Unheralded 19-year-old Alphadjo Cisse scored a sensational 49-minute hat-trick on Thursday night, spearheading AC Milan's dominant 4-0 Europa League rout of RB Salzburg in Austria. The victory got the Rossoneri's European campaign up and running following an opening defeat to Benfica.
Breakout performance in Salzburg
Operating alongside fellow teenager Francesco Camarda in attack, Cisse opened the scoring with a 15th-minute header from Omari Hutchinson's inch-perfect cross. He swept home a left-footed second in the 32nd minute after neat build-up play involving Adrien Rabiot and Davide Bartesaghi, before completing his hat-trick four minutes after the restart via Rabiot's delivery.
Withdrawn on the hour mark for Christian Pulisic, Cisse watched on as fellow substitute Goncalo Ramos later added a fourth to seal the points.
Record-breaking feat
At 19 years and 358 days old, Cisse became the youngest Italian ever to score a hat-trick in a major European club competition, shattering Giancarlo Danova's long-standing 1959 record. He is also the first Milan player of any nationality to net a European treble since Filippo Inzaghi accomplished the feat against Deportivo La Coruna in 2002.
For fans outside of Italy, Cisse has seemingly emerged out of nowhere. Just months ago, the youngster was plying his trade in Serie B with Catanzaro, having been loaned back after signing for Milan in February before officially linking up with the San Siro squad this summer.
Rapid rise and praise
Primarily an attacking midfielder in youth football before showcasing his penalty-box instincts up front, he has adapted rapidly to the top flight, already scoring twice in five Serie A appearances this term and netting for Italy's Under-21s against Armenia earlier this month.
Speaking afterwards, Rossoneri boss Ruben Amorim praised the teenager while urging him to keep developing. "My credit? He owes me nothing and deserves the space he's getting," Amorim told Sky Sport Italia. "He can be explosive, he still needs to improve physically, so to speak, but he has a lot of heart. He still has to improve in training and in the game, but tonight, all the best goes to him. His hat-trick is extraordinary, and he has enormous potential."
Cisse himself remained grounded, adding: "It's something that takes a back seat, the most important thing today was to win and we're very happy. These are games that I will carry with me for a long time." Milan face Atalanta on Sunday before travelling to Bournemouth next Thursday.
