Benfica forward Vangelis Pavlidis made headlines on Tuesday by scoring the third-fastest hat trick in Champions League history during a thrilling match against Barcelona. The Greece international found the back of the net just two minutes into the game, followed by additional goals in the 22nd and 30th minutes. Despite his remarkable performance, Benfica ultimately fell short, losing the high-scoring encounter 5-4.
Pavlidis’s achievement places him among an elite group of players in the competition’s history. According to statistics from OptaJoe, the record for the fastest hat trick remains with Robert Lewandowski, who accomplished the feat in just 23 minutes while playing for Barcelona in 2022. Marco Simone previously held the record with a hat trick in 24 minutes during a match in 1996.
In the same match, Lewandowski scored his 102nd and 103rd goals in the Champions League, both from the penalty spot. Notably, he has now tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the most penalties scored in the tournament’s history, underscoring his status as one of the competition’s all-time greats.
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