Perfect 24 hours for Maresca as City beat Sunderland 5-3 and go three points clear
Manchester City beat Sunderland 5-3 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a Premier League match and head into the international break three points clear at the top of the table.
City’s victory followed Arsenal being thumped 3-0 by Brighton on Saturday, a result the champions could not overturn as City capitalised the next day; manager Enzo Maresca called the fixture his side’s "toughest" test of the season so far. Maresca took charge this summer facing the unenviable task of replacing Pep Guardiola, and the manager admitted the pressure had been intense after a Community Shield humbling by Mikel Arteta’s Gunners in August.
Maresca reflected on the game and his start at the club, saying: "To be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game. I knew how they good are, off the ball very aggressive and on the ball they have different weapons, set-pieces and [Brian] Brobbey." He added that the victory — part of a seven-game official winning run — had provided varied lessons, noting "these seven official games we played, they are all different, we experienced different things."
City are the only side in England's top four divisions to retain a 100% winning record and moved three points clear at the Premier League summit. Maresca becomes only the sixth Premier League manager to win his first five games in charge at a club after Carlo Ancelotti, Craig Shakespeare, Maurizio Sarri and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with predecessor Guardiola when he took over at City in 2016 the other name.
On the pitch, Antoine Semenyo scored twice and supplied an assist, Rayan Cherki produced what the report called a delightful performance, and Enzo Fernandez registered his first goal for the club; Erling Haaland’s late strike completed his personal tally against Sunderland and, according to the report, "he has now netted against all 25 Premier League teams he has faced." Arsenal’s south-coast defeat opened the door for City and they took full advantage.
Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey scored a Premier League hat-trick yet ended up on the losing side, becoming just the sixth player to achieve that outcome, and the report said he "ran captain Ruben Dias ragged all game." Sunderland’s expected goals (xG) of 4.25 was recorded as the most by any visiting side at the Etihad Stadium in a Premier League match. City had conceded only two goals in their first four Premier League games but shipped three on Sunday.
Maresca expressed concern over the goals conceded: "I am always concerned, always trying to see what we can do better. For sure, two of the three goals we conceded were too easy. The second coming from a quick [Granit] Xhaka free-kick and that cannot happen. The third goal comes from another free-kick, too easy in that way. We concede more chances but we scored five, created [more] and could score two or three more." Former Reds midfielder Charlie Adam described it as a "brilliant start to the season" for City and said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "A lot to work on but [positive] to score five goals at home and have shown that level of performance. With Arsenal losing on Saturday, [City] could have gone into the break top of the table and they have done that today."
City will not play again until after a three-week international break and face a trip to unbeaten Liverpool on Sunday, 11 October.
