Leicester City won its away game in Moscow against Spartak, 4-3. All four of Leicester’s goals were scored by Zambian striker Patson Daka, a summer arrival from RB Salzburg. Three of Daka’s goals came in just nine minutes.
It was a day to remember for Daka and Leicester in Moscow. Brendan Rodgers’ men came back from two behind to win their Europa League encounter against Spartak. The win comes days after Leicester beat Manchester United 4-2 in the Premier League, with Daka also on the scoresheet.
Leicester paid almost $32 million to sign Daka, and that investment is starting to pay off after a slow start. Following their win in Russia, Leicester now sits second in Group C and awaits the result of the clash between Napoli and Legia Warsaw on Thursday to continue their European prospects.
Daka’s night of brilliance
Daka scored his first goal just before the end of the first half, then came out hungry for more in the second act. Daka proved unplayable for Spartak’s defense, as he went on to score in the 48th minute, then again in the 54th, to complete his nine-minute hat-trick. Daka’s fourth came with 12 minutes left in regulation time before Sobolev added spice to the game’s finale with his goal, which closed the gap between the two teams to just one goal.
“It’s a very emotional night for me. I have mixed feelings, it’s so hard to describe what I feel,” Daka told Leicester’s channel after the match in Moscow had finished. “I’m happy that I was able to help the team today, it was a great performance from the team. Everyone is so happy for me. The atmosphere is great, we support each other all the time,” he added.
Daka said it was hard to pick a favorite goal from the four he scored, adding that he would “go with the first because it was very important. It helped us all in confidence, as we were 2-0 down and needed to come back in the game.”
Daka 45', 48', 54', 78'
Read our account of #SkmLei ⬇ï¸
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 20, 2021
Daka’s nine-minute hat-trick is the fastest in the Europa League since the competition was rebranded in 2009. In the 12 years since the UEFA Cup became the UEFA Europa League, only five players have scored four or more goals in a game. Daka is only the second to do it away from home. He’s also the first Zambian international to score a hat-trick in the main round of a UEFA club competition.
Leicester won four points from three games and now sit second in the Europa League Group C. Legia Warsaw lead the pack on six points, with Spartak third, with three. Napoli, the group’s favorite after the draw, won just a point in two games. On Thursday, they host Legia at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
