Alphadjo Cissè, 19, scored three times inside 50 minutes as AC Milan beat RB Salzburg 4-0 in the Europa League on Thursday. His first senior hat-trick made him the youngest Italian to score three in European club competition and lifted Milan after a damaging opening defeat.
Salzburg, Austria: Milan arrived in Austria under real pressure. They had lost their opening league-phase match 2-0 at home to Benfica and had won only one of their last four Serie A games. By half-time against Salzburg, the mood had changed completely.
A teenager takes over
Cissè struck in the 15th minute, supplied by Omari Hutchinson, and doubled the lead in the 32nd after a pass from Davide Bartesaghi. Salzburg never found an answer to the speed and finishing of a player born in Treviso in 2006.
The third came four minutes into the second half. Adrien Rabiot set it up, and Cissè completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute. Match data put his age at 19 years and 358 days, which made him the youngest Italian to score a hat-trick in European club competition.
History and a late red card
The feat carried a Milan landmark too. No player in the club’s colours had scored three in a European match since Filippo Inzaghi did it against Deportivo La Coruña in September 2002, a gap of more than 24 years.
A fourth goal sealed the win, but the night had one blemish. Filippo Terracciano was sent off late on for a shove on Salzburg’s Dominik Schmid just outside the area, and Milan played out the closing minutes with ten men.
Milan also rotated their side in Austria, handing Francesco Camarda and Fikayo Tomori their first starts of the season. Alexis Saelemaekers and Matteo Gabbia remained long-term absentees.
What it means for Milan
The result gave Ruben Amorim’s side its first points of the league phase. For Salzburg, the defeat was a heavy one on home soil at the stadium that hosted PSG’s Super Cup win over Aston Villa in August.
The broader point is about Cissè. A teenager who had already scored against Torino and Juventus in Serie A this season now has a European hat-trick as well. Milan have a young striker whose output is arriving at the right moment.
Result: RB Salzburg 0-4 AC Milan (Cissè 15′, 32′, 49′; fourth goal in the second half)
Competition: UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 2
Venue: Salzburg, Austria, October 15, 2026
Red card: Filippo Terracciano (Milan)
