Benfica's forward Pavlidis scores the third fastest hat-trick in UEFA Champions League history

In the seventh round of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona faced Benfica away, and the first half turned into a nightmare for the Catalans.

By the 30th minute, the Blaugrana were trailing 1-3 as Benfica's forward Vangelis Pavlidis netted three goals past Wojciech Szczęsny.

Details. Pavlidis' hat-trick ranks as the third fastest from the start of a UEFA Champions League match. The only quicker hat-tricks were scored by Robert Lewandowski against Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 (23 minutes) and Marco Simone against Rosenborg in 1996 (24 minutes).

To note. The match started especially poorly for Barcelona's goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who was at fault for two of the goals conceded by the Blaugrana.