Atletico's Gameiro bags 2nd-quickest hat trick in La Liga history

Kevin Gameiro's strike partnership with Antoine Griezmann hasn't been as fruitful as many anticipated, but the stocky front man became just the fourth player to score a La Liga hat trick as a substitute in Saturday's 4-1 dismissal of Sporting Gijon.

And he did it in just 291 seconds - the fastest in league history after Bebeto's for Deportivo La Coruna against Albacete in 1995.

"These goals were for my grandmother who passed away this week. I thought about her a lot," Gameiro told reporters after the match.

Diego Simeone's lot was lurching towards another disappointment in its pursuit of La Liga silverware when Sergio Alvarez levelled on 49 minutes, but when Gameiro claimed his first strike in eight league outings, he scented blood.

The scoreline helped the capital club improve its goal difference to plus-24. It remains four points short of cross-city rival and league leader Real Madrid, which has three games in hand ahead of Saturday's visit from Espanyol.