Once Sweden scored their fifth goal against Cuba in the quarter-final of the 1938 World Cup, the French reporter Emmanuel Gambardella stopped firing away on his typewriter.
“Up to five goals is journalism,” he declared. “After that, it is statistics.” One can only imagine what the former president of the French Football Federation would have made of this article.
On no fewer than seven separate occasions, a Premier League team has rifled five goals past their opponent before the half-time interval (Sweden had only been 4-0 up at the break against Cuba).
Here is a look at the English top-flight matches which Gambardella wouldn’t have bothered coming back from half-time for.
Sheffield Wednesday were almost propelled into the atmosphere by the new-manager bounce the Owls enjoyed in November 1997. A week after a 6-1 reverse against Manchester United ended David Pleat’s reign, caretaker boss Peter Shreeves oversaw the club’s largest top-flight win in three years.
West Ham cult hero Paulo Di Canio scored 20 minutes in to kick off proceedings, with Guy Whittingham firing home just six minutes after.
An Andy Booth hat trick was the icing on the cake as all three of the home side’s frontmen had stamped their authority in the opening half.
A torrential downpour during the half-time interval raised genuine concerns that Burnley’s league meeting with Manchester City may have to be abandoned. Given the yawning 5-0 lead the visitors boasted, they would have been within their rights to declare.
Within seven minutes, goals from Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez had City 3-0 up. Former Arsenal man Patrick Vieira then made it four before Adebayor doubled his tally just before the interval.
The five-goal difference was, however, the extent of the drubbing as both Burnley and Manchester City notched second-half goals once the heavens had emptied.
Steven Gerrard described his Liverpool debut as “an absolute dream”. The legendary captain’s last outing for the Reds was an unmitigated nightmare.
Mame Biram Diouf began the rout with two goals in quick succession for Stoke City before Jonathan Walters, Charlie Adam and Steven N’Zonzi piled on the pressure.
Gerrard swatted in a not-so-consolatory consolation before his former…
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