Erling Haaland stole the show once again this past weekend: The powerhouse striker became the first scorer of a hat trick in a Manchester derby as City beat United 6-3 at the Etihad.
The rampaging City star completed the feat inside 64 minutes courtesy of his 12th, 13th and 14th Premier League goals of the season so far, already leaving him just six goals shy of equalling last year's Golden Boot-winning tally with just eight games played.
Just nine minutes after Haaland completed his three-goal haul, Phil Foden became the second player to score a hat trick in a Manchester derby -- with two of those assists provided by his Norwegian teammate, thus completing a fine afternoon's work for the latter.
Les tops-flops de Manchester City - Manchester United : Erling Haaland stratosphérique https://t.co/cOXM1Cmqo4 #MCIMUN #ManchesterDerby pic.twitter.com/JvbL0yHqf7
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) October 2, 2022
Indeed, so impressive was Haaland's dominant performance against United that the 22-year-old was duly bestowed with an ultra rare 10/10 match rating from French media outlet L'Equipe. Only 14 players in history have been awarded full marks by the publication, who are famously stringent when it comes to doling out their grades.
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Lionel Messi is the only player to have received the vaunted 10/10 from L'Equipe on more than one occasion, though both of his Paris Saint-Germain strike partners Kylian Mbappe and Neymar have also earned the honour once themselves in the past few years.
Presented in chronological order, here's a look at the 14 players to have received "dix sur dix" from L'Equipe since the esteemed honour was first handed out back in 1988.
1 & 2. Franck Sauzee and Bruno Martini: France U21s vs. Greece U21s, 1988
France duo Sauzee and Martini became the first two players on record to land top marks in a L'Equipe match report for their individual performances in the second leg of the UEFA Under-21 European Championship final. After the first leg finished goalless, Sauzee proved the difference in the second by scoring two thunderous goals, while goalkeeper Martini made a string of excellent saves to keep the Greeks at bay in a commanding 3-0 victory for Les Bleus.
3. Oleg Salenko: Russia vs. Cameroon, 1994
Salenko was a joint winner of the Golden Boot at the 1994 World Cup after scoring six goals despite Russia failing to make it past the group stage. The striker was able to score an unprecedented (and still unmatched) five goals in a 6-1 win over Cameroon in his last appearance of the tournament to ensure he ended the competition level on six goals with Bulgaria legend Hristo Stoichkov.
4. Lars Windfeld: Aarhus vs. Nantes, 1997
Not a name that will be instantly familiar to most fans, but Windfeld is responsible for perhaps the greatest goalkeeping display in UEFA Cup history thanks to his famous one-man shutout against Nantes. Danish minnows Aarhus pulled off a shock 1-0 first-round win over their French opponents after going ahead early and then relying on Windfeld to produce a heroic cavalcade of blocks and parries to preserve his side's slim aggregate lead.
5. Lionel Messi: Barcelona vs. Arsenal, 2010
Already well capable of winning any game on his own, Messi reached new heights by fuelling a spectacular comeback against the Gunners in the Champions League round of 16. Level at 2-2 heading into the second leg, Barca quickly fell a goal behind at Camp Nou when Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring 19 minutes in. This instantly fired Messi into life, as the Argentine No. 10 proceeded to score four unanswered goals to secure a riotous 6-3 win for the Catalans and send them roaring into the quarterfinals.
6. Lionel Messi: Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2012
Messi was at his stratospheric best for Barcelona once again when he scored five goals (still a competition record) in a formidable 7-1 thumping of a powerless Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16.
7. Robert Lewandowski: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, 2013
Utterly ruthless on the edge of the six-yard box, Lewandowski put in an inspired four-goal shift as Dortmund's star striker gave his side a strong 4-1 lead in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.
8. Carlos Eduardo: Nice vs. Guingamp, 2014
Brazilian attacking midfielder Eduardo became the first player to record a 10/10 performance in a Ligue 1 game when he scored five goals for Nice in a 7-2 demolition of Guingamp. On loan from FC Porto at the time, Eduardo finished the season with 10 league goals to his name, half of which came in just one game.
9. Neymar: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Dijon, 2018
Neymar was responsible for notching half of PSG's goals on the night as the Ligue 1 giants won 8-0 vs. Dijon. The buoyant Brazilian forward then also pitched in with two assists to round off his stellar contribution.
10. Dusan Tadic: Ajax vs. Real Madrid, 2019
Having suffered a 2-1 first-leg defeat in Amsterdam, Tadic was absolutely inspirational for Ajax in the return at the Bernabeu as the effervescent Dutch side pulled off a stunning comeback to knock Madrid out in front of their own fans in the round of 16. The Serbia forward ran the show and even got himself on the score sheet as Ajax powered back from the brink to win 4-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate.
11. Lucas Moura: Tottenham vs. Ajax, 2019
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Tottenham looked well and truly sunk when Ajax went 3-0 up on aggregate within 35 minutes of the Champions League semifinal second leg in Amsterdam. However, Moura refused to be beaten, as the Brazilian winger staged a one-man comeback, scoring three goals (including a 96th-minute winner) as Spurs came scrambling back to win the tie on away goals in the final few seconds and set up an all-English final against Premier League rivals Liverpool ... which they lost.
12. Serge Gnabry: Bayern Munich vs. Tottenham, 2019
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Gnabry returned to haunt his old London rivals when Bayern destroyed Tottenham to the tune of 7-2 in the Champions League group stage. The talented young winger laid on an assist for Lewandowski in the first half before adding four second-half goals of his own in what proved to be an exceedingly heavy rout of the previous season's finalists.
13. Kylian Mbappe: France vs. Kazakhstan, 2021
Reigning world champions France ensured they qualified for the 2022 World Cup with a match to spare by cantering to an 8-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Kazakhstan at the Parc des Princes. After opening the scoring just six minutes in, Mbappe went on to become the first Les Bleus player to score four goals in a match in 63 years.
14. Alban Lafont: Nantes vs. PSG, 2022
Another great goalkeeping performance saw Lafont take top marks from L'Equipe for helping to preserve Nantes' shock 3-0 half-time lead against PSG, despite facing wave after wave of attack from the likes of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar. Sure enough, Nantes went on to win 3-1 against the Parisians thanks to their steadfast keeper.