AMSTERDAM: With a hat trick, Victor Osimhen has moved atop the Champions League scoring table.
The Nigeria striker netted all three goals in Galatasaray's 3-0 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Osimhen now has six goals this season in Europe's elite club competition. That's one more than Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
The Istanbul club signed Osimhen to a permanent deal from Napoli in the summer for a record transfer fee in the Turkish League worth reportedly 75 million euros ($86 million).
It's clear why.
The 26-year-old striker needed less than 20 minutes to complete his first hat trick in the competition.
He headed in the opener in the 59th minute off a cross from Leroy Sané. In the 66th and 78th, his perfectly executed spot kicks gave no chance to Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer.
"We have a goal. We know what we want, and we know the magnitude of performance you need in the Champions League," Osimhen told Galatasaray TV. "We want to match up with the elite. It won't be easy, but we'll go step by step. We have the individual quality to do damage to every team."
In the previous Champions League games this term, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Liverpool (also from the spot), and added two more to help Galatasaray beat Bodø/Glimt 3-1. Galatasaray won three straight matches and is ninth with nine points halfway through the league phase.
Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Saudi club Al-Ahli all were reportedly interested in Osimhen before he moved from Napoli to Galatasaray on a loan deal in September 2024. He then helped the club win the league and the Cup in his first season in Turkey. He scored 26 in the league and five in the Cup that term.