UEFA Champions League 2019-20: 5 most memorable hat-tricks from the group stage
The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League kicked off with two tournament debutants bagging hat-tricks on the same Matchday. That marked the first instance of a pair of debutants scoring three or more goals in a game on the same Matchday.
Since then, six more players scored three or more goals in a game to bring the tally of hat-tricks in this season's competition to eight. That is already one more than the corresponding figure from the entirety of last season.
The eight hat-tricks in the 2019-20 Champions League have been delivered by players from seven different teams, with Bayern Munich being the only team to provide two hat-tricks in this season's competition. The duo of Genk and tournament debutants Atalanta conceded two hat-tricks apiece, while the quartet of Tottenham Hotspur, Brugges, Galatasaray and Red Star Belgrade conceded one apiece.
On that note, let us have a look at the five most memorable hat-tricks in this season's competition:
#5 Erling Braut Haaland (Salzburg)
Erling Braut Haaland became the third Norwegian and the eighth debutant to register a Champions League hat-trick when he scored three goals in his side's 6-2 home win over Genk.
It marked the 125th instance of a hat-trick in the competition as Haaland became the youngest player to score three or more goals in a Champions League game behind Raul (Real Madrid) and Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
Haaland's three-goal haul made Salzburg the 46th different club and the first from Austria to have a player who has registered a hat-trick in a Champions League game. Barcelona (13) and Real Madrid (11) have the most hat-trick scorers by a club in the competition, followed by Bayern Munich (7) and the trio of Manchester United, Juventus and Arsenal, with six apiece.
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