George Puscas: Reading striker nets stunning five-minute hat-trick against Wigan

George Puscas scored one of the fastest hat-tricks in recent memory as Reading stunned Wigan with a late goal blitz in the Championship on Saturday.

Mark Bowen's Royals were staring at a third straight Championship defeat at the DW Stadium after Joe Garner's first-half effort, yet ended up 3-1 winners after a remarkable intervention from their Romanian striker.

Puscas initially drew Reading level from the spot in the 79th minute after a foul on substitute Lucas Boye and smashed a second goal past home goalkeeper David Marshall just a minute later.

The 23-year-old then completed his treble on 84 minutes after excellent work from winger Garath McCleary.

Such a memorable hat-trick will come as huge relief to Puscas, who has struggled for regular goals since joining Reading from Inter Milan for a hefty fee on a five-year contract in August.

Before Saturday, he had scored four times in 18 outings, with only one of those goals coming since August.

The result lifts Reading up to 18th, five points clear of Wigan, who remain in the second-tier relegation zone amid questions over the future of manager Paul Cook.