Suarez scores three as Liverpool thump Wigan

Getty Images

HAT-TRICK HERO: Luis Suarez of Liverpool.

Relevant offers

Football

Is Neymar the new Lionel Messi? Tradition meets modernism in German showdown Old carving out a career in Chinese league The day New Zealand faced Manchester United All White Winston Reid targeted by Arsenal? Goetze to miss Champions League decider Reyna hired as New York City football director Draw hands Phoenix a tough start to season Merrick's posting at Phoenix widely saluted Beckham junior following in father's footsteps

Luis Suarez netted a hat-trick as a rampant Liverpool beat Wigan 4-0, putting the Uruguay forward atop the Premier League scoring list.

After Stewart Downing put the visitors ahead in just the second minute, Suarez effectively decided the game by making it 3-0 by the 34th - his second goal coming with a stroke of luck as he slipped when taking a free kick but the ball deflected off the defensive wall and into the net.

He then completed his hat-trick shortly after the break for his 21st league goal of the season, putting him ahead of Manchester United's Robin van Persie on 19.

He joins Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres as the only Liverpool players to score at least 20 goals in a Premier League campaign.

The win kept Liverpool in seventh place, while Wigan is only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

- AP