ATLETICO Madrid coach Diego Simeone could not help but applaud the performance of striker Alexander Sorloth after the Norwegian scored all four goals in their 4-0 win against Real Sociedad in LaLiga on Saturday.

Sorloth completed the fastest hat-trick in LaLiga history in the opening 11 minutes before adding a fourth goal to seal the rout on the half-hour. "I was very happy with the team's first half in general. Alex, of course, is a whole different matter," Simeone told a press conference.

"He had a fantastic night, especially those first 45 minutes, where he decisively finished every ball that came his way. That allowed us to take control of the game and take it to a place we never imagined possible before the game started."

Despite becoming Atletico's leading scorer in the league this season with 17 goals, Sorloth has started more games from the bench (19) than featured in team's starting line-ups (13). "If we go by the numbers, he's scored more goals coming on in the second half - except for today, obviously," Simeone said.

The Argentine coach was then quick to outline the forward's other strengths. "What I like about him is that he's important in every moment and context of the game you can imagine," Simeone continued.

"If we need to attack, he gives us a strong offensive weight in the area. If we counterattack, he has good passing for that. And if we're closed down and have to defend, his physicality gets us out of uncomfortable situations.

"He's playing the game the team needs and is making the most of his football and his goalscoring." Sorloth, who joined Atletico from Villarreal last August, gave credit to his teammates for contributing to his clinical performance.

"The balls were falling at my feet, my teammates were giving me really good passes," he said. "I'm very happy... I hope to be in LaLiga for many more years and have more games like this. I struggled to get the season off to a good start. In October and November, I started to improve. Now my teammates know me better.

"It was the same situation as last season when I scored four goals against Real Madrid and had a shot hit the post. Today was like a flashback."

Sorloth spent two seasons on loan at Sociedad from Red Bull Leipzig between 2021-2023 The Norwegian forward completed his treble in the opening 11 minutes, the earliest ever in the competition, before adding a fourth goal to seal the rout on the half-hour.

Atletico, who are out of the title race, sit third on 70 points, nine adrift of leaders Barcelona and five behind Real Madrid who face off in a potential title decider on Sunday. Real Sociedad have not won any of their last five league games and are 12th with 43 points.

Atletico, who were held to a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Alaves last weekend, took the lead after seven minutes when Sorloth scored after a long pass by Pablo Barrios. The 29-year-old doubled the advantage three minutes later with a strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

He got the record-breaking third a little over 60 seconds later with a close-range effort into the roof of the net. Sorloth's hat-trick was four minutes faster than Edmundo Suarez's in 1941 and Carles Bestit's in 1929.

However, the striker did not stop there and made it 4-0 when he received the ball from Javi Galan on the edge of the box and paused to control it before slotting home.

Sorloth became Atletico's leading scorer in LaLiga this season with 17 goals, two more than in-form striker Julian Alvarez who was suspended.

The Norwegian previously scored four goals in a match in May last year, helping former team Villarreal hold champions Real Madrid to a 4-4 draw when it took him 56 minutes.

Sorloth also hit the bar from near the penalty spot early in the second half as Atletico continued to dominate, with Sociedad now having failed to score in three straight league games.