The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League kicked off with two tournament debutants bagging hat-tricks on the same Matchday. That marked the first instance of a pair of debutants scoring three or more goals in a game on the same Matchday.
Since then, six more players scored three or more goals in a game to bring the tally of hat-tricks in this season's competition to eight. That is already one more than the corresponding figure from the entirety of last season.
The eight hat-tricks in the 2019-20 Champions League have been delivered by players from seven different teams, with Bayern Munich being the only team to provide two hat-tricks in this season's competition. The duo of Genk and tournament debutants Atalanta conceded two hat-tricks apiece, while the quartet of Tottenham Hotspur, Brugges, Galatasaray and Red Star Belgrade conceded one apiece.
On that note, let us have a look at the five most memorable hat-tricks in this season's competition:
#5 Erling Braut Haaland (Salzburg)
Erling Braut Haaland became the third Norwegian and the eighth debutant to register a Champions League hat-trick when he scored three goals in his side's 6-2 home win over Genk.
It marked the 125th instance of a hat-trick in the competition as Haaland became the youngest player to score three or more goals in a Champions League game behind Raul (Real Madrid) and Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
Haaland's three-goal haul made Salzburg the 46th different club and the first from Austria to have a player who has registered a hat-trick in a Champions League game. Barcelona (13) and Real Madrid (11) have the most hat-trick scorers by a club in the competition, followed by Bayern Munich (7) and the trio of Manchester United, Juventus and Arsenal, with six apiece.
You may also like: Meet the debutants to have scored Champions League hat-tricks
#4 Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid's Brazilian sensation Rodrygo became the second teenager this season and fifth overall to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick, as Real Madrid thumped Galatasaray 6-0.
The three-goal haul made Rodrygo the third 18-year-old and the second-youngest player ever to score a hat-trick in the competition. Los Blancos legend Raul remains the youngest player to score three goals in a UEFA Champions League game, a feat he achieved when he netted thrice against Ferencvaros in the 1995-96 season.
In the process, Rodrygo, who scored a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header), became the 96th different player to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick and the youngest Brazilian player to do so.
#3 Kylian Mbappe (Paris St. Germain)
Kylian Mbappé became the 95th different player to score a Champions League hat-trick as the World-Cup winner came off the bench to play a starring role in Paris St. Germain's 5-0 victory away from home against Club Brugge.
It marked the fourth hat-trick by a PSG player in the competition, and the first since Neymar netted thrice in the French capital club's 6-1 win over Crvena Zvezda in a group-stage game last season.
At the age of 20 years and 306 days, Mbappe became the youngest player in Champions League history to score 15 goals in the competition, a record that was previously held by Lionel Messi.
#2 Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry scored four goals against Tottenham Hotspur on Matchday 2 of this season's UEFA Champions League. In the process, the German midfielder became the 93rd different player, and the third this season, to score a hat-trick in the competition.
In providing the 127th hat-trick in the Champions League, Gnabry became the fourth player from Germany to do so. His four-goal haul was the eighth hat-trick recorded in the Champions League by a Bayern Munich player; only Barcelona (13) and Real Madrid (11) have registered more hat-tricks in the Champions League than the Bavarian giants.
The 24-year-old's first four goals in the competition marked the first instance of a four-goal hat-trick scored in the second half of a Champions League game.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski turned his attention to the Champions League after seeing his record 11-game Bundesliga scoring streak draw to a close against Dusseldorf.
One of three players to have scored on each of the four Matchdays of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League, Lewandowski missed a spate of chances in the first half at Crvena Zvezda before putting the home team to the sword in the second.
In a devastating 14-minute spell which ended the game as a contest, Lewandowski recorded the fastest ever quadruple in Champions League history and registered his first hat-in the competition in over four years, becoming the only player after Lionel Messi to record multiple quadruples in the competition.
Lewandowski had also scored four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the 2012-13 semi-finals.
The quadruple effort in the Serbian capital hauled Lewandowski to 10 goals and onto top-spot in this season's scoring charts. In the process, Lewandowski also equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring in 9 consecutive group-stage games in the competition.