Fernando Torres finishes as top-scorer of Euro 2012
The Chelsea man snatched the accolade from the hands of Mario Gomez with his third goal and an assist coming in the final stages of the final win over Italy
Fernando Torres finishes as top-scorer of Euro 2012
The Chelsea man snatched the accolade from the hands of Mario Gomez with his third goal and an assist coming in the final stages of the final win over Italy
Alan Dzagoev, Mario Gomez, Mario Mandzukic, Mario Balotelli, Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo
Torres scored Spain's third in the final with a calm finish before assisting his Chelsea teammate Juan Mata for the fourth moments later, which together with his brace against Republic of Ireland in the second group game saw him top the scorer's charts. The Spaniard also became the first-ever player to score in two separate European Championship finals.
Second-placed Gomez scored the only goal as Germany defeated Portugal in its Group B opener before netting a classy brace against the Netherlands in the next game. He then supplied an assist with a skewed shot in the 2-1 win over Denmark that fell to Lukas Podolski, who then slotted home.
Alan Dzagoev came in third position having played the least amount of minutes of all other players who were level on three strikes but his goals were not enough to stop Russia from being eliminated at the group stage.
Mario Mandzukic suffered a similar fate to Dzagoev as his trio of goals ensured that Croatia put up a staunch fight for progression from Group C. There was a silver lining for the striker, however, as his impressive displays against Republic of Ireland and Italy earned him a permanent move to Bayern Munich.
Mario Balotelli and Cristiano Ronaldo complete the table despite both coming in for criticism early in the competition for their slow starts. Balotelli's double against Italy booked his nation a spot in the final but they were powerless to resist Spain. After ensuring Portugal advanced to the semifinal with a double against the Netherlands and the winner in the quarterfinal versus Greece, Ronaldo failed to put in a decisive display against Iberian rivals Spain in the semifinal.