Ranking the fastest hat-tricks in UEFA Champions League history
The UEFA Champions League is the world's premier club football competition. Featuring some of the best sides from different European countries, the Champions League is known for thrilling fans with fantastic football displays every year.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have enthralled audiences with their displays over the past few years. They have set several records that will hold good for years to come.
Following Karim Benzema's hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain last night, let's take a look at the five fastest hat-tricks in UEFA Champions League history.
#5. Robert Lewandowski | 11 mins (vs Salzburg 2022)
Robert Lewandowski is one of the best strikers of his generation.
The Polish striker left Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich in 2014 and has enjoyed great success since then. Displaying excellent finishing and positioning abilities, Lewandowski is undoubtedly the best striker in Bundesliga right now.
Robert Lewandowski nets the earliest hat-trick in Champions League HISTORY by scoring three times for Bayern Munich in the opening 23 MINUTES against RB Salzburg trib.al/RIlf8T8
Lewandowski takes fifth place on this list after the hat-trick he scored against RB Salzburg a couple of nights ago. With Bayern winning 7-1 in the second leg, Lewandowski was right in the thick of things. He grabbed three goals in just 11 minutes.
#UCL
Robert Lewandowski’s first-half vs RB Salzburg:
100% duels won (2/2)
75% pass accuracy
24 total touches
6 shots (4 on target)
3 goals
Some first-half…. 🇵🇱 #UCL https://t.co/lPSqa3T4Rw
After the first leg ended 1-1, the Bavarians had a task on their hands to progress into the quarter-finals of the competition. Lewandowski scored from the spot in the twelfth minute before scoring another penalty just ten minutes later.
He followed this up with another goal almost immediately, completing his hat-trick within just 11 minutes.
#4. Cristiano Ronaldo | 11 mins (vs Malmo in 2015)
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
The Portuguese attacker has won the competition a record five times and has several records to his name in the competition. Ronaldo's period with Real Madrid was his most successful, as he won the competition four times within just five years.
Cristiano Ronaldo = record breaker:
Most Champions League goals (134)
🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo = record breaker:
✅ Most Champions League goals (134)
✅ Most international goals in history (111)
✅ Most EURO goals ever (14)
#UCL https://t.co/Y60myfoZC8
Ronaldo has eight Champions League hat-tricks to his name and is the competition's all-time leading goalscorer. The Portuguese's fastest hat-trick came against Malmo in 2015, as he netted four times in an 8-0 demolition of the Swedish side.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 4-goal haul vs. Malmo came in the space of just 19 minutes.
39' ⚽
47' ⚽
50' ⚽
58' ⚽
Magic. https://t.co/THAg7Tv53B
Ronaldo scored his first goal in the 39th minute and grabbed two more in the space of the next 11 minutes. He also scored a fourth goal eight minutes later in what is considered to be one of the greatest individual performances in the Champions League.