Former Syracuse Orange forward Tajon Buchanan made history on Sunday, as he became the first Canadian player to have a hat trick in La Liga in a match against Girona FC.
Buchanan’s three goals contributed to most of Villarreal’s 5-0 win, although Nicolas Pépé and Rafa Martin also each contributed a goal. The goals were Buchanan’s first three of the La Liga season, as the season just began a few weeks ago. He has recently returned after being sidelined for a long period of time due to a leg injury
last year.
It didn’t take long for Buchanan to get his scoring started in this one, as in just the 16th minute, he found himself in a one-on-one with the opposing right back. He skipped the ball past him. and then fired a shot almost from the endline into the top netting, catching the Girona keeper off guard, and doubling Villarreal’s lead, sending the yellow submarine faithful into a frenzy. The shot marked his first goal of the season and Villarreal’s second in under 20 minutes.
After Villarreal scored their third, they were still not close to being done attacking. In the 28th minute, a quality switch opened up plenty of space on the left side of the pitch, allowing Villarreal to have a two-on-one opportunity. Eventually, Sergi Cardona would send a cross into the box, where it would land right at the feet of Buchanan, who, after a small tussle in the box, tapped in his second of the game to put Villarreal up 4-0. The fourth goal in less than 30 minutes would give Villarreal more than enough cushion, but Buchanan was not done with his night yet.
In the 64th minute of the match, Villarreal found themselves attacking with numbers once again. Buchanan, along with Etta Eyong, was attacking down the right side against a sole Girona defender. Eyong would be able to find a little bit of space, enough to play a pass into Tajon Buchanan, with nobody in front of him but the goalkeeper. From about 10 yards out, Buchanan hit a shot near the goalkeeper. Although the keeper got a hand in, the goalkeeper was not able to hit it away, and it deflected into the top corner, completing Buchanan’s hat trick.
In the post-game presser, Buchanan seemed extremely happy about his first career hat trick, as well as speaking to the preparedness of the team and the coaching staff this season. Villarreal have started their La Liga campaign with two wins, leading to them currently sitting atop the league on goal difference. They have also just received their Champions League group, a competition that Buchanan’s game-winning goal helped them get into last season.
Buchanan and Villarreal will next be in action on Sunday, August 31st, against Celta Vigo.
