On 26 December 2011, Berbatov scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Wigan Athletic. This was Berbatov's fourth Premier League hat trick for Manchester United and fifth overall in the division. In the next league game against Blackburn Rovers, Berbatov gave away a first half penalty, when he dragged Christopher Samba to the ground. In the second half, after going 2–0 behind, United responded quickly with two goals from Berbatov. The first, he directed his header past the keeper after Rafael da Silva's mishit cross, and then he fired home Antonio Valencia's pullback to level the game. However, United went on to lose the game 3–2.