U-21 Euros: Asensio nets stupendous hat trick as Spain crushes Macedonia

Spain has laid down a marker at the European U-21 Championship.

The tournament favourite, loaded with an obscene amount of talent, kicked off its Group B campaign with a 5-0 destruction of Macedonia on Saturday, with Real Madrid's burgeoning star Marco Asensio smacking home three splendid goals to spearhead the dominant victory.

Saul Niguez opened the scoring with a gorgeous bicycle kick, before Asensio's long-range effort and a penalty from Gerard Deulofeu put the contest to bed before the half-time interval.

Related - Watch: Six minutes separate Niguez, Asensio stunners

Asensio took matters into his own hands in the second stanza.

The 21-year-old scored in the 54th minute before capping his standout showing with his best strike of the night, running some 60 yards with the ball before unleashing a fierce left-footed effort into the top corner.

Portugal - the other contender in the group - also won its opening match of the day, recording a 2-0 triumph over Serbia.

The two Group B behemoths go head to head in what should be an excellent contest on Tuesday.