Robert Lewandowski continues his fine form with Barcelona after bagging his first hat-trick for his new club on his Champions League debut for the Catalan giants on Wednesday night.
The Polish struck three times against Viktoria Plzen to add to his goal tally since joining the club and also etch his name into the history books in Europe’s top competition.
Lewandowski is the first player in Champions League history to net hat-tricks with three different clubs.
Lewandowski, who helped Bayern win the competition in 2019-20, marked his first Champions League appearance for Barca with a clinical finish which doubled the lead after Franck Kessie had headed the hosts ahead.
He then made it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time with a header after Ousmane Dembele did well to win back possession before producing a fine cross.
Viktoria Plzen had briefly given their travelling fans from the Czech Republic something to cheer when Jan Sykora headed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but Barca – and Lewandowski – proved far too strong.
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick after 67 minutes following an assist by former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres, who added the fifth.
Next up for Barcelona and Lewandowski in the Champions League is a trip to former club Bayern Munich on Tuesday, September 13 at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich also got their Champions League campaign off to a good start as Leroy Sane inspired the German champions to victory in their opening Group C game at Inter Milan.