Brian Brobbey has written himself into Premier League folklore, becoming only the fifth player in the competition's history to score a hat-trick on the losing side. The Netherlands striker achieved the feat on Sunday during Sunderland's 5-3 defeat by Manchester City, making it just the sixth occurrence since the Premier League was founded in 1992.

A rarity not seen since 2007

The last player to accomplish this was Roque Santa Cruz, who netted three times for Blackburn Rovers in a 5-3 loss at Wigan Athletic in December 2007. Before Brobbey, nearly two decades passed without any player managing to score three goals in a Premier League match while finishing on the wrong side of the result.

All four other instances on record occurred before the turn of the millennium. In September 1996, Dwight Yorke bagged a treble for Aston Villa in a 4-3 loss at Newcastle United. A year earlier, in December 1995, Dion Dublin struck three for Coventry City in a 4-3 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Le Tissier's unique double

Former Southampton forward Matt le Tissier holds a distinction no other player shares — he has scored hat-tricks in Premier League defeats on two separate occasions. He first did so in May 1993, during a 4-3 loss at Oldham Athletic in the competition's inaugural season, then repeated it in August 1995 in a 4-3 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Every Premier League hat-trick scored in a defeat

Below is the complete list of all six occasions a player has scored a hat-trick in a Premier League loss:

Matt le Tissier: Oldham Athletic 4-3 Southampton (8 May 1993)

Matt le Tissier: Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest (19 August 1995)

Dion Dublin: Sheffield Wednesday 4-3 Coventry City (4 December 1995)

Dwight Yorke: Newcastle United 4-3 Aston Villa (30 September 1996)

Roque Santa Cruz: Wigan Athletic 5-3 Blackburn Rovers (15 December 2007)

Brian Brobbey: Manchester City 5-3 Sunderland (20 September 2026)