Franco Mastantuono's Hat-Trick Leads Fiorentina to Victory in Venice

Franco Mastantuono tore up the script in Venice.

Fiorentina’s 19-year-old loanee produced a devastating hat-trick to haul the Viola to a 4-2 win over Venezia in the fourth round of Serie A, turning a troubled night into a statement performance.

Venezia struck first. Akor Adams finished in the 22nd minute to put the hosts in front and send a jolt through Fiorentina’s back line. For a while, the home side had their tails up, sensing a wobble.

Then Mastantuono took over.

The Argentine needed just seven minutes to flip the match. He struck in the 29th minute, then again a minute later, two rapid-fire goals that ripped control away from Venezia and handed it to Fiorentina. Every dangerous move seemed to run through him, every loose ball suddenly looked like his.

Venezia never really recovered from that one-two punch. Fiorentina grew bolder, pushed higher, and the third goal felt inevitable. It arrived on 66 minutes, Matteo Pellegrino joining the party to make it 3-1 and give the visitors clear daylight on the scoreboard.

The night still belonged to Mastantuono, though.

With six minutes left of normal time, he completed his hat-trick, striking again in the 84th minute to kill off any lingering doubt. Venezia’s Antony Haino pulled one back late on, but by then the contest was decided. The scoreline read 4-2; the story was all about the teenager in purple.

According to ESPN, Mastantuono’s treble makes him the youngest Argentine ever to score a hat-trick in one of Europe’s top five leagues, eclipsing Lionel Messi’s long-standing mark. At 19 years and 28 days, he is 231 days younger than Messi was when the Barcelona icon hit his first career hat-trick against Real Madrid on 10 March 2007.

These were Mastantuono’s first goals for Fiorentina since his season-long loan move from Real Madrid. Remarkably, the three strikes in Venice already match his entire goal tally from 35 appearances for the Spanish giants last season.

One night in Serie A, and he has rewritten a piece of Argentine history in Europe. Now the question is simple: how far can he push it from here?