Paris Saint-Germain striker Ousmane Dembélé completed the second hat trick of his career Wednesday, January 29, and it was good timing for his team.

The France forward achieved the feat in the 54th minute as PSG built a 4-0 lead at Stuttgart in their Champions League game. A victory or draw ensured PSG would advance to the knockout rounds.

Dembélé scored three goals in succession after Bradley Barcola gave PSG an early lead in the sixth minute. The 27-year-old Dembélé has scored four goals in six Champions League matches this season.

His previous hat trick was in 2016 when he netted three goals for Rennes in a 4–1 victory over Nantes in Ligue 1 as a teenager.

PSG got off a strong start and transformed its dominance into a lead from a corner. Barcola finished off the move with a header at the far post for his second consecutive goal in the tournament from Désiré Doué’s clever flick.

After a stuttering campaign marred by three defeats, PSG got back into playoff contention after coming back form 2-0 down to win 4-2 against Manchester City last week.

PSG was without Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was not qualified to play due to UEFA rules after joining from Napoli earlier this month.

A total of 59 French 'hooligans" have been arrested due to fears of violence before Stuttgart face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday, police in the German city said on Wednesday.

Dozens of 'hooligans' arrested before match

Police said they had made the arrests after checks in hotels and at train stations, while confirming that 47 "high-risk Stuttgart supporters" were also banned from the game.

A number of the Stuttgart fans, who were in possession of protective clothing, had attempted to stalk the PSG fans and were banned from the city centre and areas near the stadium, the police said.

"Before the match, it became apparent that French and German hooligans from both clubs wanted to take advantage of the last match of the Champions League group stage to provoke serious clashes outside the stadium," Stuttgart police said in a statement.

Targeted checks had been carried out on Tuesday "to prevent the supporters, who were looking for violence," the police said.

"Anyone who travels to Stuttgart to commit violent crimes off the pitch will be taken out of the game," the Vice President of Police Carsten Hoefler said.

A judge approved a request to hold the 59 arrested persons in police custody until Thursday morning.