On Saturday afternoon, Atlético Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4–0 on Matchday 35 of La Liga. Alexander Sorloth was the standout performer, scoring all four goals and achieving a feat that other global stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have previously reached.
Messi has scored four goals in a single match six times throughout his professional career and has recorded five goals on two occasions. Cristiano, on the other hand, has hit those numbers even more frequently: the Portuguese forward has scored four goals in a match nine times, and five goals twice.
The first time Lionel Messi scored four goals in a single game was during a 4–1 win for Barcelona over Arsenal in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League season, when he was just 22 years old.
In 2012, Leo set an all-time record by scoring 91 goals in a calendar year—a mark unmatched in soccer history. Unsurprisingly, he had three such performances that year: four goals against Valencia and Espanyol in La Liga, and five against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal with Real Madrid.
A year later, Messi netted four goals in La Liga against Osasuna. His last two four-goal games came against the same opponent, Eibar, in 2017 and 2020. The most recent instance of this kind of performance was with the Argentina national team in 2022, when he scored five goals against Estonia.
see also
‘Cristiano is like Michael Jordan,’ claims Real Madrid star who faced Ronaldo’s Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo’s four-goal (or more) matches
Most of Cristiano Ronaldo’s four-goal games came during his time with Real Madrid. He first did it in 2010 against Racing Santander in La Liga, and repeated the feat the following year against Sevilla. In 2014, he scored four goals again—this time against Elche.
The year 2015 was especially prolific: he scored five goals twice, against Espanyol and Granada in La Liga, and four goals once, against Malmoe in the UEFA Champions League. He added two more four-goal matches with Real Madrid, in 2017 and 2018, against Celta Vigo and Girona, respectively.
With the Portugal national team, Ronaldo scored four goals twice: in 2016 against Andorra in a World Cup 2018 qualifier, and in 2019 against Lithuania in a Euro qualifier. His most recent four-goal game came with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in 2023, when he scored four against Al Wehda.
How many goals have Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two highest goal scorers in the history of soccer. The Portuguese forward tops the list with 934 goals since making his debut with Sporting Lisbon in 2002. The Argentine star, who is about a year and a half younger, sits just behind him with 859 career goals.
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