The Frenchman already had a Chelsea hat-trick to his name from our 5-0 victory at Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League in March 2019 but he went one better in Spain as he found the net with both feet and his head before firing home a late penalty to seal a memorable 4-0 win.

With his strikes against the La Liga side, Giroud became the first Blue to bag a quartet of goals in a match since Frank Lampard got four in a 7-1 thumping of Aston Villa in the Premier League in March 2010.

It was our current manager’s second four-goal haul for the Blues after he first managed the feat in a 6-1 victory over Derby County in March 2008.

Lampard is one of only three Chelsea players to score four goals in a Premier League match with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink getting his quartet in a 6-1 victory over Coventry City in October 2000 and Gianluca Vialli finding his range in a 6-0 away win at Barnsley in August 1997.

Prior to the formation of the Premier League, Kerry Dixon made his mark on the Blues by scoring four goals in three matches for the club. His first came in a 4-0 League Cup win over Gillingham in 1983 and he matched it in a 5-0 FA Cup victory at Wigan in 1985 and a 5-3 win over Barnsley in the Second Division in 1989.

Gordon Durie did go one better than his strike partner when he scored five in a 7-0 victory at Walsall in February 1989.

The Scot emulated club legend Peter Osgood who picked up his five in the club-record 13-0 thumping of Luxembourg’s Jeunesse Hautcharage in September 1971, two years after he had scored four in a 5-1 league win over Crystal Palace.

Bobby Tambling’s 202 goals for the Blues feature five matches in which he scored at least four goals including a five-goal effort in a 6-2 victory at Aston Villa in September 1966.

And Jimmy Greaves scored four or more goals on no fewer than six occasions including five against Wolves in 1958, Preston North End in 1959 and West Bromwich Albion in 1960.

Chelsea’s list of four-goal heroes also includes Joe Bambrick (Leeds United and Manchester City 1935), Dick Spence (Liverpool 1934), Jimmy Thompson (South Shields 1927), William Whitton (Leicester City 1924) and Bob Whittingham (Southend 2013).

And early great George Hilsdon has three four-goal hauls including five against Glossop in 1906 and a club-record six against Worksop in the FA Cup in January 1908.