Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar has scored the fastest hat-trick in Major Soccer League history.
The former Germany youth international of Sudanese background achieved this feat within six minutes during Saturday’s 5-1 defeat of Chicago Fire.
Mukhtar found the net first in the tenth minute before firing past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth again in the 13th and 16th minutes.
In doing so, the 26-year-old becomes the player to have scored thrice within the shortest time in the history of the American elite division.
Furthermore, it was the Sudan prospect’s maiden treble for club and country since he began his career at Hertha Berlin in 2012.
Unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, Gary Smith’s men welcomed Raphael Wicky’s side to the Nissan Stadium.
Nashville took the lead just ten minutes into the game. Profiting from an erroneous pass from a Chicago defender, Mukhtar slotted the ball past Shuttleworth after he was teed up by Charles Sapong.
Three minutes later, the midfielder doubled his team’s advantage with a better finish. Receiving a low cross on the edge of the box from Daniel Lovitz, he impressed with a few stepovers before bending his effort past the opposing goalkeeper.
The visitors’ ambition of launching a comeback suffered a massive setback as Johan Kappelhof was then given his marching orders by referee Lukasz Szpala for a foul on Sapong.
Mukhtar took the ensuing free-kick and curled it into the top left corner of the goalkeeper’s net.
Six minutes before the half-time break, Sapong extended his team’s lead to four after profiting from a moment of carelessness from Fire’s defenders.
Despite looking dead and buried, Raphael Wicky's side remained resolute as they pulled a goal back in the 47th minute courtesy of Ignacio Aliseda, with Przemyslaw Frankowski credited for the assist.
Two minutes after the hour mark, the hosts completed the rout through Cameroonian Brian Anunga, who was assisted by Dylan Nealis.
Three minutes later, Mukhtar was substituted for Alex Muyl. Cote d’Ivoire’s Ake Loba was not listed for the game nor was Tanzania's Irakoze Donasiyano and Senegal's Dominique Badji.
Thanks to this result, Nashville SC climbed to fifth in the log after accruing 22 points from 13 outings so far.