Fernandes Scores Three as Man Utd Crush Ipswich

Bruno Fernandes scored three goals to help Manchester United come back from a goal down and beat Ipswich 5-2. This win kicked off their Premier League season on Sunday.

After losing 2-0 to Hull last week, another new team had United struggling when Leif Davis scored first for Ipswich.

Fernandes fired in a goal to equalize before half-time. He then scored from the penalty spot after a Jacob Greaves own goal gave United the lead.

The United captain finished his hat-trick with a close-range shot and later assisted Bryan Mbeumo for another goal. Marcus Rashford started for United for the first time in almost two years, and Michael Carrick made four changes to the team after their poor display last week.

Rashford and his teammate Kobbie Mainoo made a big difference, but United still depended heavily on Fernandes to create chances.

There are still concerns about the defense. Senne Lammens had to make a big save from Julio Enciso after he broke free from a United corner before Ipswich scored in the 29th minute.

Abdul Fatawu raced past Luke Shaw on the wing, and his cross was perfectly finished high into the net by Davis.

The game turned because of an Ipswich mistake. Marcelino Nunez slipped and lost the ball to Matheus Cunha, who set up Fernandes to score with his weaker left foot.

Another setback for Gary O’Neil’s team came 11 minutes into the second half. Harry Maguire’s shot deflected off Greaves and went into the goal. The goal stood because it was not ruled a direct handball.

Greaves had just recovered when he fouled Cunha as he was going for goal. Fernandes, named last season's player of the year by his fellow players, calmly took the penalty.

Fernandes had set a record with 21 assists last season, while scoring only nine goals. He is already a third of the way to matching that goals tally as he was well-positioned to score from Mbeumo’s deflected shot.

Fernandes also set up Mbeumo’s goal, which came when Mbeumo ran onto his pass and lifted the ball over Ipswich’s tall goalkeeper, Kjell Scherpen.

Despite a strong offensive performance, United made mistakes at the back. Ipswich scored a consolation goal in stoppage time when Lisandro Martinez lost the ball to Enciso, who set up Chuba Akpom to score into an empty net.