Joaquin, who achieved the feat in his 533rd Spanish top-flight game, surpassed Alfredo di Stefano, who scored La Liga hat-trick at the age of 37 years and 255 days — a record that stood for 55 years.
Real Betis skipper Joaquin becomes oldest hat-trick scorer in La Liga. (Photo: Twitter/@RealBetis_en)
Real Betis captain and former Spain striker Joaquin’s maiden hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday evening at Benito Villamarin helped him become the oldest player to score a hat-trick in La Liga.
Joaquin at 38 years and 140 days, scored the treble to break the record set by the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano, who was 37 years and 255 days old when he achieved the feat for Real Madrid.
It took the Spaniard only 20 minutes to reach the milestone. The winger drew the first blood in the second minute against an Athletic Bilbao side with the best defensive record in La Liga. He then doubled the lead in the 11th minute before firing in again to complete an 18-minute treble.
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Though Bilbao hit back with a 44th-minute penalty through Inaki Williams and a 75th-minute goal from Yuri Berchiche, treble from Joaquin ensured Betis finish with a 3-2 scoreline.
Joaquin, who achieved the feat in his 533rd Spanish top-flight game, surpassed Alfredo di Stefano, who scored La Liga hat-trick at the age of 37 years and 255 days — a record that stood for 55 years.
Donato Gama da Silva, simply known as Donato, remains the oldest goal-scorer in La Liga and Joaquin will need to score again in two years’ time to beat that.
Talking about the ongoing La Liga, Barcelona top the chart on goal difference from arch-rival Real Madrid after a Lionel Messi hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Mallorca Saturday night.
With 22 points from 16 matches, Real Betis are at the 11th position, meanwhile, Sunday’s loss restricted Athletic Bilbao from reaching the top-four spot and they are currently at the 6th spot.
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