Plenty of match balls have been collected in Europe’s premier club competition down the years, with some achieving that feat in double quick time
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah made Champions League history when stepping off the bench in a group stage clash with Rangers in October 2022 and helping himself to a hat-trick in the space of just seven second-half minutes.
The Egyptian superstar’s efforts at Ibrox saw him move immediately to the top of a notable European goal chart, with some illustrious names – such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski – being nudged down that list.
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo has eight Champions League trebles to his name, alongside eternal rival Lionel Messi, while prolific Polish frontman Lewandowski has hit six and Karim Benzema five.
Salah now has his first in continental competition, but who did he overtake when recording the fastest hat-trick Europe’s premier club competition has ever seen? GOAL takes a look…
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Mohamed Salah | Rangers vs Liverpool | October 12, 2022 | 7 minutes
Salah was named on the bench for Liverpool’s trip to Rangers, with Jurgen Klopp opting to rest and rotate, but he was still able to make a telling contribution in Glasgow. Having been introduced in the 68th minute, the Egypt international was on the scoresheet by the 75th. By the 81st, in the space of just six minutes and 12 seconds, Salah had helped himself to a record-setting match ball in what turned out to be a convincing 7-1 win for Premier League giants.
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Bafetimbi Gomis | Dinamo Zagreb vs Lyon | December 7, 2011 | 8 minutes
Another resounding 7-1 victory that included a rapid hat-trick saw Lyon ease their way past Dinamo Zagreb, with Gomis rewriting the history books at the time. His efforts helped the Ligue 1 heavyweights progress to the last 16 on goal difference, with a sizeable haul required on Croatian soil. France international Gomis actually scored four times on the day, but it was a treble in 8 minutes and 45 seconds that allowed him to dominate the headlines.
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Mike Newell | Blackburn Rovers vs Rosenborg | December 6, 1995 | 9 minutes
The reigning Premier League champions did not enjoy the best of times when making their bow on the most prestigious of continental stages, with a group stage exit endured when finishing bottom of section B with only four points to their name. A solitary success came at home to Rosenborg, with Newell making himself the star of that particular show as he registered a hat-trick in nine minutes and 17 seconds – making him a record-breaker at the time.
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Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid vs Malmo | December 8, 2015 | 11 minutes
No list of footballing records is complete without an entry from Ronaldo, with one of the greatest goalscorers the world has ever seen making it his personal mission to dominate as many charts as possible. The quickest of his eight Champions League hat-tricks was recorded against Malmo at Santiago Bernabeu – a game he actually scored four goals in as Real crushed their Swedish opponents 8-0. Ronaldo’s treble came in the space of 11 minutes either side of half-time – between the 39th and 50th – while his stunning personal performance also saw him become the first man to reach double figures in a group stage campaign.
