Depay shines as Dutch clobber Turkey 6-1

Sports Desk, Sep 7 (EFE).- Memphis Depay contributed three goals and an assist Tuesday to lead the Netherlands to a 6-1 thrashing of Turkey and first place in Group G of the European qualifiers for World Cup 2022.

While the Dutch are level with surprising Norway on 13 points, the Orange squad have a big edge on goal difference.

Turkey are third with 11 points.

Davy Klaassen needed just 56 seconds to put the hosts on the board in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena.

Getting possession in the area after a botched clearance by the Turkish defense, Klaassen back-heeled the ball to Depay and scored off the return pass from the FC Barcelona man.

Depay opened his account in the 16th minute with an assist from Klaassen, who would go on to be instrumental in the third goal by winning a penalty.

The referee pointed to the spot after Caglar Soyuncu brought down Klaassen in the box in the 35th minute and Depay executed a perfect Panenka to make it 3-0 for the Dutch.

Turkey went down to 10 men in the 44th minute with the expulsion of Soyuncu for a second yellow card, this time for a foul on Depay.

Barely 10 minutes into the second half, Depay completed the hat trick.

A trio of late subs created the final two goals for the home side. Guus Til scored the fifth and Donyell Malen extended the lead to 6-0 with an assist from Devyne Rensch.

Cengiz Under got a consolation goal for the Turks in stoppage time thanks to a blunder by goalkeeper Justin Bijlow. EFE

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