Gift Orban scored his second consecutive hat-trick to assist KAA Gent defeat Istanbul Basaksehir 4-1 away, advancing his club to the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
Gent of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League made a remarkable performance to upset Turkey’s Basaksehir 5-2 on aggregate and go to the European Conference League last-eight.
Gent’s victory was thanks to the extraordinary Orban, who performed a masterclass in front of goal on Wednesday evening at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
Orban stole the show, scoring three goals in three minutes, the first coming in the 31st minute on a brilliantly placed left-footed shot that gave the Basaksehir goalie no chance.
Only a minute later, the kid added a potential goal of the week before completing out his hat trick with another fine effort in the danger zone.
Hugo Cuypers scored Gent’s fourth goal in the 37th minute. Basaksehir did get a late consolation goal through former Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj, but it was too little, too late, as the game was over.
He scored his first goal of the game in the 53rd minute, his brace in the 68th minute, his first career hat-trick in the 75th minute, and the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute.
Orban has been in excellent form since joining Gent from Norwegian club Stabaek Fotbal in January for €3.3 million, scoring twelve goals in nine appearances across all competitions.
