If you thought that the Julian Alvarez hype among Manchester City fans had reached its peak, well, you'd be wrong.
City completed the signing of the 22-year-old Argentine striker on deadline day, much to the delight of City supporters. Highlight reels of Alvarez banging in goals left, right and centre started doing the rounds online when City's interest was first reported, and it's fair to say that even the most casual City fans noticed similarities to club legend Sergio Aguero in his game.
Alvarez won't join up with his new club until July at the earliest, as a loan spell at River Plate was a condition of the transfer. But don't worry; la Araña is showing no signs that his development will be affected by not immediately hooking up with Pep Guardiola & co.
"We cannot replace him," an emotional Guardiola said after Aguero's final home game at the end of last season. Well, perhaps City can.
River Plate beat Club Atletico Patronato 4-1 in their second game of the season on Wednesday evening, having suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away to Club Atletico Union in the opening match of the season.
As has become the norm, Alvarez was at the centre of everything River Plate did well, scoring a hat-trick inside 50 minutes. Yet it isn't the fact that he scored the third hat-trick of his still fledgling professional career - his second against Patronato - that sent City Twitter into overdrive. It was the resemblance that his goals bore to Aguero's.
Alvarez's first - an equaliser that River never looked back from - will not win any awards, but it showcased the quick-thinking and cunning streak that City fans came to love about Aguero.
The 22-year-old latched on to a volleyed cross after losing his marker inside the box. His first touch left the ball bouncing and presented a chance for the goalkeeper to intervene. Yet the split-second that the keeper hesitated allowed Alvarez to deftly nudge the ball past him with his head, his innovative finish rescuing his side from a potentially tricky situation.
Aguero, who was watching the game while live streaming on Twitch, certainly enjoyed it.
"Here it is... Alvarez, goal!! Great goal from Alvarez," Kun shouted.
If Alvarez's opener showed his poacher's instincts, then his second was a carbon copy of the trademark Aguero goal.
Running off the shoulder of the centre-back, Alvarez chased a through-ball that sent him to the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Rather than looking up and assessing the situation, the striker - with virtually no backlift - rifled a first-time shot into the near-top corner, catching the goalkeeper off-guard and putting his side ahead.
It was a stunning goal, one that City fans saw Aguero pull off many times over the years. The goal against Queen's Park Rangers, strikes at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge in 2013 and the rocket he produced against Liverpool in 2019. Very few strikers in world football can produce such venomous and accurate first-time shots, but Alvarez can.
Five minutes into the second half, Alvarez completed his hat-trick. Once again, he ran off the shoulder of the same central defender and sent a first-time rocket into the far bottom corner. His final goal wasn't quite as Aguero-esque as his second, but he still pulled out that same celebration that, while unintentional, evoked fond memories of City's all-time leading goal-scorer.
It's probably not wise - and perhaps a little unfair - to make comparisons between Alvarez and Aguero. One scored 260 goals over ten trophy-laden years at City. The other is only 22 and has yet to set foot in Manchester yet.
But when he scores goals as he did on Wednesday, it's hard not to get a little bit carried away. Regardless of whether or not he matches Aguero's achievements in sky blue, one thing is for certain: City are getting one hell of a striker.
What did you make of Julian Alvarez's hat-trick? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
