Gareth Bale becomes only the second British player to score a hat-trick in La Liga

Gareth Bale celebrates his third goal against Real Valladolid

Gareth Bale‘s hat trick against Real Valladolid made him only the second British player to have scored a hat-trick in La Liga. The first treble was scored 26 years ago by Gary Lineker.

Lineker played for Barcelona and scored his hat-trick against Bale’s current employers Real Madrid on January 31 ,1987. Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 at the Camp Nou in that match as Lineker scored in the 2nd, 3rd and 47th minutes to secure victory an exciting win for the Catalans over their arch rivals.

Despite the loss, Real Madrid went on to win the league title that season. Lineker’s hat-trick came only in his 28th game for Barcelona while Bale has taken just 13 games to hit his maiden treble.

After Saturday’s match, the current presenter of BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ took to Twitter to congratulate Bale on his three-goal haul.

Congratulations to @GarethBale11 on being only the second British player in history to score a hat-trick in la Liga.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 30, 2013