Goals in their veins

Goals are the lifeblood of football and scoring them is just about the hardest thing one can do in the sport. As such, the most highly rated players are those capable of finding the back of the net on various occasions in a single game. Nine players managed to score three of more goals in the space of 90 minutes during the most recent Liga BBVA season, and only three of these names were able to accomplish this feat more than once.

Heading this list of players who have hit the target three or more times in a single encounter is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese ace achieved this milestone on eight occasions. The Madiera-native notched up five goals during Real Madrid’s 9-1 thrashing of Granada CF. As well as that, Ronaldo got four goals in another game: during a 5-1 win against Elche CF on matchday 5. His six hat-tricks came at the expense of RC Deportivo on matchday 4, Athletic Club on matchday 7, RC Celta on matchday 14, Sevilla FC on matchday 35, RCD Espanyol on matchday 37 and Getafe CF in the last game of the season.

Leo Messi is the Liga BBVA’s other master goal getter. The Argentine racked up five hat-tricks during the 2014-15 Liga BBVA season. The FC Barcelona front man bagged his first on matchday 12 against Sevilla FC, an encounter in which he broke Telmo Zarra’s previously-held Liga BBVA top scorer record. The other teams to fall victim to Messi’s prolific finishing were RCD Espanyol, RC Deportivo, Levante UD and Rayo Vallecano.

The only other player to manage more than one hat-trick was David Barral. The Cádiz-born forward, who this season became Levante UD’s sixth highest goalscorer of all time in the Liga BBVA, put three past Málaga CF on matchday 22 and did the same again seven fixtures later against UD Almería.

Instead of getting hat-tricks, two players went one better by registering a four-goal haul each. Alberto Bueno, who this season cemented his place as Rayo Vallecano’s all-time most lethal Liga BBVA finisher, breached Levante UD’s net four times on matchday 25 to help his team towards a 4-2 win. It was Santi Mina’s turn to grab four goals six fixtures later, on matchday 31. Celta’s young striker enjoyed his moment in the spotlight by subjecting Rayo Vallecano to his attacking prowess during a 6-1 mauling in Balaídos.

Four other names got hat-tricks this season. Two of these remaining four players joined Messi in FC Barcelona’s front line: Neymar and Luis Suárez. The Brazilian scored half of the los blaugrana’s goals during the 6-0 triumph over Granada CF on matchday 6, while the Uruguayan was at hand on matchday 35 to put three past Córdoba CF during an 8-0 win for the Catalan giants. Real Sociedad’s Carlos Vela was the only goalscorer during the San Sebastian side’s 3-0 victory over Elche CF on matchday 13 and Antoine Griezmann bagged three in San Mamés during Atlético Madrid’s 1-4 thumping of Athletic Club on matchday 16.