Brian Brobbey has etched his name into a rare list of Premier League players. The forward scored a hat-trick against Manchester City at the Etihad, yet Sunderland still fell short, losing 5-3.
Throughout Premier League history, over 200 players have netted three goals in a match, but only five have done so in a losing effort.
The first to achieve this was Matt Le Tissier. In May 1993, he scored three times for Southampton in a thrilling match against Oldham, which ended 4-3 in favour of the visitors. Two years later, Le Tissier repeated the feat, this time in a defeat to Nottingham Forest.
In December 1995, Dion Dublin scored a hat-trick for Coventry against Sheffield Wednesday, but his team also lost, with a scoreline of 4-3.
Next on the list is Dwight Yorke, who netted three times for Aston Villa in September 1996 at Newcastle. However, despite Yorke's best efforts, his side were defeated. He even had a chance to score a fourth, but it was ruled out for offside.
Then, in December 2007, Roque Santa Cruz scored three goals for Blackburn in a game against Wigan, yet Blackburn still lost 5-3. Interestingly, Marcus Bent also completed a hat-trick in that same match.
Now, Brobbey joins the elite company of Le Tissier, Dublin, Yorke, and Santa Cruz, but unfortunately, his three goals weren't enough to save Sunderland from their defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
Moreover, the Dutch forward became the first Sunderland player in a decade to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, with Jermain Defoe being the last to achieve this in 2016.
