Real Betis captain Joaquin became the oldest player to score a hat trick in La Liga history on Sunday, scoring three times in the opening 20 minutes as his side went on to defeat Athletic Bilbao 3-1.
The 38-year-old midfielder struck just two minutes in, then again in the 11th and 20th minutes to give the home team a commanding lead, with Inaki Williams‘ penalty on the stroke of half-time proving nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
Prior to Sunday, Spaniard Joaquin — who is in his second spell at his boyhood club — had scored three goals in La Liga this season.
2′ ⚽️ 11′ ⚽️ 20′ ⚽️
38-year-old Joaquin scored a hat-trick in the first 20 minutes of Real Betis vs Athletic 😲
He becomes the oldest player to score a hat-trick in La Liga history 👏 pic.twitter.com/vJQFu5aswC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 8, 2019
The hat trick saw him break the record held by the late Alfredo di Stefano, whose last treble came in 1964 when he was 37.
The win was Betis’ third in a row and saw them rise to 11th in the table.
Meanwhile, the result dealt a blow to Bilbao, who were on a four-match winning streak and would have gone fourth in La Liga with a win.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.