Italian-born Ghanaian striker Martin Boakye delivered a stellar performance with a hat-trick for Qingdao Hainiu in their dramatic 4-3 loss to Zhejiang Professional in the Chinese Super League on Saturday.

The match, held at the Yellow Dragon Sports Center Stadium, was a thrilling, high-paced exchange of goals. Boakye opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box, assisted by Elvis Saric.

Zhejiang Professional quickly responded, with Sun Guowen equalizing in the 24th minute and Deabeas Owusu-Sekyere adding another four minutes later, putting Zhejiang ahead.

Boakye brought Qingdao level again in the 53rd minute, heading in a cross from Evans Kangwa. However, Zhejiang Professional regained the lead with goals from Leonardo in the 62nd minute and Jean Kouassi in the 72nd minute.

Boakye completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, scoring another right-footed shot from the center of the box, once again assisted by Saric. Despite his impressive performance, Qingdao Hainiu couldn't overcome Zhejiang's lead, ending the match in a 4-3 defeat.

Boakye has been a standout player this season, now with nine goals in 21 appearances in the 2024 Chinese Super League.