Edin Dzeko extends scorching scoring run with hat-trick as Roma blasts Villarreal in Europa League

SPAIN — Edin Dzeko became the leading scorer in this season's competition — on eight goals — with his second-half hat trick for Roma in a 4-0 win at Villarreal in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 match on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

It is 28 goals in all competitions for Dzeko, who scored in the 65th, 79th and 86th minutes to add to Emerson Palmieri's opening goal for the Italian side.

In other matches, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Celta Vigo, 1-0, in Shakhtar's first competitive outing since Dec. 12, but even the long break couldn't halt the Ukrainian team's momentum in the Europa League.

Shakhtar, the winner of the UEFA Cup — the precursor to the Europa League — in 2009, earned its seventh straight win in the competition when debutant Blanco Leschuk scored at the end of a 27th-minute counterattack.

Shakhtar was the only team to go through qualifying with a 100 percent record.

On the other hand, Gent escaped with a 1-0 win over Tottenham.

Tottenham's attack is malfunctioning, just when the big games are piling up for the English club.

It's now one goal in four games for Spurs after a loss at the eighth-place team in the Belgian league, with Gent's winner coming from Jeremy Perbet in the 59th.

England striker Harry Kane hit the post for Spurs but finished the game with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Federico Bernardeschi celebrated his 23rd birthday with the winner for Fiorentina, 1-0, leaving Borussia Moenchengladbach still without a home win in Europe after dropping down from the Champions League.

Bernardeschi got up from being fouled on the edge of the area and curled a free kick around the wall and into the top corner.

OTHER RESULTS

Alexandre Lacazette enhanced his burgeoning reputation by scoring two of Lyon's goals in a 4-1 win at AZ Alkmaar, while Rostov capitalized on the sending-off of Tiemoko Konate at 1-0 to beat Sparta Prague 4-0.