Colombian international Luis Suárez, in collaboration with teammate Largie Ramazani, achieved a remarkable feat in La Liga on Sunday. Not only did Suárez score his hat-trick for Almería against Granada in the last five minutes of the first half, but teammate Ramazani also provided the assist for each goal. What made it even more extraordinary was that Almería ultimately didn't secure all three points.
It was a closely contested match between Almería and Granada until the 41st minute. Suárez found a bit too much space and slotted it low with his left foot. Then, things escalated quickly for the Colombian international. In the 44th minute, he tapped in the 2-0 from close range, and his third goal came in the first minute of stoppage time from a lightning-fast counter-attack.
In total, Suárez needed 5 minutes and 25 seconds for his hat-trick, although he is not the fastest in La Liga history. That record belongs to Kevin Gameiro since 2017 when he completed a hat-trick in 4 minutes and 45 seconds for Atlético Madrid against Sporting Gijón. Assist maestro Ramazani, on the other hand, has a record to his name as the first Almería player to provide a hat-trick of assists in a single league match.
Almería found themselves in need of all those assists and goals from the first half because, after three substitutions right after half-time, Granada made a complete comeback. Antonio Puertas missed a penalty ten minutes into the second half, but Bryan Zaragoza converted one a few minutes later, and Ricard Sánchez made it a lot more exciting with a goal twenty minutes before the end. It didn't stop there, and this extraordinary hat-trick effort for Almería wasn't enough to secure the three points.
Substitute Myrto Uzuni completed the remarkable comeback just before the end, keeping Almería at the bottom of La Liga. A victory over Granada would have allowed the 20th-placed team in the Spanish league to pass the last-placed Granada. However, the club remains winless this season. Adding to the pain was the injury to hat-trick hero Suárez, just before the 3-3 equalizer. Spanish media reported shortly after the match that the striker had even broken his calf bone.
