Bruno Fernandes follows PFA Player of the Year award with hat-trick in Manchester United’s 5-2 win

Five days after being voted the 2026 PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Bruno Fernandes produced a hat-trick and an assist as Manchester United recovered from their opening-day defeat to beat Ipswich Town 5-2 at Old Trafford.

Bruno Fernandes has capped an exceptional week by leading Manchester United to their first Premier League victory of the 2026/27 season. The United captain scored three times and created another goal in a 5-2 win over Ipswich Town on August 30, only five days after receiving English football’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.

The individual honour was announced at the PFA Awards on August 25, with Fernandes selected as the Premier League’s outstanding player by his fellow professionals. He was also included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year alongside Declan Rice and Rayan Cherki in midfield.

The award followed a remarkable 2025/26 league campaign in which Fernandes established a Premier League single-season record with 21 assists. His performances were central to Manchester United’s return to the Champions League places and established him as one of the most productive creators in English football.

His new season had begun less positively. United lost 2-0 away to newly promoted Hull City in their opening match, increasing pressure on Michael Carrick’s team ahead of its first home fixture. Ipswich then threatened another difficult afternoon by taking the lead at Old Trafford through Leif Davis.

Fernandes changed the momentum. He equalised five minutes before half-time before United went ahead through a Jacob Greaves own goal in the second half. The Portuguese midfielder then converted a penalty and completed his hat-trick from close range, scoring all three goals within a 28-minute period. Bryan Mbeumo added United’s fifth after a long Fernandes pass, giving the captain an assist to accompany his three goals. Chuba Akpom scored Ipswich’s late second.

The hat-trick was Fernandes’ third for Manchester United in all competitions, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s total of hat-tricks for the club. Both of Fernandes’ Premier League hat-tricks have also come in United’s first home league match of a season.

United’s attacking numbers illustrated the scale of the turnaround from the defeat at Hull. Carrick’s side registered 33 attempts, their highest total in a Premier League match in almost a decade. Fernandes personally had eight shots and produced his best-ever Fantasy Premier League return, collecting 23 points from three goals, one assist and maximum bonus points.

For Manchester United, the result provides an immediate response after a difficult opening weekend. For Fernandes, however, the timing makes the performance particularly notable. Within five days he was recognised by his fellow professionals as the Premier League’s best player and then delivered four direct goal contributions in his first league appearance at Old Trafford this season.

The challenge will now be turning an explosive individual performance into sustained momentum for United. But after a record-breaking creative campaign last season, another major personal award and a hat-trick to open his home schedule in 2026/27, Fernandes has begun the new campaign by reinforcing his status as the central figure in Carrick’s Manchester United.