Manchester United’s Alessia Russo stole the show with her hat-trick performance against Leicester on Sunday in the Women’s Super League.
The England international’s treble puts her on eight goals for the season, and she was joined on the score-sheet by Leah Galton and Lucía Garcia.
Thanks to an attacking masterclass from the Reds to secure a 5-1 win, they move four points clear at the top of the table.
Here’s a closer look at Russo’s latest performance and how she stunned Leicester.
Alessia Russo’s Man United stats
The forward needed just 15 minutes to get her first goal on the board. The other two came in the 36th and 53rd minute.
As well as her hat-trick, Russo provided an assist to set up Galton for her sixth WSL goal of the season.
Russo was a real thorn in the side for Leicester goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, who has been solid between the sticks in recent performances.
As well as her three goals, Russo had six accurate shots out of seven attempted, according to FotMob.
The United star also created two goal-scoring chances and was the most fouled player on the pitch.
Russo’s efforts earned her a Player of the Match rating of 9.8 out of 10.
Plenty of other United players impressed against the Foxes, including Galton, who created a whopping six chances — the most of any other player in the game.
Additionally, she had a 100 percent shot and dribble accuracy and completed 75 percent of her attempted crosses into the box.
What else happened in the WSL?
After Man United got the weekend underway with their victory, Aston Villa pipped mid-table rivals Everton to the three points with a 2-0 win on the road.
An early opener from Kenza Dali followed by a Megan Finnigan own goal gave the in-form Villans another big result.
Reading earned themselves an important win to put daylight between them and the relegation zone.
Goals from Charlie Wellings and Rachel Rowe secured a 2-1 home victory over West Ham.
Elsewhere, Manchester City continued their own push at the top of table by coming from behind to beat Spurs 3-1. The electric Khadija Shaw put in yet another dominant performance by scoring all three of City’s goals.
She extends her lead as the WSL top scorer with 13 goals and four assists in 14 games.
With Arsenal and Chelsea occupied in the Continental Cup final, Man United remain top of the table with City now in second.
New Conti Cup champions Arsenal and London rivals Chelsea both have two games in-hand above the Manchester sides.
