Carlos Eduardo struck a stunning quintuple as Nice moved up to seventh in Ligue 1 with a 7-2 hammering of rock-bottom Guingamp on Sunday.
Nice had only scored nine times in 10 league games prior to the trip to the Stade du Roudourou and Eduardo had scored just once in six league appearances.
Things started well for Guingamp as Claudio Beauvue gave them an eighth-minute lead, but that was as good as it got for the hosts.
Things soon went downhil for the home side, with Eduardo completing a hat-trick by the 43rd minute and Alassane Pléa making it 4-1 in first-half stoppage time.
There appeared to be no stopping Eduardo, who added to his tally with goals in the 51st and 65th minutes, with Ronnie Schwartz scoring for Guingamp and Éric Bauthéac completing the rout.
It was the first time Nice had scored seven goals away from home and equalled their biggest winning margin on the road from 1960 and 1972 when they beat Troyes and Le Mans 5-0 respectively.
While Eduardo fell two short of the individual record for a Ligue 1 game, achieved by Sochaux's André Abegglen and Jean Nicolas of Rouen in the 1930s.
"What Carlos Eduardo did was great," said Nice coach Claude Puel afterwards.
"He's a player who has a lot of qualities. He sees the game well, he takes set-pieces and has good feet. He's 25 and he needs to be more consistent. He's got the potential to be a top-level player; he just needs more consistency."
Nice had only scored nine times in 10 league games prior to the trip to the Stade du Roudourou and Eduardo had scored just once in six league appearances.
Things started well for Guingamp as Claudio Beauvue gave them an eighth-minute lead, but that was as good as it got for the hosts.
Things soon went downhil for the home side, with Eduardo completing a hat-trick by the 43rd minute and Alassane Pléa making it 4-1 in first-half stoppage time.
There appeared to be no stopping Eduardo, who added to his tally with goals in the 51st and 65th minutes, with Ronnie Schwartz scoring for Guingamp and Éric Bauthéac completing the rout.
It was the first time Nice had scored seven goals away from home and equalled their biggest winning margin on the road from 1960 and 1972 when they beat Troyes and Le Mans 5-0 respectively.
While Eduardo fell two short of the individual record for a Ligue 1 game, achieved by Sochaux's André Abegglen and Jean Nicolas of Rouen in the 1930s.
"What Carlos Eduardo did was great," said Nice coach Claude Puel afterwards.
"He's a player who has a lot of qualities. He sees the game well, he takes set-pieces and has good feet. He's 25 and he needs to be more consistent. He's got the potential to be a top-level player; he just needs more consistency."
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