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In football, a substitute is of immense importance. Just consider the 1999 Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham came off the bench and scored the two goals that helped Manchester United win the treble.
In recent history, Olivier Giroud for Arsenal and Javier Hernandez for Manchester United have come to be known as masters of a substitute appearance. A substitute can change a match on its head as that player has the privilege to watch and analyze the game from the bench before coming on.
Over the years in the Premier League, we have seen some brilliant introductions from the bench and in this article, we discuss the very best of them.
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So, without further ado, here are the top 5 substitute appearances in the history of the Premier League.
#5 Romelu Lukaku( 2012/13, vs Manchester United)
This match against between Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the 2012/13 season of the Premier League is better remembered as the last match of Sir Alex Ferguson in the Manchester United dugout. But Romelu Lukaku's exploits off the bench in this game didn't go unnoticed.
West Brom were 3-1 down at half time and Romelu Lukaku was brought in for defender Liam Ridgewell at the start of the second half. Romelu Lukaku scored instantly to get the home side back into the match.
But Manchester United restored their lead with two goals from Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez. In the final ten minutes of the game, Romelu Lukaku scored twice to end the match in a 5-5 draw and Lukaku earned plaudits for his brilliant display deservedly.
#4 Steven Naismith (2015/16, vs Chelsea)
Everton took on Chelsea at Goodison Park in the 2015/16 season of the Premier League. In the ninth minute of the game, Muhamed Besic got injured and the then Everton manager, Roberto Martinez brought Steven Naismith on in place of the injured player.
Steven Naismith scored his first goal just 10 minutes after he came on with a header. Then after 5 minutes, he fired a low left-footed shot past the Chelsea keeper to double his and the team's advantage. Nemanja Matic pulled one back for Chelsea with a stunning strike, but Naismith struck again in the second half, this time with his right foot to score a perfect hat-trick.
This was Steven Naismith's first hat-trick in his career and it was his final Everton goal as he was sold in January 2016.
#3 Robert Earnshaw (2004/05, vs Charlton Athletic)
The match between West Bromvich Albion and Charlton Athletic took place in March 2005 with West Brom fighting to be in the Premier League. West Brom were 5 points away from safety before the start of this game and it was a very important fixture for them.
The first half ended with the scoreline reading 1-1 and with Charlton were one man less. In the 64th minute, Earnshaw came on and in the last 25 minutes of the game, scored a hat-trick to take the match away from Charlton.
Robert Earnshaw then became the first player to score hat-tricks in the FA Cup, the League Cup, top four tiers of English football and in international football. West Brom went on to survive the relegation battle and ended that season in the 17th position.
#2 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink(2003/04, vs Wolverhampton Wanderers)
When Chelsea took on Wolves at Stamford Bridge in the 2003/04 season of the Premier League, Claudio Ranieri was the Blues manager. He decided to rest Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as he thought Chelsea would make light work out of their relegation-threatened opponents.
But surprisingly, Chelsea found themselves 2-1 down with only 30 minutes on the clock still remaining. Jimmy came on to save the day for the Blues. Frank Lampard equalized for the home side before Hasselbaink scored three goals in the last 15 minutes to win the match for Chelsea and take home the match ball in the process.
The first goal of that hat-trick was an absolute beauty and it was a piece of individual brilliance. Hasselbaink left Chelsea at the end of this season, scoring a total of 88 goals for the club.
#1 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (1998/99 vs Nottingham Forest
Even before you started to read this article, you would have figured that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be somewhere in this list. Solskjaer was a master at scoring goals as a substitute and this match against Nottingham Forest proved just that.
Solskjaer scored four goals coming off the bench as Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 8-1. His goals displayed the poacher qualities that Solskjaer had throughout his career. His first goal was a tap in, his second was a brilliant one-on-one finish, his third was a brilliant volley and his fourth was also a tap in.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored a total of 17 goals in the Premier League as a substitute. But his best substitute appearance came against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final that year and then everyone knows what happened.
