Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis celebrates his side's third goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between SL Benfica and FC Barcelona at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Benfica forward Pavlidis scores quick hat trick against Barcelona in Champions League

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Benfica forward Vangelis Pavlidis scored the third-fastest hat trick at the start of a Champions League game on Tuesday, against Barcelona.

The Greece international scored two minutes into the match and then in the 22nd and 30th minutes in a game that Benfica lost 5-4.

According to stats provider OptaJoe, the fastest hat tricks had been scored in 23 minutes by Robert Lewandowski with the Catalan club in 2022 and by Marco Simone in 24 minutes in 1996.

Lewandowski scored his 102nd and 103rd Champions League goals from the penalty spot. According to UEFA, only Cristiano Ronaldo has scored as many Champions League penalties as Lewandowski.

Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis celebrates his side’s third goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between SL Benfica and FC Barcelona at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis celebrates the opening goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between SL Benfica and FC Barcelona at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles