On September 22, 2026, at King Power Stadium in Leicester, Admir Bristrić needed only 19 minutes to score his first three goals for Leicester City. The Bosnian striker struck in the 15th, 24th and 34th minutes, completing a first-half hat-trick in a 6-1 EFL Trophy victory over Fulham Under-21s.
The timing makes the achievement especially neat: Bristrić arrived without a Leicester goal and left the opening 34 minutes with three. Leicester’s official match report described the hat-trick as the 23-year-old opening his account for the club, while the Sky Sports results service independently confirmed the 6-1 scoreline and the other results from a remarkable night in the competition.
Three finishes, one sudden breakthrough
The first goal came after Fulham goalkeeper Michael Allen had already made several saves. Bristrić drove a low finish beneath him in the 15th minute. Nine minutes later, Bobby De Cordova-Reid squared the ball for the striker to tap in his second. Will Alves supplied the third in the 34th minute, and Bristrić finished low again to secure the match ball.
The hat-trick was not the end of Leicester’s first-half rush. Tommy Watson scored in the 40th minute and again two minutes into stoppage time, giving the hosts five goals before the interval. Seth Chingwaro replied for Fulham moments later, but De Cordova-Reid restored the five-goal margin in the 50th minute. The Fulham academy report also records the September 22 defeat, while the independent FotMob match timeline lists every scorer and the 5-1 half-time score.
A new No. 9 makes his case
Bristrić had joined Leicester only six weeks earlier. The club’s August signing announcement says he arrived permanently from NK Olimpija Ljubljana on a four-year contract after leading NK Bravo with 10 league goals during a loan spell in 2025/26. He had also represented Bosnia and Herzegovina from under-17 through under-21 level.
The opponent was an under-21 side and the competition was the EFL Trophy, so the performance should not be confused with a Premier League hat-trick. It still mattered. Bristrić had been given Leicester’s No. 9 shirt, and three different finishes in less than 20 minutes offered immediate evidence of penalty-area timing and composure.
Leicester’s wider result belonged to an unusually explosive evening. The English Football League reported 93 goals across the night’s Trophy action. Even within that goal glut, Bristrić’s personal sequence stood out: first Leicester goal, second Leicester goal and first Leicester hat-trick, all between minute 15 and minute 34.
Sources and further reading
- Leicester City official match report
- Sky Sports results and scorelines
- Fulham academy match report
- English Football League round-up
- FotMob match timeline and statistics
