Chelsea winger Pedro Neto expressed his delight after scoring his first senior hat-trick in the Blues' emphatic 4-0 victory over Hull City, which secured their progression to the FA Cup fifth round.
The Portuguese international opened the scoring just before halftime with a precise strike from the edge of the penalty area. He doubled Chelsea's lead early in the second half when his inswinging corner kick evaded everyone in the box, including Hull goalkeeper Dillon Phillips, and nestled directly into the net.
After Estevao Willian added a third goal from Liam Delap's pullback, Neto completed his memorable treble with a composed finish into the bottom corner, capping off a dominant away performance.
Speaking after the match, the 25-year-old was all smiles as he reflected on his achievement. "Really pleased," Neto said. "I think the mentality of the team was amazing. We came to a tough place, winning 4-0 away. This competition is really tough. So we are really happy to go through to the next round."
Neto admitted there was initial confusion over whether he should claim the second goal, which was originally attributed to defender Jorrel Hato. "To be honest, on the second goal, I was in doubt if it was mine or not. At the end of the game, I went to the referee and asked whether it was a hat-trick or not. Did I have the right to the ball? He said, 'Yeah, yeah, you have the right!'"
The winger credited his teammate for clearing up the confusion. "Jorrel said to me, 'It's your goal, I didn't touch the ball!' I didn't celebrate a lot of the goal because I didn't notice; there was a lot of confusion. But in the end, I'm really happy it was."
When asked about the significance of his first senior hat-trick, Neto joked about the celebrations ahead. "It's my first senior hat trick," he confirmed. "So we'll have a party tonight! It means a lot. I will continue to work hard to give the fans and my teammates happiness and more goals like this. So I'm really happy."
Despite the emphatic victory, Neto emphasized the team's commitment to continuous improvement. "We have to keep winning, but first of all, we have to keep improving. I think there are more details that can take us to the next step. So we are really working hard on that."
Chelsea now advance to the FA Cup fifth round, with Neto's heroics ensuring a comfortable passage and giving fans plenty of reason to celebrate.
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