Victor Osimhen etched his name in the record books on Wednesday night, becoming only the second Nigerian to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League as Galatasaray cruised to a commanding 3–0 win over Ajax at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

The Super Eagles striker opened the scoring in the 59th minute with a towering header before converting two penalties in the 66th and 78th minutes to complete his treble and seal Ajax’s fourth straight defeat in the competition.

Osimhen’s heroics took his tally to 25 goals in European competition, surpassing Obafemi Martins to become Nigeria’s all-time top scorer in Europe. His 15 goals in the Champions League also make him the highest-scoring Nigerian in the tournament’s history, overtaking Martins’ 10.

The 26-year-old now leads the Champions League scoring chart this season, sitting one goal ahead of Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappé.

His performance marked the first Galatasaray hat-trick in the competition since Burak Yilmaz’s treble against Cluj in 2012 and came on his 50th appearance for the Turkish champions.

Osimhen’s clinical display continued his scintillating run of form in Europe, having now scored 12 goals in his last eight matches, including braces against Tottenham and Bodø/Glimt.

The result lifts Galatasaray to ninth in the Champions League standings, closing in on a top-eight finish that guarantees automatic progression to the knockout stage, while Ajax remain rooted to the bottom with a 14–1 aggregate deficit from four games.

With his latest feat, Osimhen joins Yakubu Ayegbeni, who netted a hat-trick for Maccabi Haifa against Olympiacos in 2002, as the only Nigerians ever to do so in the competition.