What Do You Call 5 Goals in One Match?

As a lifelong football fanatic and gaming content creator, one of my great passions is analyzing the beautiful game and sharing insights into some of its most incredible performances. And there are few things more exciting than witnessing a player completely take over a match by scoring goal after goal!

So when somebody asks the question "what do you call 5 goals in one match?", it‘s my pleasure to provide the answer:

In football, scoring 5 goals in a single game is referred to as a "glut" of goals.

Other popular goalscoring milestones also have specific terms to describe them:

A "perfect hat-trick" – scoring one goal with the right foot, one with the left, and one header all in the same match – also has special significance.

Now let‘s explore some of the most legendary 5+ goal scoring displays in football history:

Lionel Messi‘s Quintuple Blow to Bayer Leverkusen

Back on March 7, 2012 in a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi delivered one of the great individual goalscoring performances in European football history against Bayer Leverkusen:

Final Score: Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Messi‘s Tally: 5 Goals

With this phenomenal "glut", Messi set a Champions League record by becoming the first player to ever score 5 times in one match. After a brace in the first half, he went on to complete his haul with a perfect hat-trick after the break.

The Argentine maestro‘s comprehensive attacking display showcased his mastery of finishing abilities with both feet and his head, along with his trademark dribbling skills and lethal movement off the ball to find pockets of space in the box.

Messi‘s 5 goal demolition of Leverkusen demonstrated the peak attacking powers of one of football‘s most dominant individual forces. When all facets of his prolific abilities converge at once, even top European opponents can be left helpless as he single-handedly dismantles defenses with ruthless efficiency.

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Quintet of Goals vs Granada

If Messi‘s Champions League goalscoring record wasn‘t already under enough threat, his greatest rival Cristiano Ronaldo had to go and match his 5 goal feat in La Liga competition just a few years later.

On April 5, 2015, playing for Real Madrid vs Granada, the Portuguese legend constructed his own glut of goals in a 9-1 rout:

Final Score: Real Madrid 9-1 Granada
Ronaldo‘s Tally: 5 Goals

With the score at just 2-0 thirty minutes in, Ronaldo took over the match by racking up four goals in 15 minutes before the half. He completed his glut with another header in the 90th minute to seal an iconic performance.

Ronaldo‘s outburst against Granada was a vintage demonstration of his elite attacking prowess and relentless goal scoring instincts. When he‘s focused and aggressive in the penalty area, his combination of power, pace, and leaping ability make him practically unstoppable against any defense.

Few strikers in football history could dream of replicating such a phenomenal personal tally in just 90 minutes. But for CR7, glut hauls of goals simply serve as further testaments to his insatiable appetite for finding the back of the net.

Erling Haaland‘s 9 Goal Blitz

Now as amazing as Messi and Ronaldo‘s 5 goal feats were, remarkably neither cracks the top ten for most goals in a single match. For that, we need to look to the younger generation to find potentially the most prolific young striker the game has ever seen: Erling Haaland.

Before exploding onto the global scene with Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City, teenage phenom Haaland delivered an almost incomprehensible goalscoring display for Norway during the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup:

In a 12-0 group stage thrashing of Honduras, the 19-year old Haaland smashed home….9 goals by himself! It‘s a haul that nobody has matched in over 60 years at the senior level in competitive matches.

This utterly supreme demonstration of ruthless finishing highlighted Haaland‘s once-in-a-generation instincts to always be in the optimal locations to bury chances. His blend of height, speed, and power can simply overwhelm defenses.

If his early club form is any indication, we likely still haven‘t seen the limits of Haaland‘s capabilities. And with a precedent of bagging nine goals already in his young career, could more glut hauls or even surpassing records be in store? I for one cannot wait to witness the spectacle!

Archie Thompson‘s Sensational 13 Goal Explosion

The current Guinness World Record holder for most goals scored by a single player in any international football match belongs to Aussie striker Archie Thompson thanks to this astonishing performance:

Match: Australia vs American Samoa (2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying)
Final Score: Australia 31-0 American Samoa
Thompson‘s Tally: 13 Goals

Going on to win by over THIRTY goals in this famous rout, Thompson personally outscored American Samoa by himself in delivering the most goals ever in an international match to secure his name in the record books and footballing history.

Whenever debates emerge over extreme outliers of goalscoring feats, Thompson now fittingly has his name etched firmly in the discussion thanks to his unprecedented 13 goal glut haul.

Joe Malone Delivers 7 NHL Goals in One Game

Transitioning to hockey, the greatest single game goalscoring performance in NHL history highlights the name Joe Malone, who scored an astonishing 7 goals in one game for the Quebec Bulldogs.

Malone‘s unprecedented display came against the Toronto St. Patricks back in 1920, featuring goals in every period in a 10–7 Quebec victory:

Match: Quebec Bulldogs vs Toronto St. Patricks
Final Score: Quebec 10-7 Toronto
Malone‘s Tally: 7 Goals

Joe Malone‘s glut feat of scoring over half his team‘s goals (and outscoring the opponents single-handedly) remains unmatched over a century later. It signified one of hockey‘s most uniquely dominant displays of firepower ever witnessed.

Considering the way hockey has evolved with much greater parity and goaltending than 100 years ago, it seems unfathomable anybody will ever approach Malone‘s single-game goalscoring standard again.

Analyzing these sensational personal goal hauls across football and hockey history emphasizes how special glut scoring performances truly are in modern sports. To dominate play so emphatically on the biggest stages leaves a permanent mark on the record books.

It makes me eager with anticipation to see what the next generation of young superstars like Erling Haaland can achieve as attacking phenoms in the years ahead. If anybody can chase down elusive tallies like most goals in a single game, I won‘t bet against them!

I hope you enjoyed reading this overview of extreme goal gluts just as much as I loved researching and writing it! Feel free to reach out with any other sports topics you might like analyzed in the future.