Spain U21 kicked off their UEFA European Under-21 Championship with a 5-0 thrashing against Macedonia, but it was Real Madrid star Marco Asensio who grabbed the limelight with a world-class hat-trick.

Atletico Madrid’s Saul opened the scoring in the tenth minute and it was one-way traffic from there on as Asensio and Gerard Deulofeu got on to the scoresheet in the first-half to give Albert Celades’ side a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the half-time break.

Asensio picked up where he left off in the second stanza, netting in the 54th and 72nd minute to complete his hat-trick.

Photo: EPA/Adam Warzawa