The UEFA Champions League is known for its rich history and epic encounters where a hat trick can turn a player into a legend overnight. From the incredible performance of Liverpool forward, Mohamed Salah who stunned his opponent with a lightning-fast hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds after coming off the bench, to the Bayern Munich goal-scoring machine, Robert Lewandoski’s demolition of Red Star Belgrade in 2019, each hat trick has left fans electrified and excited. These lightning-fast hat tricks showcase the skills possessed by the players but also the significant moments that changed the course of the games and left fans talking for years. Let’s take a look at the Top 8 Champions League fastest hat-trick in history.
List of Top 8 fastest hat trick in Champions League History
| Rank | Player | Team For | Against | Result | Date |
| 1 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Rangers FC | 7-1 | 12 December 2022 |
| 2 | Bafetimbi Gomis | Lyon | Dinamo Zagreb | 7-1 | 07 December 2011 |
| 3 | Mike Newell | Rosenborg | Blackburn | 4-1 | 06 December 1995 |
| 4 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | Atlanta | 5-1 | 22 October 2019 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Malmo | 8-0 | 08 December 2015 |
| 6 | Robert Lewandoski | Bayern Munich | RB Salzburg | 7-1 | 08 March 2022 |
| 7 | Robert Lewandoski | Bayern Munich | Red Star Belgrade | 6-0 | 26 November 2019 |
| 8 | Luiz Adriano | Shakhtar Donetsk | BATE Borisov | 7-0 | 21 October 2014 |
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8. Luiz Adriano
The Brazilian striker, Luiz Adriano showed an impressive display of his skills in the UEFA Champions League against BATE Borisov in the 2014-15 campaign. The Ukrainian team tore apart their opponents, Alex Teixeira scored the opening goal in the 11th minute of the match. Adriano scored his first goal in the 28th minute from the penalty spot and scored his remaining two goals quickly. It took him 12 minutes to complete his fastest hat trick in Champion League. Shakhtar Donetsk holds the record for the biggest half-time lead in the UEFA Champions League history.
7. Robert Lewandoski
Robert Lewandoski showed a clinical performance against the Red Star Belgrade where Bayern Munich dismantled the opposition with a 0-6 victory. Arguably one of the greatest strikers of his generation showed his class when he scored four goals in the match where he completed one of the fastest Champions League hat-tricks in just 12 minutes. The Polish striker is the only player to feature twice in this list speaks volumes about his class.
6. Robert Lewandoski
Robert Lewandoski holds the record for the fastest hat trick in Champions League by any player from the start of the game. He took 11 minutes to score his hat trick in the first half of the match against RB Salzburg overtaking the previous record held by Marco Simone. The Polish striker demolished the RB Salzburg with his clinical finishes, he scored his first two goals which were similar penalties in the 12th and 21st minute of the game. The 33-year-old netted his final goal two minutes later to complete his Champions League fastest hat-trick.
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5. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo had a record-breaking UEFA Champions League season in 2019 where he became the first player to score more than 10 goals in the group stages of the competition. Real Madrid went on to win the UEFA Champions League that season. Ronaldo scored his fastest hat trick in Champions League in just 11 minutes, he netted his opening goal in the first half and his final two goals in the early minutes of the second half to complete his hat trick. The Portuguese star holds the record for the most hat tricks in the history of the competition with eight hat tricks to his name.
4. Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling dismantled Atlanta in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League with his 11-minute hat trick blitz. The Manchester City’s left winger scored his first goal with a fine assist from Phil Foden in the 58th minute of the game. Sterling then scored his final two goals in the 64th minute and 69th minute to complete his hat trick.
3. Mike Newell
Mike Newell scored the fastest Champions League hat-trick in 1995 against the Rosenberg to avoid the humiliation of getting knocked out from the competition without winning a single game. Blackburn came as the Premier League champions and was one of the top teams in Europe in the 1995-96 UEFA Champions League but were eliminated in the group stage. Mike Newell became the first English player to score a hat trick in the Champions League.
2. Bafetimbi Gomis
In 2011, Bafetimbi Gomis played a huge part in the advancement of Lyon to the knockout stage. Gomis scored his first goal just before the half time with an easy tap-in finish and quickly scored his remaining two goals in the second half before the 52nd minute of the game. The 26-year-old hat trick broke the 16-year record of Mike Newell for the fastest hat trick in Champions League.
1. Mohamed Salah
In the 2022 Champions League season, Mohamed Salah came onto the pitch to replace Darwin Nunez in the 68th minute of the game and it took only six minutes and twelve seconds to shatter the records. The 30-year-old Liverpool winger scored his first goal in the 75th minute and scored his remaining two goals in the 80th minute and 81st minute to complete his record-breaking fastest hat trick in Champions League against the Rangers FC.
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FAQs
Q. What is the fastest hat-trick in UCL?
A. Mohamed Salah’s 6-minute and 12-second hat-trick against Rangers is the fastest in UCL.
Q. Who has the first half hat-trick in the Champions League?
A. Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund has the first half hat-trick in UCL.
Q. What is the fastest ever UCL goal?
A. Roy Makaay for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid on March 7, 2007.
Q. Who has the fastest 100 goals in Champions League history?
A. Lionel Messi is the fastest player to score 100 goals in Champions League history.