BARCELONA (AFP) – Artem Dovbyk struck a hat-trick inside seven minutes as minnows Girona powered back to the top of La Liga with a thumping 5-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday.
After Real Madrid scraped a controversial 3-2 win over bottom side Almeria and a treble by Ferran Torres helped Barca win 4-2 at Real Betis, Girona demonstrated their title credentials.
The Catalan club, in the top flight for only the fourth season in their history, are shock challengers for the Spanish title and lead second-place Madrid by a point, having played one extra game.
Madrid’s victory over winless Almeria, which took them temporarily top before Girona played, was steeped in drama and controversy.
Dani Carvajal rammed home the winner in the 99th minute to settle a wild and hugely entertaining clash at the Santiago Bernabeu where Madrid had trailed 2-0.
Almeria took a two-goal lead through Largie Ramazani’s 38th minute strike and a screamer from Edgar Gonzalez.
