City reached the international break with five Premier League wins from five after beating Sunderland 5-3, although Enzo Maresca will have found plenty to examine when he watched the game back.
City scored five through Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo twice and Erling Haaland. At the other end, Brian Brobbey’s hat-trick exposed a side that could dominate one passage of play and suddenly find itself in trouble seconds later.
How City’s aggression worked at both ends
Cherki’s goal was perhaps the clearest example of what Maresca wants from his side without the ball.
Sunderland tried to play out, but City’s press forced the mistake. Iliman Ndiaye won possession high up the pitch, Semenyo found Cherki and the Frenchman finished through a crowded penalty area.
When Sunderland escaped that initial pressure, however, there was space to exploit. Brobbey’s first goal came when Enzo Le Fee had time to release him through the middle, allowing the striker to run beyond City’s defence.
Importantly, his hat-trick was not simply the result of the same problem occurring three times.
Brobbey’s second followed a Le Fee and Thomas Meunier combination on Sunderland’s right before the ball was played across goal. His third came from Granit Xhaka’s delivery, with Nilson Angulo beating Gianluigi Donnarumma to the ball before Brobbey reacted quickest.
City were therefore hurt by a runner in behind, a move down the flank and a delivery into their penalty area.
At the other end, Sunderland had just as many problems containing City’s variety. Cherki found space inside, Haaland occupied the centre-backs and Semenyo attacked from wider positions, scoring either side of half-time.
Why Maresca will want more control
The most revealing period came after Semenyo put City 4-2 ahead in the 57th minute.
That was an opportunity to take some of the heat out of a frantic contest. Instead, Brobbey completed his hat-trick two minutes later and Sunderland remained within one goal until Haaland finally made it 5-3 in the 81st minute.
Ruben Dias also had to clear off his own line before Haaland settled it.
City’s attacking ambition is clearly not something Maresca will want to lose. The next step is finding a better balance between sustaining that threat and recognising when possession can be used to control a game.
Five goals and three points demonstrated what this City side can do going forward. Conceding three in three different ways gave Maresca rather more to work on during the international break.
Our pre-match look at City’s record against Sunderland provides the wider history of the fixture.
LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments
Comments.
Loading comments…