Just like every other workers, footballers also have their bad days in office, and only a few of them can be worse than putting the ball into your own net.

Scoring an own goal is an unfortunate moment, but to do it more than once in a single match is the stuff of nightmares. Although exceptionally rare, but players do score multiple own goals in one game.

As unfortunate as it is, a few names have had to live with this experience and in this article, we will take a look at six of these names, and how they got themselves on the wrong side of history.

For defenders and midfielders tasked with protecting their goal, and even strikers in the case of defending set-pieces, the fine margins between a heroic clearance and a costly mistake can be cruel.

In the heat of the moment, a deflection, a mistimed header, or an unlucky ricochet can turn a routine intervention into a moment of disbelief.

The stunned silence from teammates, the gasps from the crowd, and the sinking feeling of betrayal by fate make it an ordeal that lingers long after the final whistle.

From Stan Van den Buijs' unfortunate hat-trick to Jamie Carragher's gift to Manchester United, here are some of the players to have scored multiple own goals in history.

6 Players with Multiple Own Goals in One Game 

Stan van den Buijs vs. Anderletch in January 1995

In a Belgian Juplier Pro League meeting between Anderletch and Germinal Ereken in January 1995, Stan van den Buijs found himself deeply rooted on the wrong side of history in his side's defeat.

The Belgian midfielder inadvertently scored three own goals against Anderlecht, with the unprecedented event leading to a 3-2 defeat for his team.

The first own goal occurred just before the half hour, when Van den Buijs attempted to intercept a cross, only to misdirect the ball into his own net, restoring parity for Anderletch after Gunther Hofmans had given Ereken an early lead.

Less than ten minutes into the start of the second half, a defensive mix-up saw him deflect another ball past his goalkeeper, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead as his horrendous outing gets worse.

If there's ever a worse feeling that that, Van den Buijs would go on to feel it six minutes later as he scored a third own goal via a deflection that redirected a shot into the goal.

However, some sources debate the attribution of this third goal, suggesting that Anderlecht's Johan Walem may have had the final touch before the ball crossed the line.

Jamie Carragher vs Manchester United in September 1999

If there was one thing Jamie Carragher was famous for, it is definitely scoring own goals – he was so addicted that he even had to score one in his testimonial match.

On a faithful occasion while playing for Liverpool as a professional, the defender scored a brace of own goal in a meeting with arch rival Manchester United, who won the clash 3-2 in Anfield – becoming the first player to record the low in a Premier League match.

The first came just three minutes into the encounter. Carragher tried to deal with a Ryan Giggs' curling cross from the left flank, unfortunately, his effort redirected the ball past goalkeeper Sander Westerveld into Liverpool's net.

Fellow defender Sami Hyypia scored to pull one back for the host after Andrew Cole doubled United's advantage all in the first quarter of the game.

However, Carragher continued to undo all efforts aimed at a comeback as he beat his goalkeeper one more time before half-time to restore Manchester United's two-goal cushion.

In the ensuing chaos following a David Beckham free-kick into the box, the ball deflected off teammate Rigobert Song onto Carragher and then into the goal, marking his second own goal of the match.

Patrik Berger would go on to score the only goal of the second half as Manchester United held on to a valuable three points, despite playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men, after Andrew Cole was sent off for a second bookable offense.

Michael Proctor vs Charlton Athletic in February 2003

February 1 2003 is a miserable date in the history of Sunderland as it was on that faithful day they scored all four goals in a 3-1 home defeat to Charlton Athletic, ending a run of five games unbeaten in the fixture and becoming the first team to score three own goals in a single Premier League game.

Two of the three own goals were scored by stiker Michael Proctor, who added a second and a third for the visitors to finish the first half with a 3-0 lead, after teammate Stephen Wright had given them an early lead with another own goal.

His first own goal came in the 29th minute, five minutes after Wright had given the visitors the lead. Charlton's Chris Powell unleashed a shot that goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen parried, only for the rebound to ricochet off Proctor and into the net for 2-0.

Just three minutes later, Proctor's misfortune was compounded. Attempting to defend a corner, he inadvertently deflected Claus Jensen's delivery into his own goal, leaving the home crowd in stunned silence.

Kevin Phillips converted a penalty in the 81st minute to give Sunderland a consolation as they were not inspired enough to try and stage a comeback from the self-inflicted damage.

They ended up suffering relegation from the topflight that season, finishing bottom of the table with just 19 points from 38 games.

Jonathan Walters vs Chelsea in January 2013

Republic of Ireland international, Jonathan Walters endured a horrendous outing on the anniversary of his 100th Premier League appearance for Stoke City as he scored two of Chelsea's goals in a 4-0 home defeat.

The first mishap occurred just before halftime. Attempting to clear a cross from Chelsea's César Azpilicueta, Walters misjudged his header, sending the ball past goalkeeper Asmir Begović into his own net.

 A similar scenario unfolded two minutes after the hour mark, and Walters was again the unlucky one. Juan Mata delivered a corner, and in his effort to defend, the defender once again headed the ball into Stoke's goal, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Chelsea extended their lead with a Frank Lampard penalty, awarded after Robert Huth fouled Mata. Eden Hazard sealed the victory with a powerful strike from 30 yards.

In the final moments, Walters had an opportunity to redeem himself when Stoke was awarded a penalty. Unfortunately, he failed to give his side a consolation as his shot struck the crossbar, capping a notably tough outing for the forward.

Wout Faes vs Liverpool in December 2022

Leicester City's defender Wout Faes gave Liverpool more than a hand when the Reds played host to the King Power landlords at the end of the 2022 calendar year.

The Belgian endured a challenging evening at Anfield, inadvertently scoring two own goals that handed Liverpool a 2-1 victory, making him only the fourth player in Premier League history to net twice in his own goal during a single match. 

Pretty much the underdog, that did not stop Leicester City from taking a fourth minute lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who exploited a gap in Liverpool's defense, advancing unchallenged to slot the ball past goalkeeper Alisson.

It would appear they had done enough to secure a rare Premier League win away to Liverpool as the host's only goals of the game came courtesy of two Wout Faes own goals.

Attempting to intercept a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Faes misjudged his clearance, slicing the ball over his own goalkeeper, Danny Ward, resulting in an own goal in the 38th minute.

He added another on the stroke of half-time to help Liverpool complete the comeback . Darwin Nunez's shot rebounded off the post, and in an attempt to clear the danger, Faes inadvertently directed the ball into his own net once more. 

Liverpool went on to win 2-1 and at the end of the season, Leicester City were relegated into the Championship, finishing just two points below safety – The Foxes will forever be tempted to imagine what could have been.

Craig Dawson vs Everton in December 2024

Recently, Craig Dawson found himself on the list of this unwanted record with two own goals in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 4-0 defeat at Everton, becoming the fifth Premier League player to do so.

Ahead of kickoff that evening, Wolves had gone six games unbeaten against Everton, winning five, and Dawson himself was on the scoresheet in their previous meeting, which Wolves won 3-0 in the Molineux.

However, it was a completely different story on the faithful day, with Everton taking a 2-0 first-half lead thanks to goals from Ashley Young and Oriel Mangala, which James Tarkowski having an effort ruled out for offside in-between.

Craig Dawson's misery started four minutes after the restart. Dwight McNeil delivered a corner into the Wolves' penalty area, where Dawson, under pressure from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, inadvertently deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper.

His misfortune continued in the 72nd minute. Attempting to intercept a deep free-kick from McNeil, again, Dawson inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net once more, compounding Wolves' defensive woes. 

Everton ran out 4-0 winners on a perfect night an undefire Sean Dyche, although he would last one more month on the Everton job before his sacking, and Craig Dawson's disasterclass maybe played a part in that.