BRIAN BROBBEY (£2.7m) joined an exclusive club on Sunday.
Sunderland’s No9 became just the fifth man in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in defeat.
Brobbey struck three times against Manchester City but Enzo Maresca’s goals scored five goals of their own to claim the three points and maintain their 100% record this campaign.
In taking the match ball home after a loss, the Dutchman emulated Matt Le Tissier (x2), Dion Dublin, Dwight Yorke and Roque Santa Cruz.
The Black Cats will be disappointed to have scored three goals at the Etihad and come away with nothing but nobody can take Brobbey’s hat-trick away from him, or the Dream Team points he earned for it.
The 24-year-old banked 25 points in one fell swoop and was the top performer in Gameweek 5, edging out Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) who earned 21 points in the same fixture.
Truth be told, Brobbey was in desperate need of a big return.
He mustered just 10 points across the first four Gameweeks and registered one shot on target in five appearances.
However, his 25-point injection has propelled him up to eighth in the rankings among players in his position.
The ex-Ajax forward is one of the most physical players in the Premier League and many Sunderland fans would say that his hat-trick was just reward for the work he’s put in since the start of the season.
No doubt Brobbey’s mega haul will percolate over the course of the extended international break.
Provided he doesn’t injure himself while on international duty with Netherlands, he may be a popular recruit for Gameweek 6 come early October.
Sunderland’s Gameweek 6 double header is an interesting one: Brighton (h) & Torreense (a).
It would be foolish to underestimate the Seagulls, especially after their 3-0 win over Arsenal, but the Black Cats’ next European fixture is surely one to target.
Torreense ply their trade in the second tier of Portuguese football — they qualified for the Europa League by upsetting Sporting CP in the Portuguese cup final last season.
The club, based approximately 30 miles north of Lisbon, are currently 14th in the second flight having won just one of their first six league games.
Torreense won their first Europa League game (against Norwegian outfit Lillestrom) but Dream Team bosses will see them as favourable opponents for Sunderland after the break.
Brobbey currently features in 4.2% of teams.
