Mike Newell netted the then fastest Champions League hat-trick in 1995 (Image: PA)

A forgotten Premier League hero was once the unlikely scorer of the fastest Champions League hat-trick in history before Mohamed Salah smashed the record.

Salah bagged a Champions League hat-trick in six minutes and 12 seconds in a 7-1 demolition of Rangers at Ibrox in October 2022. Netting three times in the final 15 minutes of the game as the Reds blew Rangers away despite falling behind in the match and being held 1-1 at half-time.

Salah's treble was the quickest ever recorded in Europe's top competition - taking the record from Swansea icon Bafetimbi Gomis. After Gomis had previously snatched the record from former Blackburn Rovers striker Mike Newell.

Mike Newell remains Blackburn's top goalscorer in the Champions League(Image: ExpressStar)

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Newell, who celebrated his 60th birthday on Tuesday (January 27), netted a Champions League hat-trick in just nine minutes - becoming the first British player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League era. Newell's...