City are three points clear at the top of the Premier League after making it five wins from five against Sunderland – on a weekend when several of their rivals dropped points.
Enzo Maresca’s side eventually came through an extraordinary game 5-3 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, maintaining their perfect league record under the new manager. It was anything but comfortable. Sunderland caused City plenty of problems and scored three times, but the hosts had enough attacking quality to get the job done.
That has been a feature of City’s start. Their developing attacking combinations, including the partnership involving Erling Haaland, have given Maresca options at the top end of the pitch, while Enzo Fernandez has quickly established himself as an important part of the City midfield.
Five league games have brought five wins. What happened elsewhere over the weekend made the latest one even more valuable.
Arsenal beaten as Man City move three points clear
Arsenal went into the weekend level with City but suffered a 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday. Mikel Arteta described the result as a “big lesson” afterwards, although he was also keen to stress what his players had achieved during the opening weeks of the season.
That gave City the chance to establish a three-point lead when Sunderland arrived at the Etihad 24 hours later. They took it, although the afternoon was considerably less straightforward than they would have wanted.
City are now the only Premier League side to have won each of their opening five matches. There were dropped points elsewhere too. Chelsea lost 3-0 at home to Brentford, while Tottenham’s difficult start continued with a 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa.
Spurs are 19th despite spending heavily during the summer, with their recruitment already coming under scrutiny. Joe Cole told TNT Sports that he felt Tottenham had “overpaid” for their summer signings and suggested they could find themselves fighting near the bottom of the table.
Manchester United also failed to win, drawing 1-1 with Fulham. That left United with five points from their opening five league matches. Gary Neville was fiercely critical of one spell in their performance while working for Sky Sports, describing what he saw as the worst 15 minutes he could remember from United.
The BBC Sport round-up of the Premier League weekend carries the reaction from Arteta, Neville and Cole.
Five wins from five for Maresca
It remains very early, and Sunday’s game gave Maresca plenty to work on. Sunderland scoring three times at the Etihad made that obvious enough.
City’s league results, though, could hardly have been better. Maresca has overseen five Premier League matches and won all five. Arsenal are three points behind, while Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United have already dropped considerably more.
For all the chaos against Sunderland, City were the one side among that group who finished the weekend with what they needed: another three points, and now a three-point lead.
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