The Big B! Fernandes Scores Hat-trick with 3 Goals and 1 Assist, Matching Ronaldo’s Manchester United Hat-trick Record

On August 31 Beijing time, in the second round of the Premier League, Manchester United thrashed Ipswich Town 5-2 at home, sweeping away the gloom from their opening-round defeat. Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and contributed one assist in the match, directly creating four goals.

In the 40th minute, Cunha won the ball in midfield and played a through pass for an assist. B Fernandes made a solo run and fired home with his left foot to equalize for Manchester United.

In the 61st minute, Cunha won a penalty, and B Fernandes converted from the spot to score his second goal, helping Manchester United take a 3-1 lead.

In the 68th minute, Mbeumo's shot was blocked, and B Fernandes followed up with a rebound finish to complete his hat-trick, making it 4-1 for Manchester United.

In the 82nd minute, B Fernandes delivered a long pass from the midfield area, Mbeumo broke through for a one-on-one chance and eventually scored, setting the final score at 5-1. B Fernandes finished with three goals and one assist in the match and was named the best player.

There was an interesting statistic: this was the third hat-trick of Big B's Manchester United career, matching Cristiano Ronaldo's number of hat-tricks during his Manchester United career.

Last season, B Fernandes won the PFA and FWA England Player of the Year awards, the official MVP award, and the official assist king title, as well as Manchester United's internal honors, thanks to his record-breaking assist numbers of 9 goals and 22 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions (9 goals and 21 assists in 35 Premier League appearances). However, it would be a major mistake to view him as a traditional midfielder based on that alone. In fact, as early as the 2020-21 season, B Fernandes recorded the best numbers of his Manchester United career at the time with 28 goals and 19 assists in 58 appearances; in the 2024-25 season, he also produced remarkable figures of 19 goals and 18 assists in 57 appearances. His Manchester United career total so far stands at 107 goals and 108 assists in 328 matches, making him a typical player with elite goal-scoring and creative output.

During his time at Sporting CP, he even produced striker-level numbers of 31 goals and 15 assists in a single season and won two top scorer awards.

Speaking about his hat-trick in this match, B Fernandes said: “This is what I should do. Score goals and provide as many assists as possible for my teammates. I do not pay special attention to or worry about these statistics. What matters more to me is doing everything I can to help the team win matches.”

When asked whether he planned to challenge for the Golden Boot this season after breaking the assist record last season, B Fernandes repeated the same view: “No. I just want to do everything I can to help the team win as many matches as possible and achieve as high a position as possible in the standings. This is my ultimate goal every season.”

Interestingly, when a reporter described his goals by saying “once the rain starts falling, it never seems to stop,” B Fernandes responded with humor: “Manchester already rains frequently. So I hope this saying continues to come true for us, because it will definitely keep raining here in the future. I hope every good thing can happen to us.”

Manchester United legend and well-known commentator Gary Neville praised B Fernandes' performance in this match, offering an emphatic assessment: “I have to say, he is Manchester United’s most successful signing since Sir Alex Ferguson left, without any question.”