Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick as Manchester United came from behind to thrash Ipswich Town 5-2, earning their first win of the Premier League campaign.
Eight days after their season-opening defeat at Hull City, Michael Carrick’s team looked to be in trouble against another promoted side when Leif Davis gave Ipswich a 29th-minute lead.
But Fernandes equalised late in the first half, and Jacob Greaves then scored an own goal and conceded a penalty within three minutes after the interval, with United’s captain Fernandes converting the spot-kick.
Fernandes secured the match ball with a close-range finish and then assisted Bryan Mbeumo as the hosts streaked further clear, though Ipswich’s fans had something to cheer late on at a rain-sodden Old Trafford, with Chuba Akpom scoring his first goal for the club.
How the match unfolded
In a wide-open start, Senne Lammens made a one-v-one save to deny Julio Enciso before Marcus Rashford – on his first United start since December 2024 – failed to slide Matheus Cunha’s cross home.
Ipswich continued to cause United headaches as Lammens thwarted Daizen Maeda, and the Red Devils did not heed those warnings as Davis scored with a controlled volley from Abdul Fatawu’s cross.
A slice of fortune saw United restore parity five minutes before half-time, though, as Fernandes blasted beyond Kjell Scherpen after Marcelino Nunez’s slip allowed Cunha to play his skipper in.
Mbeumo should have put United 2-1 up early in the second half, somehow hitting the woodwork from almost directly beneath the crossbar, but they did go ahead in the 56th minute.
Harry Maguire won possession on the edge of the area before his shot flicked off Greaves and in, with the goal awarded following a VAR check for a possible handball in the build-up.
Greaves’ outing went from bad to worse when he scythed Cunha down from behind, with Fernandes keeping his cool from 12 yards in the 61st minute.
Fernandes’ second Premier League hat-trick – and first since 2021 – was clinched seven minutes later when Mbeumo’s shot ricocheted into his path for a tap-in.
He later turned provider with a weighted ball over the top for Mbeumo, whose lob beat Scherpen and the retreating Greaves with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
Some loose play from Lisandro Martinez allowed Enciso to tee up Akpom for a simple finish in the first minute of stoppage time, but the defeat drops Ipswich to 12th in the table, with United above them on goal difference in 10th.
