Dries Mertens assumed top spot in the Serie A scoring race Saturday, the diminutive Belgian netting a sweet brace during an eventful opening half against Bologna before completing his hat-trick with an injury-time strike.

His treble, combined with three tallies from Marek Hamsik, saw Napoli obliterate the Rossoblu, 7-1.

Related - Watch: Hamsik nears Maradona's scoring record with hat trick

Mertens' opening goal was a sumptuous free-kick that wrong-footed Antonio Mirante:

He rounded the Italian 'keeper for his second 10 minutes later:

The second tally capped a wild opening 45 minutes, which saw two red cards - one to each side - a missed penalty by Mattia Destro, and five goals scored between the two clubs (Napoli scored four of them).

Not content with his work for the evening, Mertens nabbed a third in the 90th minute to leapfrog Mauro Icardi, Gonzalo Higuain and Edin Dzeko, who have each found the net 15 times this season.