Red Bull Salzburg 4 : 2 Dinamo Zagreb - Alan scores hat-trick for Salzburg

A hat-trick from Alan helped Salzburg to a 4-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.

The Brazilian striker struck twice in the first half and once in the second to add to a goal from Andre Ramalho, but the visitors ended the match strongly as Arijan Ademi and Angelo Henriquez made the scoreline respectable.

For once Salzburg did not need to rely on goals from captain Jonatan Soriano, who was the top scorer in the competition last season and had scored in both their first two Group D encounters.

It took only 14 minutes for the hosts to take the lead, Alan heading in Peter Ankersen's cross from close range.

Dinamo came close to a quick response through El Arabi Hilal Soudani but he was denied by Peter Gulacsi.

Defences were on top until the 45th minute, when Alan profited from good work from Kevin Kampl to grab his second.

And there was still time for the visitors to miss a good chance before the half-time whistle went, Domagoj Antolic firing off target.

The game was all but over four minutes after the break when Ramalho headed in the third from Christoph Leitgeb's corner, and three minutes later Alan beat goalkeeper Eduardo and Josip Simunic with some fine skill before slotting into an empty net.

Soriano came close to getting on the scoresheet in the 71st minute but Dinamo kept plugging away and managed a consolation in the 81st minute.

Henriquez played in Ademi with a clever back-heeled pass and the midfielder made no mistake.

In a frenetic finish, Salzburg missed a host of chances to add to their lead and, in the 89th minute, on-loan Manchester United man Henriquez seized on a defensive mix-up to grab a second for Dinamo.