The Champions League is the pinnacle of club football.
Well it was, until Layvin Kurzawa made a mockery of the entire competition by scoring a hat-trick from left-back as PSG beat Anderlecht 5-0.
But he’s not the first player to pop up with an unlikely treble in the Champions League.
EXCLUSIVE DREAM TEAM OFFER: BET £5, GET £20 FREE
Yakubu (Maccabi Haifa v Olympiacos 24/09/02)
Before making the journey to Portsmouth to play in the Championship under Harry Redknapp The Yak was starring in the Champions League.
His treble against Olympiacos was the high point of a Champions League campaign that also included a goal in a 3-0 win against Man United.
He was last seen playing for Coventry, where his movement helped him become a viral sensation, before retiring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bshuhz1s5EU&app=desktop
Ivan Klasnic (Weder Bremen v Anderlecht 02/11/04)
What is it with Anderlecht conceding hat-tricks against unlikely candidates?
Klasnic banged in a Group Stage hatty for Bremen before the German side were thumped 10-2 on aggregate by Lyon in the next round.
His career, which included a three-year stint at Bolton, was sadly cut short by kidney failure.
Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce v Man United 08/12/04)
Any talk about hat-tricks involving Fenerbahce and United games will usually go the way of Wayne Rooney’s treble on his debut.
But don’t overlook Tuncay, who stunned Sir Alex Ferguson by downing United with a hat-trick in 2004.
It earned him a move to Middlesbrough, which must have been his dream as a youngster.
Levan Kobiashvili (Schalke v PSV Eindhoven 23/11/05)
Kurzawa’s claim to be the first defender to score a Champions League hat-trick might be queried by Kobiashvili, who was more of a wing-back than an out-and-out defender.
What we can say for sure is that he’s the only Georgian to score three goals in one game.
Take that, Georgi Kinkladze and Kakha Kaladze.
KILL SOME MORE TIME WITH OUR BEST FEATURES OF THE WEEK:
- Why does Wayne Rooney keep wearing nostalgic boots?
- How many U17 World Cup Top Goalscorers went on to be full internationals?
- We’ve seen this type of glorious failure from Real Madrid before
Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool v Besiktas 06/11/07)
Who is the only player to score hat-tricks in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup for the same team?
Yep, Super Yossi, who scored a hat-trick as Liverpool thrashed Besiktas 8-0 at Anfield.
Ten years later and Ryan Babel, who came off the bench for Liverpool, is lining up for Besiktas in the Champions League.
Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal v Porto 09/03/10)
Lord Bendtner.
Before the Dane became a living, breathing meme he was rescuing Arsenal from being knocked out of the Champions League.
His first senior hat-trick helped turn around a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Porto, before Arsenal were knocked out by Barcelona.
Befetimbi Gomis (Lyon v Swansea 07/12/11)
Gomis’ seven minute hat-trick is the fastest in Champions League history.
But not once did he do that weird crawling celebration in a game that Ajax, who were knocked out because of the scoreline, wanted investigated for match fixing.
What a missed opportunity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_u9waAFTt4