Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes waved after a tricky Premier League match against Ipswich Town at Old Trafford in Manchester. His hat-trick helped the 'Red Devils' secure a 5-2 victory, regaining momentum in the Premier League season.
Following a tough 2-0 defeat to Hull last week, the newly promoted team created serious problems for United when Leif Davies opened the scoring for Tractor Boys. However, Fernandes managed to equalize before halftime and then scored a penalty after Jacob Graves' own mistake, allowing United to take the lead.
The United captain completed his hat-trick with a close-range strike and scored again by providing an assist to Bryan Mbeumo. Fernandes stated: 'This is not a way to compensate for last week; you cannot get six points from this. But we played very well in the second half.' He also noted: 'Scoring goals is the best feeling in football.'
Marcus Rashford received his first start for United in almost two years, as Michael Carrick made four substitutions in a squad that started the campaign with unsatisfactory play eight days ago. Rashford and the return of his England teammate Kobbie Mainoo had a significant impact, but United once again relied on Fernandes as a player capable of changing the course of the match in the final third.
Questions remain regarding Carrick's defensive players. Senne Lammens was forced to save a one-on-one shot from Julio Enciso after he broke through from a United corner, just before Ipswich scored the first goal in the 29th minute. Abdul Fatav bypassed Luke Shaw with speed, and his cross was brilliantly intercepted by Davies into the net.
Forward's performance
Instead, the flow of the game changed due to an Ipswich error when Marcelino Nunes lost the ball, allowing Mateus Cunha to pass to Fernandes, who powerfully struck it with his weak left boot. Another breakthrough occurred against Gary O'Neil's team in the 11th minute of the second half. The ball deflected off Harry Maguire's hand, and he took a shot that could have gone directly into the goal, but since the shot went wide and deflected off Graves, it was counted as there were no signs of a handball leading directly to the goal.
O'Neil commented on the situation: 'It was very unlucky to be in a 2-1 position, very unlucky—this is one of the unluckiest goals you will see. But not enough to turn the game around. We were punished by a very good team.' Graves was still recovering from this setback when he fouled Cunha, who was approaching the goal. Fernandes, who was crowned Player of the Year last season among his peers, calmly converted the penalty.
Last season, Fernandes recorded a record 21 assists in the Premier League, helping him win numerous individual awards, while only scoring nine goals. The Portuguese player is already on track to reach this milestone, as he was in the right place to capitalize on Mbeumo's deflected shot and complete his hat-trick. Furthermore, Fernandes still had time to add another assist when Mbeumo broke through to his pass over the top and sent the ball past the giant Ipswich goalkeeper, Keyle Sharpepen. However, the strong attacking performance was marred by United's defensive errors, when Ipswich scored a consolation goal in stoppage time. Lisandro Martinez was caught by Enciso, who set up Chube Akpom, allowing him to easily score into an empty net.