Colorado Rapids: Dominique Badji hat-trick brings danger

Dominique Badji scored the first Colorado Rapids hat-trick in seven years on Saturday. His new-found goal-scoring prowess makes the Rapids very dangerous indeed.

Dominique Badji scored the first Colorado Rapids hat-trick in seven years and his first career Major League Soccer hat-trick on Saturday. The striker was the Man of the Match on Saturday night as the Rapids cruised to a 3-0 win over the visiting Philadelphia Union.

All three of Badji’s goals came in the second half. The Union’s poor defending allowed him to run rampant in what was arguably one of the best performances of his time with the Rapids.

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His first goal of the match came in the 53rd minute off of a corner kick. A header from Tommy Smith fell right to Badji who finished from close range.

The second was a bit more unconventional as a shot from Johan Blomberg redirected off of Jack Elliot and fell right to Badji, who tucked it home.

The hat-trick goal was all Badji, picking up a pass from Blomberg and moving the ball onto his left foot for a fine finish.

https://twitter.com/MLS/status/980278045905911808

With four goals in 2018 already, he looks to be in for a big year. His best season to date, goal-scoring wise, came in 2017 when scored nine goals in 33 appearances. Keep an eye on him as the season continues.

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There was also a blossoming connection with another Rapids star on display. Blomberg and Badji linked up on two of the three goals scored by Badji. On the second goal, Badji set up Blomberg with a fantastic touch inside the 18-yard box, and the forward benefited from the deflection that resulted in a goal.

They linked up again for the third goal of the match which completely opened up the Union’s defense. It appears the Rapids have found a way to score. It will be interesting to see if these two players yield similar results in the coming weeks.

Although one could say that two of Badji’s goals were a little fortunate, he still did what a good striker does, finishes, and was a constant threat in front of goal. If he can continue to poach goals, then this won’t be his only multi-goal game of the year.

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Saturday night showed that the Rapids have something to work with this season and have certainly shown they can join the seemingly wide-open playoff race in MLS. As long as Badji is fit, firing, and consistent, they could be a very dangerous team indeed.