instead of wasting time at a nightclub, he preferred to study his Champions League opponents.

Everyone said Barcelona was unbeatable, but Lin remembered that they were defeated by Atlético Madrid this year.

If Simeone's Atlético could beat Barcelona, there was no reason Manchester City couldn't do it!

After two days of watching match footage at home, Lin gained a deeper understanding of Barcelona's strengths.

Compared to the peak Barcelona of a few seasons ago, their current strength had declined.

Although Neymar's addition had strengthened their wing attack, the aging squad, especially the decline in midfield commander Xavi's form, had greatly impacted Barcelona.

Moreover, Messi's form directly determined Barcelona's upper limits.

This season, Barcelona's performance had started strong but was now declining. At the beginning of La Liga, many doubted Martino's ability to manage Barcelona.

However, they silenced everyone with an eight-game winning streak.

But when Messi got injured, their performance immediately became inconsistent, allowing Atlético and Real Madrid to overtake them.

Currently, Barcelona is third in La Liga, four points behind leaders Atlético and one point behind second-place Real Madrid.

Their next match is a crucial away game against Real Madrid, followed by their final match at home against leaders Atlético.

These two matches are critical; if Barcelona loses either, their chances of winning La Liga this season will be over.

Therefore, Barcelona faces greater pressure and consumes more energy in the league.

On the other hand, Manchester City, with an eight-point lead, had much more room for error than Barcelona.

During the Champions League period, they could even strategically forfeit their match against Arsenal to focus all their energy on the match against Barcelona at Camp Nou!

Thus, from the current situation, Manchester City actually held the advantage.

The reason Premier League teams struggle in European competitions is mainly due to the burden of the league.

If they can gain a significant lead in the league and reduce that burden, they can certainly perform well in Europe.

However, they must not be complacent; after all, it's Camp Nou, and Barcelona is formidable on their home turf.

A team called PSG once held a four-goal lead and was still overturned at Camp Nou...

...

On March 22, the 31st round of the Premier League kicked off.

Manchester City returned home to face Fulham. Due to red card suspensions, Pellegrini and captain Kompany watched the game from the stands.

The team was led by assistant coach Kusias.

But there was little need for direction; Manchester City's players solved the match in just 30 minutes.

Within the first three minutes, Lin stunned the crowd with a long-range shot to open the scoring.

Since opponents had tightened their defense against him in the penalty area, Lin had increased his attempts at long-range shots.

With a powerful kick and great accuracy, his long-range shots were of high quality.

Shots with such speed and precision were difficult for goalkeepers to stop.

Seeing Lin's frequent attempts from outside the box, Fulham's defenders had no choice but to step out, denying him space for long shots.

However, by stepping out, they left the penalty area exposed.

Lin quickly adapted, switching from long-range shots to breaking into the box.

This change caught Fulham off guard. In the 18th minute, their defender Amorebieta, having been beaten by Lin, lost his defensive position and, in desperation, tripped Lin from behind.

Referee Webb, with a sharp eye, immediately blew his whistle, awarding a yellow card to Amorebieta and a penalty to Manchester City.

Lin calmly took the penalty, converting it to make it 2-0.

Just five minutes later, Lin repeated the tactic. He feigned a long shot from outside the box, drew in the defender, then drove into the box again.

Poor Amorebieta was once again beaten by Lin!

Already on a yellow card, he should have been more cautious.

But, for some inexplicable reason, he tripped Lin from behind once more.

After the foul, Amorebieta looked like a pitiful child, pleading with the stern-faced referee walking toward him, almost ready to kneel.

But Webb was unyielding. He pulled out a yellow card from his back pocket and a red card from his chest pocket, showing Amorebieta a second yellow and sending him off.

Committing such a foul right in front of me, and using the same move as before, is practically an insult to my refereeing!

Lin once again stood at the penalty spot.

The goalkeeper was extremely nervous. It was only the 23rd minute, and Lin was already on the brink of a hat trick!

He vaguely remembered that the record for the fastest Premier League hat trick was also around 20 minutes. Could Lin be about to break that record?

If that were the case, wouldn't he just become part of the background?

The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became.

Lin noticed the goalkeeper's anxiety and deliberately glanced at the bottom right corner of the goal, giving the impression that he was going to shoot in that direction.

The goalkeeper fell for the bait and dived in that direction as Lin took his shot.

However, to his shock, the ball soared over his body and into the net!

It was a Panenka penalty, a cheeky chip!

After scoring, Lin ran to the corner and jumped up, pumping his fist in celebration.

As he scored more and more goals, Lin found himself running out of celebration ideas.

Recently, his celebrations had become increasingly casual, leading fans to joke that his celebrations were more suited for a neighborhood league.

It seemed that even Agüero, usually good at celebrating, had become less creative recently.

"Lin, Manchester City's number 10, has completed a hat trick in just 23 minutes. He almost tied Dwight Yorke's record for the fastest hat trick in Premier League history, but unfortunately, he was one minute short!"

Commentator Martin Tyler lamented in a regretful tone.

Witnessing a new record is always exciting, and today they came so close to seeing history made.

"Haha, no worries. There's still plenty of time left in the match. Even if Lin can't break the record for the fastest hat trick, he can still go for the fastest four-goal haul in Premier League history!"

Andy Gray was more optimistic. With the way Lin was playing, he had a feeling Lin would score again.

"Indeed! For the viewers watching at home, Lin has now scored an astonishing 43 goals in the Premier League this season, breaking Alan Shearer's 18-year-old record for the most goals in a single season."

To give the viewers a better sense of just how impressive this statistic was, Martin Tyler added:

"There are only six teams in the entire Premier League that have scored more goals than Lin alone!"

Andy Gray was taken aback and, with an exaggerated tone, exclaimed:

"That's terrifying! I think Lin has scored more goals in one season than I did in my entire career!"

Martin Tyler chuckled, "Not quite, but Lin has completed six hat tricks and one four-goal haul this season—both of which are indeed more than you managed in your entire career."

Andy Gray clutched his chest and jokingly said:

"Hey, buddy, that's a low blow!"

...

On the field, Lin wasn't aware that he had almost broken a Premier League record.

But even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care much.

Since starting his professional career, he had been breaking records one after another. Breaking records had become almost routine for him.

With the team leading 3-0 and their opponents down to ten men, the outcome of the match was no longer in doubt. After all, not every team can be like Manchester City, who, even when down to ten men, can still thrash their opponents and score six goals.

If Fulham had that kind of strength, they'd be contending for the title instead of languishing at the bottom of the Premier League table.

After completing his hat trick, Lin played even more as a team player.

But sometimes, when luck is on your side, nothing can stop it!

In the 33rd minute of the first half, Lin found himself in a half one-on-one situation. He passed the ball to Agüero, who was in a better position, hoping to assist his teammate.

However, Agüero aimed too precisely, and the ball struck the crossbar, bounced on the goal line, and came back out.

The ball had not fully crossed the line, so the referee did not award a goal.

The opposing goalkeeper made a mistake, rushing out but failing to catch the ball.

The ball bounced toward Lin, who was sprinting forward to follow up.

Unable to stop himself, the ball bounced off Lin's body and into the goal.

What…?

Seeing the ball go into the net, both Lin and the opposing goalkeeper were dumbfounded.

Did that just happen?

Lin looked at the referee, who didn't care how the ball went in. As long as there was no foul, even if you used your backside to score, it counted!

So, the referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid.

Well, just like that, Lin unwittingly completed a four-goal haul, breaking the Premier League record for the fastest four-goal haul in history.

"Sometimes, victory needs a little bit of luck, and so does breaking records!"

Seeing this goal, Martin Tyler couldn't help but laugh.

Lin was incredibly lucky. With so many players on the field and over ten in the penalty area, how did the ball end up hitting him?

That's what you call luck!

But Agüero felt a bit downhearted.

That was supposed to be my goal!

If only I hadn't aimed for such a precise angle!

"Kun, don't be discouraged. Run into the open space later, and I'll pass one to you!"

Seeing Agüero's dejected expression, Lin comforted him.

"Okay!"

Agüero knew what Lin was capable of, so when Lin said that, his face immediately brightened up.

Lin kept his promise. In the 41st minute of the first half, he received a through ball from De Bruyne and, after breaking through, unselfishly passed it to Agüero as the goalkeeper rushed out.

Lin could have taken the shot himself, but he chose to pass.

This time, Agüero didn't waste the golden opportunity, easily slotting the ball into the empty net, helping the team to another goal.

Manchester City was now up 5-0 at home!

With a comfortable lead, City made substitutions in the second half, with Lin and David Silva sitting on the bench, while Kroos was substituted in the 70th minute.

Having substituted three key players, most teams might see this as an opportunity to launch a counterattack, hoping to salvage a goal and save face.

But Fulham was too demoralized to mount any effective counterattacks.

In the end, Manchester City secured a 5-0 victory at home against Fulham. With a game in hand, they now had 77 points, edging ever closer to their second championship trophy.

This round's marquee matchup was Chelsea at home against Arsenal.

With their traditional March slump, Arsenal had slipped to fourth place on the table, trailing significantly behind the leaders.

They currently had 63 points, only six points ahead of fifth-place Everton.

If Wenger's team lost a few more games, they might not even qualify for the Champions League qualifiers.

But this match was no easy task for Arsenal, as Mourinho's team was gunning for the Premier League title!

They were currently eight points behind Manchester City and couldn't afford to lose any more games if they wanted to keep their title hopes alive.

Moreover, Chelsea felt hard done by the unfair officiating in their previous match, turning Mourinho's side into a team fueled by anger.

In this state, Arsenal, who are notoriously bad in big games, were lambs to the slaughter...

Chelsea ended up thrashing Arsenal 6-0!

This was the most lopsided scoreline between Premier League giants so far this season.

Often criticized for lacking firepower, Chelsea played like a team possessed at Stamford Bridge.

In just the first five minutes, Eto'o scored.

In the 7th minute, Schürrle scored as well.

Hazard scored in the 17th minute, and Oscar added another in the 42nd minute.

Chelsea was leading Arsenal 4-0 before the first half even ended.

Wenger's team was completely dismantled at Stamford Bridge, unable to mount an attack or hold a defense.

In their frustration, Gibbs even received a direct red card for a foul, reducing Arsenal to ten men.

It was a disaster—Arsenal lost both the match and a player.

Mourinho's team knew how to capitalize on the situation. With Arsenal's lineup weakened and their form off, Chelsea continued to press in the second half. Oscar scored again in the 66th minute.

In the 71st minute, substitute Mohamed Salah scored just four minutes after coming on, netting his first goal since joining Chelsea.

In the end, Chelsea ruthlessly demolished Arsenal 6-0 at Stamford Bridge.

After this heavy defeat of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City remained eight points apart.

However, with one less round left, Chelsea's chances of catching up to City for the title grew even slimmer.