Brian Brobbey made Premier League history on Sunday by netting a hat‑trick despite his team’s loss.
The Dutch forward becomes just the fifth player ever to score three goals in a Premier League defeat, doing so in Sunderland’s 5‑3 loss to Manchester City. For my money, Brobbey’s strike underlines his lethal instinct.
It’s the first such occurrence since 2007 and only the sixth since the league began in 1992.
Roque Santa Cruz was the previous player, bagging a hat‑trick for Blackburn as they fell 5‑3 to Wigan in December 2007.
The other four cases all happened before the millennium.
In September 1996, Dwight Yorke struck three for Aston Villa in a 4‑3 defeat at Newcastle.
Dion Dublin recorded a treble for Coventry City during a 4‑3 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in December 1995.
Former Southampton attacker Matt le Tissier uniquely scored hat‑tricks in two Premier League defeats.
He first did it in the league’s opening season, a 4‑3 loss to Oldham in May 1993, and repeated the feat in August 1995 when Coventry fell 4‑3 at home to Nottingham Forest. Will another player join this exclusive club this season?