Liverpool thrashed Rangers 7-1 at Ibrox after Mohamed Salah came off the bench to record the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history. With 38 goals, Salah has set a new record for an English team in the Champions League. He moved past Didier Drogba thanks to his treble. Now, let us check the previous UCL hat tricks that Salah has now surpassed in terms of speed.
Let’s unveil the list of the fastest Champions League hat tricks:
8. Luiz Adriano: 12 minutes
With his stunning individual performance against BATE Borisov in the Champions League group stages of the 2014–15 season, Luiz Adriano cemented his place in history. Alex Teixeira gave the Ukrainian team the lead after just 11 minutes. In the 28th minute, Luiz Adriano converted a penalty.
Adriano was able to add three more goals before halftime, putting the score 6-0. It only took him 12 minutes to complete his hat trick. Additionally, the greatest halftime lead for any team in Champions League history. Finally, Adriano took another penalty shot in the 82nd minute and made it count. Five goals have only ever been scored in one game by Messi and Luiz Adriano.
7. Robert Lewandowski: 12 minutes
Robert Lewandowski, probably the best number 9 of his time, has won every club football championship there is to win. Red Star Belgrade was defeated 0-6 by Bayern in their Champions League group-stage matchup at Stadion Rajko Miti-Belgrade.
In addition to his four goals, Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty in the 53rd minute to double Bayern’s halftime lead. The Polish striker needed just 12 minutes to score a hat trick after adding three more goals past Red Star’s goal post.
6. Robert Lewandowski: 11 minutes
Lewandowski set a tournament record for the quickest hat trick when he scored three goals for Bayern Munich against RB Salzburg in the opening 23 minutes of a knockout stage encounter in 2021–22, surpassing Marco Simone (24 mins) in 1996’s Milan v. Rosenborg. With an 8-2 overall record, Germany thrashed Salzburg 7-1 to go to the quarterfinals.
The Poland striker, 33, started his account with two nearly identical penalties in the 12th and 21st minutes before scoring on the break two minutes later to complete his fifth career hat trick in the competition. Lewandowski miraculously broke this deadlock with three goals in a devastating 10-minute and 22-second span.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo: 11 minutes
On August 8, 2015, Real Madrid matched Liverpool’s records for the largest win in Champions League group stage history. In a decisive victory at the Bernabeu, Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals, tying Liverpool’s 8-0 victory against Beşiktaş in November 2007 — both successful teams were led by Rafa Benitez.
Karim Benzema scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo scored once as the Spanish powerhouses easily took a three-goal advantage into halftime. Ronaldo then scored twice more early in the second half to make it three goals in just 11 minutes on either side of the break.
In the end, Cristiano and Madrid won the European Championship that particular year. With his 11 goals in six games, Ronaldo became the first player to surpass 10 goals during the group stage.
4. Raheem Sterling: 11 minutes
Manchester City destroyed Atalanta and kept their perfect record in Group C of the Champions League thanks to Raheem Sterling’s outstanding performance during the Champions League group stages.
Aguero scored twice in the opening period to make it 2-0, and Sterling took control after the break. He completed a superb play involving Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, and Foden at the 58-minute mark. Sterling scored later, cutting inside past Rafael Toloi, and did so at the 64-minute mark. Mahrez completed his 11-minute second-half hat trick after 69 minutes to make it 5-1.
3. Mike Newell: 9 minutes
Blackburn began the 1995–96 Champions League as the best club in Europe thanks to owner Jack Walker’s large financial commitment after winning the Premier League for the first time in 81 years. Rovers’ inaugural tournament experience ended in a letdown when they were ousted in the group stage after dropping four of their first five games and drawing one.
Blackburn defeated Rosenborg easily in their final match to avoid total humiliation. The record for the quickest hat trick in the Champions League was broken by Mike Newell. Blackburn was spared complete humiliation as a result. Newell became the first English player to score a hat trick in the Champions League with his nine-minute blitz.
2. Bafétimbi Gomis: 8 minutes
Gomis assisted Lyon in the 2011 Champions League to reach the knockout rounds. Due to their superior goal differential, their victory over Dinamo Zagreb helped them qualify. In their matchup with Dinamo Zagreb, the French team won easily.
Bafetimbi Gomis accomplished a simple tap-in to close the first half and a terrific strike to start the second half to make it two. Gomis’ hat-trick, which he completed in 8 minutes and 45 seconds, broke Newell’s 16-year record for the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history with a slot into an open net in the 52nd minute.
1. Mohamed Salah: 6 minutes
Mohamed Salah scored a remarkable hat trick in just six minutes. This was Salah’s first hat trick in the Champions League, giving him 41 goals overall in the league. In Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League group match victory over Rangers FC, 7-1.
In the 68th minute, the 30-year-old winger came on to replace Darwin Nez, and in the 75th, he scored his maiden goal. His final two goals, which put him in the record books, came in the 80th and 81st minutes. It’s interesting to note that Diogo Jota contributed to all three goals, and his hat trick only took six minutes and 12 seconds to complete.
Who is the Fastest Hat trick in UEFA Champions League history?
Mohamed Salah: 6 minutes
Read more:
5 Teams that have reached the Champions League quarter final the most times
Top 5 football players quickest to reach 100 career goals in history
TOP 5 Indian Footballers Who Played Football in Foreign Clubs
