Julian Alvarez, who is set to join Manchester City, scored six goals for River Plate in the Copa Libertadores group stage on Wednesday. Alvarez, 22, was awarded two match balls for his River Plate team’s 8-1 victory over Alianza Lima of Peru.
With a hat-trick inside the first 41 minutes, the Argentina international helped his present employers sprint to a 3-0 lead before halftime. Before Alvarez added two more goals in the 54th and 57th minutes, his teammate Santiago Simon made it 4-0.
Elias Gomez made it 7-0 before Alvarez scored his sixth goal to complete the scoring. His display in River Plate’s last group match of the season sees him become the River Plate’s first player to score six goals in a single match.
Pablo Lavandeira of Alianza Lima scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute, but it was Alvarez’s double hat-trick that stole the show. River Plate won their group with 16 points out of a possible 18 to go to the round of 16. This season, Alvarez has 15 goals in 19 games for River Plate. In January, Manchester City agreed to pay £14 million for the highly-rated forward, but he will stay at River Plate until at least the summer.
Pep Guardiola’s team has also signed Erling Haaland to its ranks, so Alvarez isn’t the only striker anticipated to arrive in time for the new season. To entice Haaland away from Borussia Dortmund, City triggered his £51 million release clause. Guardiola guided his team to the Premier League title with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on the last day of the season.
