Chelsea target matches Bellingham and breaks Ronaldo record

Cameron Smith

• 21 Jan 2024 21:39 GMT
• 3 min read

Girona forward Artem Dovbyk scored a hat-trick within six minutes against Sevilla on Sunday evening to equal Jude Bellingham’s tally of 14 La Liga goals this season and climb to the top of the goal-scorer standings.

In addition, the Ukraine star now has the most goal contributions of any player in the Spanish top flight this campaign (19).

League leaders Girona went 1-0 down to struggling Sevilla on Sunday night, but they didn’t trail for long as Dovbyk equalised in the 13th minute, before netting again in the 15th minute and the 19th minute.

In the process of his sensational trio of goals, Dovbyk bettered Cristiano Ronaldo’s fastest-ever hat-trick in La Liga.

The Real Madrid legend scored a hat-trick inside eight minutes during a 9-1 win over Granada back in 2015; his first goal came in the 30th minute, while he added additional goals in the 36th and 38th minute.

Furthermore, Ronaldo also scored two more times in the second-half.

As for Dovbyk, his first goal was a back post header after a brilliant cross from Savio, his second was a sweeping left-footed finish inside the penalty area, while his third was a powerful strike into the near corner after cutting in from the right flank.

Chelsea in for Artem Dovbyk?

In late December, The Sun reported that Chelsea were considering a move for Dovbyk, who is international team-mates with Mykhailo Mudryk, in a bid to fix their goal-scoring woes.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano soon followed up to reveal that Dovbyk would not be leaving Girona during the January transfer window as the Spanish side eye a shock La Liga title charge.

They are currently top of the table in Spain, one point clear of Real Madrid having played one game more.

Although Chelsea are evidently interested in signing Dovbyk, their focus remains on landing Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen.