Cantona’s First Premier League Hat-Trick: Leeds United 5-0 Tottenham (1992)
Cantona’s first Premier League hat-trick came on Tuesday 25 August 1992, when Eric Cantona inspired Leeds United to a 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road, the first hat-trick in the new Premier League. The reigning league champions were three goals up by half-time: Rod Wallace opened, Cantona struck twice, then the Frenchman completed his treble within a couple of minutes of the restart. Lee Chapman rounded off the rout. It was Cantona’s second hat-trick in 17 days, and it remains one of our favourite On This Day moments.
What follows is how the Premier League’s first hat-trick unfolded, why Cantona was already flying, and how the champions came to sell their maverick to Manchester United barely three months later.
Key Facts
Snapshot of facts before you watch the documentary.
- Played on Tuesday 25 August 1992 at Elland Road, matchday four of the inaugural 1992-93 Premier League season, in front of 28,218.
- Leeds United won 5-0. Rod Wallace opened the scoring, Eric Cantona scored three, and Lee Chapman completed the win.
- Cantona’s treble was the Premier League’s first hat-trick, as Sky Sports records.
- Leeds led 3-0 at the interval; Cantona finished his hat-trick within two minutes of the restart with a first-time volley, as the Yorkshire Post reported.
- It was Cantona’s second hat-trick in 17 days: he had scored three in Leeds’ 4-3 Charity Shield win over Liverpool at Wembley on 8 August 1992.
- Leeds were the reigning champions, having won the 1991-92 Football League title, the last before the Premier League rebrand.
- On 26 November 1992, the champions sold Cantona to Manchester United for a fee the Premier League reports at around £1m.
Watch the Full Documentary
Eric Cantona: The Football Maverick
The Day Cantona Made Premier League History
Champions With a Restless Genius
Leeds United began the 1992-93 season as champions of England, having won the 1991-92 Football League title under Howard Wilkinson, the last title awarded before the top flight became the Premier League. Cantona had arrived on loan the previous February and helped drag that title over the line, a maverick centre-forward in a hard-running, direct Leeds side. By late August the collar was already turned up and the crowd already adored him, but Wilkinson never fully trusted the Frenchman’s temperament, a tension that would resolve itself before winter.
Leeds came into the Tottenham match after a stuttering start, including a defeat at Middlesbrough three days earlier, so Elland Road wanted a statement. It got one of the most complete individual displays of the Premier League’s opening weeks. You can watch the full film on the man himself, Eric Cantona: The Football Maverick, which traces how a restless talent kept finding stages exactly like this one.
Five Past Tottenham at Elland Road
Rod Wallace opened the scoring before Cantona took the night over. The Frenchman had his first two by the interval, one of them a header from a David Batty cross, and Leeds went in 3-0 up. According to the Yorkshire Post, Cantona completed the hat-trick barely two minutes into the second half, sweeping in a first-time shot after Wallace broke down the left and Lee Chapman won the aerial duel. Chapman then made it five, finishing from a Cantona pass, so the maverick had a hand in four of the goals in a 5-0 win.
| Goal | Scorer | Score | How it came |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rod Wallace | 1-0 | Leeds’ opener in the first half |
| 2 | Eric Cantona | 2-0 | First of the treble, first half |
| 3 | Eric Cantona | 3-0 | Header from David Batty’s cross (half-time 3-0) |
| 4 | Eric Cantona | 4-0 | First-time volley within two minutes of the restart, hat-trick complete |
| 5 | Lee Chapman | 5-0 | Finished from Cantona’s pass |
The Premier League had kicked off ten days earlier, on 15 August 1992, so Cantona’s three goals landed with the competition still finding its feet. Sky Sports records his three goals as the Premier League’s first hat-trick, the first time any player had taken a match ball home in the rebranded top flight.
Watch the Full Documentary
Eric Cantona: The Football Maverick
Two Trebles in 17 Days, Then Gone
The Wembley Warm-Up
The Tottenham hat-trick was not even Cantona’s first treble of the month. Seventeen days earlier, on 8 August 1992, he had scored three at Wembley as champions Leeds beat FA Cup winners Liverpool 4-3 in the Charity Shield, the traditional curtain-raiser. Tony Dorigo added Leeds’ other goal, while Ian Rush and Dean Saunders replied for Liverpool and a Gordon Strachan own goal completed the scoring. Keep the two hat-tricks separate in your head: the Wembley three came in a one-off showpiece, the Elland Road three in the league, and it is the second set that the record books mark as the Premier League’s first.
From Champions’ Hero to Old Trafford
Here is the twist that still stings at Elland Road. Those three goals against Tottenham were Cantona’s last league goals for Leeds, as the Yorkshire Post noted. Barely three months after making Premier League history for the champions, on 26 November 1992, Leeds sold him to title rivals Manchester United for a fee the Premier League reports at around £1m. The deal reportedly began with a phone call about a different player, and it turned into one of the great bargains of the era: United ended a 26-year wait for the league title with Cantona at the heart of the side, while Leeds slid down the table. The maverick who gave the Premier League its first hat-trick spent it in the wrong colours within a season.
READ MORE: The full story of Eric Cantona, the Football Maverick →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Cantona’s First Premier League Hat-Trick (1992)
Who scored the Premier League’s first ever hat-trick?
Eric Cantona scored the Premier League’s first hat-trick, for Leeds United against Tottenham Hotspur on 25 August 1992, as Sky Sports records. Leeds won the match 5-0 at Elland Road in the inaugural 1992-93 season. It was Cantona’s second hat-trick in 17 days, following his three goals in the Charity Shield.
What was the score in Leeds United v Tottenham on 25 August 1992?
Leeds United beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 at Elland Road on 25 August 1992. Rod Wallace opened the scoring, Eric Cantona scored three, and Lee Chapman completed the rout. Leeds led 3-0 at half-time before Cantona finished his hat-trick early in the second half.
Who else scored for Leeds in the 5-0 win over Tottenham in 1992?
Alongside Eric Cantona’s hat-trick, Rod Wallace and Lee Chapman scored in Leeds United’s 5-0 win over Tottenham on 25 August 1992. Wallace opened the scoring in the first half, and Chapman made it five late on, finishing from a Cantona pass. Cantona had a hand in four of the five goals.
Where was Cantona’s first Premier League hat-trick played?
Cantona’s first Premier League hat-trick was played at Elland Road, Leeds United’s home ground, on 25 August 1992. The attendance was 28,218 for a matchday-four fixture of the 1992-93 season. Leeds beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-0.
Was 25 August 1992 really the first Premier League hat-trick?
Yes. The Premier League began on 15 August 1992, and Eric Cantona’s treble against Tottenham on 25 August 1992 is recorded by Sky Sports as the competition’s first hat-trick. No player had scored three in a single Premier League match in the ten days between the opening fixtures and Cantona’s display at Elland Road.
How did Cantona score his hat-trick against Tottenham in 1992?
Eric Cantona scored his hat-trick against Tottenham on 25 August 1992 with two goals in the first half, including a header from a David Batty cross, and a first-time finish soon after the break. According to the Yorkshire Post, he completed the treble within two minutes of the restart. Leeds were 3-0 up at half-time and ran out 5-0 winners.
Why was this Cantona’s second hat-trick in 17 days?
Cantona had scored a hat-trick 17 days before the Tottenham match, in the Charity Shield on 8 August 1992. That day, champions Leeds beat FA Cup winners Liverpool 4-3 at Wembley, with Cantona scoring all three of his goals in the showpiece. The Elland Road treble on 25 August then became the first hat-trick of the new Premier League.
What happened in the 1992 Charity Shield between Leeds and Liverpool?
Leeds United beat Liverpool 4-3 in the 1992 Charity Shield at Wembley on 8 August 1992, with Eric Cantona scoring a hat-trick. Tony Dorigo added Leeds’ fourth goal, while Ian Rush and Dean Saunders scored for Liverpool and a Gordon Strachan own goal completed the seven-goal match. It was the traditional season curtain-raiser between the league champions and the FA Cup winners.
Were Leeds United champions when Cantona scored the first Premier League hat-trick?
Yes. Leeds United were the reigning champions when Cantona scored the first Premier League hat-trick on 25 August 1992. They had won the 1991-92 Football League title under Howard Wilkinson, the final championship before the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League. Cantona had joined on loan the previous February and helped secure that title.
When did Cantona leave Leeds for Manchester United?
Cantona left Leeds United for Manchester United on 26 November 1992, roughly three months after his first Premier League hat-trick. The Premier League reports the fee at around £1m. He would help United end a 26-year wait for the league title, which made the sale one of the era’s most one-sided deals.
Were the Tottenham goals Cantona’s last for Leeds?
The hat-trick against Tottenham on 25 August 1992 provided Cantona’s last league goals for Leeds United, as the Yorkshire Post noted. He played on into the autumn and featured in Europe before his November move, but he did not score again in the league for Leeds. His final act in the shirt at league level was making Premier League history.
Why does Cantona’s first Premier League hat-trick still matter?
Cantona’s first Premier League hat-trick matters because it was the opening statement of a competition that would grow into the richest league in the world, delivered by one of its first true cult figures. Leeds United’s 5-0 win over Tottenham on 25 August 1992 gave the new league its first hat-trick, and within three months the same player had crossed to Manchester United and helped end their long title wait. Few debut-season moments carry that much of the story to come.
Cantona’s First Premier League Hat-Trick (1992)
Two trebles in 17 days, the first hat-trick the Premier League ever saw, and a champion sold to his greatest rivals before Christmas: Eric Cantona packed a career’s worth of story into the late summer of 1992. For more moments that turned a season or a career, keep exploring our On This Day series and the channel.
Watch the Full Documentary
Eric Cantona: The Football Maverick