Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick on Monday as Juventus trounced Cagliari 4-0 in Serie A.
The prolific Portuguese forward netted a second second-half treble – the 56th of his career, two more than old rival Lionel Messi at Barcelona – and has now scored in each of his last five games
He is currently enjoying his best scoring run since moving to Italy from Real Madrid in 2018.
It was Ronaldo's second hat-trick for Juve, having scored three against Atletico Madrid in last season's Champions League last-16 tie. He has scored three hat-tricks for Portugal since then.
The former Manchester United forward also became the first player since Alexis Sanchez to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
"I'm happy with this first hat-trick. But the important thing is the team, which played very well," said Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his much-anticipated return to action for AC Milan as they took on Sampdoria at San Siro.
The 38-year-old Swede came on for Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek to deafening applause from the 58,000 crowd in his first appearance after rejoining the club last week.
But there was little else for him to cheer as the hosts were held to a goalless draw that extended their winless run to three games and keeps them 12th in the table.
The former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker – making his first appearance in Serie A since May 2012 – had two chances to break the deadlock. He saw one header well saved by Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Audero and another effort cleared off the line.
But Milan could still not find a way past their opponents, who are hovering just above the relegation zone, and the match ended amid the familiar sound of jeers from their supporters.
Milan manager Stefano Pioli said that Ibrahimovic, who has signed a six-month contract, made an immediate impact and will provide the team with a much-needed option up front.
"He brought character but the team are not used to having someone with that physical presence in the area and did not provide enough crosses," Pioli said. "It is a shame not to have won. Ibra's impact was absolutely positive."
