In the heart of French football, La Liga, Lionel Messi delivered his hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Sunday night.
The Argentine star scored twice in the first half and then doubled his tally with three more goals in the second period, setting up the victory for his side.
"Goals were always going to come," said PSG coach Guus Hiddink. "But this was something special."
Despite being down 2-0 at halftime, PSG managed to pull off an impressive comeback by scoring four unanswered goals in the second half.
"The goal from Zlatan is so important because it's not just about him but also about everyone," said Hiddink. "It shows that we can play together and win games."
In addition to his hat-trick, Messi also had assists for his teammates to score the fourth goal.
With his assist surpassing 10, Messi became the third player in history to have more than one assist in a single Ligue 1 match.
"It's a great achievement for me and for my team," said Messi. "We wanted to create some good chances, but it was difficult to get them. It was really nice to see our team go through all these challenges."
The victory for PSG marks their first league title since 2015, while Athletic Bilbao remains without a trophy after a disappointing season.
"We're very happy," said Athletic Bilbao coach Javier Magnán. "It's a big step forward, but we still have to improve. We need to make sure we stay healthy and perform well."