Fermín became the second-youngest Barça player to score a hat trick in the Champions League on Tuesday; Neymar is number one in the ranking, and Leo Messi is third.
Fermín López (22) is in his best form since the start of the season, despite recovering from a muscle injury. However, his second-half appearance against Girona sparked a comeback for Hansi Flick's team, and against Olympiacos, he put Barça on the right track to win with the first two goals and sealed the victory with Barça's fifth. All three were scored with his left foot, a sign of a complete midfielder. Not only does he maintain excellent ball control, a hallmark of La Masia, but he also dribbles, breaks into space, drives from the second line, bites like no other, presses ferociously, and, most importantly, scores a lot. Because scoring three goals in a Champions League match is within the reach of very few, especially if you're only 22.
In fact, there's a very revealing fact: since the European Cup was renamed the Champions League in the 1992-1993 season, only one Barça player younger than Fermín has scored three goals in a match in the top continental competition. Neymar signed the contract at 21 years and 309 days old against Celtic on December 11, 2013. The Huelva native scored against Olympiacos at 22 years and 163 days old, and third in this particular ranking is Leo Messi, who scored four goals (four goals, having never previously scored three in a Champions League match) against Arsenal on April 6, 2010. It's obvious that, given his position and playing characteristics, Fermín isn't going to be a scorer at the level of Messi (of whom he is a great admirer) or Neymar, but this fact clearly speaks to his ability to finish in front of the opponent's goal, not being a striker but a midfielder who, in Hansi Flick's scheme, plays as an attacking midfielder or as a false left winger.
Continuing with the statistics, after his three goals against Olympiacos, Fermín became the ninth Barça player to score a hat trick since the Champions League format began. The other greats to achieve this feat are Rivaldo, Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Arda Turan, Leo Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar, and Raphinha. During the era of the so-called European Cup (between 1955 and 1992), Fermín López equaled the record held by Carles Rexach and 'Pichi' Alonso: being the only Spanish Barça players to score a hat trick in a European Cup match. Charly scored against Feyenoord in 1974 and 'Pichi' against Gothenburg in 1986.
Aside from the statistics, the player from El Campillo (Huelva) is aiming to start in El Clásico. After a preseason in which Flick wasn't happy with his attitude (the manager revealed as much in a press conference) and in which Chelsea's interest disturbed him in the final week of the transfer window, Fermín is now on cloud nine. After his injury, he's developing physically and sees that his manager is taking him seriously and sees him as a key player, something he already told him when he asked him to stay despite the siren calls from Stamford Bridge. He knows he's earning enough to play and that if he continues on his current path, Flick will continue to give him a leading role. And if he plays and scores goals for Barça, Luis de la Fuente will take him into account. His next challenge is El Clásico, and Real Madrid already knows him well.