A 21st century rarity: Salah’s hat-trick vs Galatasaray puts him alongside Real Madrid royalty

Trabzonspor forward Mohamed Salah has joined an exclusive statistical group following a commanding individual performance in a 4-0 victory over Galatasaray during Matchweek 6 of the Turkish Super Lig.

Read Also: From Roma to Trabzonspor: How many hat-tricks have adorned the career of the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah?

A match-winning performance

The Egyptian international guided his side to a resounding victory on Sunday, demonstrating his enduring finishing quality. According to data published by Transfermarkt, his devastating performance makes him only the seventh player in the 21st century to register a hat-trick against the Istanbul heavyweights.

Joining Cristiano Ronaldo and European Elites

By netting three times against Galatasaray, Salah joins an illustrious list of attackers who have achieved the same feat since the turn of the century.

The most prominent name on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a treble for Real Madrid in a 6-1 Champions League group-stage victory during the 2013-14 season.

Another Real Madrid forward, Rodrygo Goes, also punished the Turkish club with a hat-trick in a 6-0 Champions League win during the 2019-20 campaign.

Former Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck accomplished the feat in a 4-1 European victory in the 2014 /15 season while Israeli striker Eran Zahavi secured his place on the list during PSV Eindhoven's 5-1 Champions League qualifying triumph in the summer of 2021.

Domestic hat-tricks against Galatasaray

While most of the century's hat-tricks against Galatasaray have occurred in European competition, Salah is not the first to achieve it domestically.

Former Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor remarkably scored two separate hat-tricks against Galatasaray in 2017 while playing for Istanbul Basaksehir, leading his team to 4-0 and 5-1 league victories.

Meanwhile, the first player to manage a 21st century treble against the Turkish giants was Slovakian forward Stanislav Sestak who achieved the milestone for Ankaragucu during a 3-2 Super Lig win in the 2010-11 season.

Khaled Hegazy |

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Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.

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