Mohamed Salah nets fastest Champions League hat-trick: Key stats
Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah has netted the fastest hat-trick in UEFA Champions League history on matchday 4 against Scottish side Rangers. Liverpool, who went down early on in the match, made an inspiring comeback to win 7-1 on the night. Salah netted his hat-trick in the second half, taking just six minutes and 12 seconds. Here are further details.
Salah breaks Gomis' record
Salah's hat-trick time of six minutes and 12 seconds has beaten the record previously set by Bafetimbi Gomis, who netted three in just over seven minutes for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League 2011-12 group stage. As per Opta, Salah's nine touches against Rangers for the hat-trick is the fewest in a match. A total of 112 UCL hat-tricks have been registered.
Gone in six minutes and 12 seconds!
Remarkable, @MoSalah ✨ pic.twitter.com/e1D7fDn6CA
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 12, 2022
Salah scores his maiden hat-trick in the UCL
Salah has now scored his maiden hat-trick in the UCL. He had scored a brace six times before. He is also the second player after Robert Lewandowski to net a hat-trick in the UCL 2022-23 season.
Jota provides all three assists for Salah
Diogo Jota assisted all three of Salah's goals for Liverpool. As per Opta, this is the first time a player assisted a team-mate's hat-trick in the Champions League since March 2012, when Franck Ribery assisted three Mario Gomez strikes for Bayern Munich against FC Basel.
Salah equals Aguero's Champions League goals tally
With his hat-trick, Salah has raced to 41 Champions League goals, including 38 for Liverpool. Salah has now equaled Sergio Aguero's tally of 41 Champions League goals. Salah now has 164 goals in 267 matches for the Reds in all competitions. He has eight goals in 13 matches for Jurgen Klopp's side in the ongoing 2022-23 season.
Liverpool brush aside Rangers
Scott Arfield gave Rangers an early lead with their first group goal. However an in-form Roberto Firmino scored a brace and a Darwin Nunez strike set Liverpool on their way. Salah's hat-trick was followed by Harvey Elliott getting a seventh after a VAR check. Liverpool now just need a draw against Ajax in Amsterdam in two weeks to advance further.
