“One of the best nights of my life”: Bundesliga flop scores a hat-trick out of nowhere after almost a year without a goal
Samuel Mbangula, currently on loan from Werder Bremen to FC Bologna, produced an unexpected dazzling performance on the San Siro pitch on Wednesday evening.
On his first start for Bologna, the attacking midfielder scored a hat-trick away to AC Milan in Serie A. Mbangula's three goals proved decisive in a surprise 4-2 win for the visitors.
"My first hat-trick, but hopefully not my last," the 22-year-old said after the match. He called it "one of the best evenings of my life". Mbangula had not scored for almost a year. His previous goal came in Werder Bremen's 2-1 Bundesliga win over VfL Wolfsburg in early November 2025.
Mbangula put Bologna ahead at San Siro, beating Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan from close range in the eighth minute. Milan turned the game around to lead 2-1 at half-time. After an hour, an own goal by Milan defender Davide Bartesaghi brought Bologna level. Then Mbangula took over.
Werder flop Samuel Mbangula scores hat-trick against Milan
In the 62nd minute, he started a fine Bologna move, reached the penalty spot, wrong-footed his marker with a clever movement and finished clinically to restore the lead. Shortly before the end, the Werder loanee settled the match from 11 metres, keeping his cool after a counter-attack left him one-on-one with Maignan (86th minute).
"He had not played much until now, but I liked his commitment even before the three goals. In the closing stages, he even played as a right wing-back in defence," Bologna coach Raffaele Palladino said of the man of the match. Mbangula had made only three very brief substitute appearances for the Italian side before his first start.
Could this Wednesday evening in Milan prove a turning point for Mbangula? Bremen signed him from Juventus for a €10 million fee in summer 2025, making him the second-most expensive signing in the club's history. After a decent start, the Belgian increasingly came to be seen as an expensive mistake. In the second half of last season, he rarely started and spent the full 90 minutes on the bench several times.
Transfer profit for Werder Bremen? Bologna could sign Samuel Mbangula permanently
Werder were open to letting the €10 million man leave after just one year. Shortly before the summer transfer window closed in early September, they finalised a loan to Bologna until the end of the season. Mbangula's contract in Bremen runs until 2030, but Bologna, who sit 11th in Serie A, have an option to buy next summer and could sign the Belgium Under-21 international permanently for a reported €12.5 million.
For almost the first two months of the loan, Mbangula did little to make a case for a permanent move. More performances like the one against Milan could change that and even earn Werder a small profit on the transfer.
"We are a great group, and that is our real strength: we always stick together and showed that by never giving up," said Mbangula, who seems to be enjoying life in Bologna. The club made a poor start to the season, sitting 18th after taking just two points from their first five Serie A matches. Now Mbangula and his team-mates have won three of their last four games and, for the time being, climbed out of the lower reaches of the table.
