One of the biggest surprises of Matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions League was Sporting CP’s 4-1 victory over Manchester City, the 2022 title winners.
This impressive feat would have been impossible without Viktor Gyokeres, the star of the night. The Sporting CP striker scored three goals in that game, helping his team to the win and matching a record held by the legendary Lionel Messi.
Of course, it can be argued that the Citizens are currently going through a period of crisis. Nevertheless, a quick look at the biggest odds to win today shows that Man City are nowhere to be found. Pep Guardiola’s team has been a staple of modern football, and their status as favourites will not dwindle soon.
This only makes the achievements of Sporting CP and Viktor Gyokeres, in particular, even more awe-inspiring. This article will discuss the record matched by the big Swede and offer a profile of the player.
Gyokeres and Messi Now Share One Record
Lionel Messi and Viktor Gyokeres are not the only players to have scored a hat-trick against Manchester City no. The Citizens have a long history of competing before Pep Guardiola made them the most dominant team in the world, according to the Strength Rate on ClubSport. This metric evaluates a team’s performance based on their competitive success and consistency over time, often suggests. However, only three players have scored a hat-trick against Guardiola’s Sky Blues: Lionel Messi, Jamie Vardy and Viktor Gyokeres.
And what Gyokeres and Messi have in common is that their three goals past Man City were scored in the UEFA Champions League, the most important competition in club football. To add some perspective, Messi’s hat trick was back in 2016.
It has been over eight years since someone could put three goals past Manchester City, and Gyokeres finally did it. Cool and composed, the 26-year-old striker first finished a quick counter-attack with a classy chip shot over the goalkeeper before calmly converting two penalty kicks in the second half.
Gyokeres: the Profile of a Deadly Striker
Besides the UEFA Champions League hat-trick scored against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, there is little that Viktor Gyokeres and Lionel Messi share. As players, some could even say that they are total opposites.
The Sweden international stands 1.89 metres tall and combines a solid physique with great speed and ball control. His physical attributes allow Viktor to hold off defenders and play as a target man when the situation requires it. But thanks to his agility and pace, he can also be deployed in rapid, vertical attacks. This allows him to outpace defenders on the break and be the first in the penalty box to either deliver the final blow or make a vital contribution with a pass.
Gyokeres has developed into one of the most promising strikers in Europe thanks to his aggressive and direct playing style. He is the perfect player for modern football, as he does not refrain from applying pressure on the defenders. His defensive contributions often lead to goal-scoring opportunities, as he wins possession or forces rival errors high up the pitch.
Thanks to his intelligent movement and positioning, the 26-year-old also reminds me of the great strikers of the 2000s, of the so-called fox in the box types of players. He knows how to place his body to beat the defender even before receiving the ball, how to read and avoid an offside trap, and, most importantly, how to find those pockets of space that allow him to shoot at the goal and score.
Gyokeres is undoubtedly a prolific goalscorer. In the 2023/24 campaign, the Swede netted 43 times and provided 15 assists in 50 appearances for Sporting CP. Viktor, the top scorer in Primeira Liga, led his team to the title while being named the season’s best player.
Considering that his top form continues, some believe it is only a matter of time before Gyokeres leaves Sporting CP for a club in the top five leagues. Modern strikers like him are scarce nowadays, and there should be no shortage of teams ready to pay even €100 million to sign him. What could offer the fans of Portuguese football some relief is that Gyokeres signed a contract until 2028 and said in the past that he was happy at Sporting CP.