Manchester City were given a real test by Sunderland but ultimately prevailed in an eight-goal thriller, moving three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Enzo Fernández gave City the lead after nine minutes with his first goal since his £125m switch from Chelsea, curling a free-kick in at the near post.
However, Sunderland, who had begun the match brightly, hit back quickly as Enzo le Fee found Brian Brobbey with a superb pass and the Netherlands striker slid the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Sunderland continued to match Enzo Maresca’s side but were punished ruthlessly after being caught trying to play out from the back, with the ball worked to Rayan Cherki, who finished neatly into the bottom corner.
Once again the Black Cats responded, with Le Fee once more splitting the defence, this time for Thomas Meunier, who selflessly squared for Brobbey to slot into an empty net.
A lengthy VAR check for offside ensued, but the goal stood and it was exactly what Sunderland deserved.
The visitors eased off somewhat as the first half wore on, which allowed City to enjoy sustained possession in the Sunderland half for the first time.
They regained the lead two minutes before half-time through Antoine Semenyo’s sweetly-struck shot after Sunderland failed to clear a cross from the right.
For once, Regis le Bris’ team could not produce a quick response. City ought to have extended their lead in first-half injury time, only for Erling Haaland to skew his shot wide with the goal at his mercy following good work by Iliman Ndiaye.
The second half started in calmer fashion, and City’s fourth goal came out of nothing. With a bit of luck, as Marc Guehi’s pass – meant for Haaland – reached Semenyo, who fired a left-foot shot into the far corner.
Only two minutes later, Sunderland were back in the contest as Granit Xhaka’s clever pass picked out Nilson Angulo. He delivered the ball across goal for Brobbey to bundle home and seal his first senior hat-trick.
City attempted to take the pace out of the game, controlling possession reasonably well, but Sunderland were not going away and Donnarumma had already gifted them the equaliser.
The Italy goalkeeper failed to gather a high ball into the box, Ruben Dias’ loose touch sent the ball bouncing back towards goal. The City captain had to react quickly to recover and hook it off the line.
Donnarumma looked uncertain again from the long throw-in that followed. City held on and finally sealed the game nine minutes from time as Haaland slid in at the back post to convert Josko Gvardiol’s cross.
As with his goal at Old Trafford last weekend, it was initially flagged offside, but Gvardiol had timed his run perfectly and the decision was overturned.
It means Haaland has now scored against every Premier League team he has faced, while City – despite an uncomfortable afternoon – head into the international break top of the table with a 100% record.
Five wins from five in the league, 13 goals scored, and victories in Europe and the Carabao Cup as well. On the surface, things could scarcely be going better for City in the early stages of this post-Guardiola era.
When a legendary figure departs a club after a long period of success, there is always uncertainty about what comes next – and despite a run of such positive results, that remains true.
Against Sunderland, Maresca’s side were far from convincing for long stretches, with a defence that had conceded just two league goals before the game looking surprisingly vulnerable – the Black Cats racked up a massive 4.25 expected goals.
Even so, they leave the pitch having netted another five goals, with Fernández’s audacious free-kick standing out as a clear sign of their attacking prowess.
Although plenty can obviously still be worked on, that kind of brilliance in the final third can rescue you from all sorts of difficult situations.
That, along with the capacity to discover various routes to victory, is a solid foundation on which to build.
