3 goals and 1 assist! The former Real Madrid No. 7 was crazy about food: breaking the 1263-day ball drought and cheering

In the first round of the Copa del Rey, Alaves challenged CD Getxo away. The 32-year-old Mariano became the most shining player: 3 goals, 1 assist, leading the team to a crazy 7-0 victory! The former Real Madrid No. 7 scored again after 1,263 days.

Alaves is a La Liga team. It has scored 12 points in 10 games in La Liga this season and ranks 12th. Getxo is a team in the 6th Spanish League. The strength gap between the two sides is obvious. For Araves, this is a battle of abuse. The 32-year-old Mariano performed a "perfect hat trick (left foot, right foot, header)":

Only 8 minutes into the game, Mariano received a pass from his teammate from the right, jumped high and headed the ball towards the goal. The ball bounced to the ground and entered the net, giving Alaves a 1-0 lead.

In the 28th minute, Alaves made a pass from the right, and Mariano easily scored with his right foot, helping the team lead 2-0.

In the 58th minute, Mariano scored another goal with his left foot, completing a hat trick!

Mariano, wearing a hat, was very excited, running to celebrate and cheering!

For Mariano, this is a long-lost feeling of scoring a goal. The last time the Dominican center scored in an official game was on May 15, 2022, when Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Cadiz in La Liga, 1,263 days ago. The last time Mariano scored 4 goals in a single game dates back to the 2016 Copa del Rey match between Real Madrid and León Sporting, also with 3 goals and 1 assist.

Real Madrid fans will be familiar with Mariano.

Mariano, who joined Real Madrid in 2018, had high hopes from Real Madrid and once took over Ronaldo's No. 7 jersey. However, Mariano has become Real Madrid's glass man and nail-biter. He suffers constant injuries and does not care about playing time. He earns an annual salary of 4.5 million euros. Real Madrid wanted Mariano to take a salary cut, but the latter firmly disagreed.

Mariano did not leave Real Madrid until the summer of 2023, when his contract with Real Madrid expired. In five years at Real Madrid, Mariano had no sense of presence and was not reused. In the summer of 2024, Mariano joined Sevilla on a free transfer and left after one year. In Sevilla, Mariano made only 13 appearances without scoring a goal. This summer, Mariano came to Alaves and scored 0 goals in 7 La Liga games. However, in the Copa del Rey game, Mariano scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist, finally finding his sense of scoring goals.