Aduriz bangs in five goals in Athletic's victory over Genk
The Athletic forward guided his side to victory in San Mamés, finishing from close range and adding two from the spot before completing the rout in the second half.
Aritz Aduriz bagged a 36-minute first half hat-trick in Athletic’s Europa League match against Racing Club Genk, opening his account for the evening with a close range finish and adding two more from the spot before completing an extrordinary game by scoring twice in the second half to double his personal tally for the season to 10 in all competitions as the home side beat the Belgian visitors 5-3 in San Mamés.
The 35-year-old continues to improve with age and already has five in La Liga this season as he seeks to beat his own personal best mark of 20, having scored 18, 16 and 16 in his first three seasons after returning to San Mamés in 2012. Last season, Aduriz became the club's highest scorer in a season since the great Telmo Zarra in 1950-51.
Barcelona hat-trick
Perhaps the highlight of Aduriz’s career to date was his remarkable treble against Barcelona in the first leg of the 2015 Spanish Supercup, which helped his side to a 5-1 aggregate victory and a first trophy in 31 years. The veteran striker was also on target in the return game.
But his latest goal scoring feat could not have come at a better time for Athletic, who went in to the match against Genk bottom of Group F on three points, with the Belgian side leading the table on six. After Aduriz's prolific performance that panorama has changed considerably after Sassuolo and Rapid Wien played out a 2-2 draw in the other Group F game.