Romelu Lukaku is now 50 goals clear of Belgium's second top scorer Eden Hazard
Romelu Lukaku scored four first-half goals as Belgium thrashed 10-man Azerbaijan in Euro 2024 qualifying.
The 30-year-old now has 83 goals in 113 Belgium games, making him the seventh-highest scorer in international football history.
He headed in Jeremy Doku's cross before Eddy Israfilov was sent off, then smashed in a second from Timothy Castagne's knock down, nodded in Wout Faes' cross, and scored from Orel Mangala's ball, all before being replaced at half-time.
Leandro Trossard added a late fifth for Belgium from Doku's ball, with all five goals being set up by England-based players.
This was Belgium captain Lukaku's first international quadruple having scored four once before in his club career, in Everton's 6-3 Premier League win over Bournemouth in February 2017.
He finishes qualifying on 14 goals, a record for a European Championship qualifying campaign - beating the benchmark of 13 set by Northern Ireland's David Healy in 2008 and equalled by Poland's Robert Lewandowski in 2016.
The Red Devils had already booked their place in Euro 2024 and overtook Austria to finish top of Group F. They remain unbeaten since boss Domenico Tedesco joined in February.
Lukaku's quadruple means he has now overtaken Neymar and Lewandowski in international goalscoring.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (128, Portugal), Ali Daei (109, Iran), Lionel Messi (106, Argentina), Sunil Chhetri (93, Iraq), Mokhtar Dahari (89, Malaysia), Ferenc Puskas (84, Hungary), and Ali Mabkhout (83, United Arab Emirates) have scored more than Lukaku in international football.
His 14 qualifying goals put him far clear of closest challengers Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, who have scored ten and nine respectively.
Sweden, whose qualification hopes were already over, beat Estonia 2-0 in the group's other game.
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsBelgium
Formation 3-4-2-1
12Casteels4Faes5Vertonghen3Theate21Castagne18Mangala6Vranckx7Doku19Bakayoko9Trossard10Lukaku
- 12Casteels4Faes5VertonghenSubstituted forAl Dakhilat 84'minutes3TheateBooked at 22minsSubstituted forSaelemaekersat 60'minutes21Castagne18Mangala6VranckxBooked at 45minsSubstituted forTielemansat 45'minutes7Doku19BakayokoSubstituted forCarrascoat 60'minutes9Trossard10LukakuSubstituted forOpendaat 45'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Kaminski2Debast8Tielemans11Carrasco13Sels14Lukebakio15Deman16Al Dakhil17Openda20Vermeeren22Saelemaekers23Batshuayi
Azerbaijan
Formation 4-1-4-1
1Mahammadaliyev6Haqqverdi2Mammadov5Krivotsyuk3Cafarquliyev14Israfilov10Emreli8Mahmudov20Isayev17Bayramov9Dadashov
- 1MahammadaliyevBooked at 86mins6Haqqverdi2Mammadov5Krivotsyuk3CafarquliyevSubstituted forAliyevat 45'minutes14IsrafilovBooked at 24mins10EmreliSubstituted forAkhundzadeat 45'minutes8MahmudovSubstituted forCamalovat 77'minutes20IsayevSubstituted forDiniyevat 45'minutes17Bayramov9DadashovSubstituted forAhmadzadaat 64'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Hüseynov7Diniyev11Ahmadzada12Imanov13Manafov15Seydiyev16Camalov18Kökcü19Akhundzade21Aliyev22Qurbanli23Azizli
Referee:Gergo BogárMatch StatsHome TeamBelgiumAway TeamAzerbaijanPossessionHome75%Away25%ShotsHome22Away1Shots on TargetHome7Away0CornersHome9Away0FoulsHome13Away7Live Text Post update
Match ends, Belgium 5, Azerbaijan 0.
90'+3'Full Time
Second Half ends, Belgium 5, Azerbaijan 0.
90'+2'Post update
Foul by Ameen Al Dakhil (Belgium).
90'+2'Post update
Cosqun Diniyev (Azerbaijan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'goalGoal!
Goal! Belgium 5, Azerbaijan 0. Leandro Trossard (Belgium) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jérémy Doku.
88'Post update
Offside, Belgium. Leandro Trossard tries a through ball, but Loïs Openda is caught offside.
86'Booking
Sahruddin Mahammadaliyev (Azerbaijan) is shown the yellow card.
86'Post update
Attempt missed. Leandro Trossard (Belgium) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Loïs Openda.
84'Substitution
Substitution, Belgium. Ameen Al Dakhil replaces Jan Vertonghen.
83'Post update
Attempt blocked. Youri Tielemans (Belgium) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Leandro Trossard.
80'Post update
Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Rahil Mammadov.
77'Post update
Foul by Leandro Trossard (Belgium).
77'Post update
Qismat Aliyev (Azerbaijan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
77'Substitution
Substitution, Azerbaijan. Elvin Camalov replaces Emin Mahmudov.
76'Post update
Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Hoccat Haqqverdi.
73'Post update
Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Rahil Mammadov.
73'Post update
Attempt blocked. Yannick Carrasco (Belgium) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Leandro Trossard.
72'Post update
Attempt missed. Youri Tielemans (Belgium) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
71'Post update
Attempt missed. Jérémy Doku (Belgium) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Leandro Trossard.
68'Post update
Foul by Youri Tielemans (Belgium).
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Source: bbc.com