Teenager Alphadjo Cisse became the youngest Italian to score a hat-trick in European club competition as he helped AC Milan to a thumping 4-0 victory over Austrian hosts RB Salzburg in the Europa League on Thursday.
Cisse’s treble is also the first by a Milan player in a continental fixture since Filippo Inzaghi 24 years ago as the Italians overcame an opening-round home loss to Benfica to claim an emphatic away win, despite finishing the game with 10 men.
The 19-year-old scored all his goals inside 49 minutes to underline the faith shown in him by Coach Ruben Amorim.
“He owes me nothing,” Amorim said. “He deserves the playing time he’s getting because of what he’s doing.
He knows how to be explosive. He has a lot of heart, ?but he can still improve in training and in matches.
“Tonight he deserves all the praise, but there are things he needs to work on, and he has enormous potential.”
Milan lost Filippo Terracciano to a straight red card late in the game for a professional foul.
Bayer Leverkusen made it two wins from two as they thumped Lech Poznan 4-0 in Poland with a pair of Patrik Schick penalties helping them along the way.
Olympique Lyonnais edged Crystal Palace 3-2 in a battle between two clubs who were previously both controlled by American businessman John Textor.