Four days on from City’s extraordinary 5-3 win over Sunderland, the eight-goal thriller still provides an interesting glimpse into what Enzo Maresca wants from his side.
City scored five at the Etihad Stadium and maintained their perfect Premier League start, but their head coach’s reaction afterwards was telling. Rather than dwelling on the attacking display, Maresca admitted he would actually prefer to win 1-0.
It was more than a throwaway comment. City had done exactly that at Old Trafford only seven days earlier, despite playing for more than an hour with ten men, and Maresca himself drew attention to the contrast between the two games.
Maresca compares Sunderland thriller with Manchester derby
Speaking after the Sunderland victory, Maresca’s preference for the less spectacular scoreline was reported by the Manchester Evening News.
The comparison with the Manchester derby was particularly revealing. Phil Foden’s red card left City playing with ten men for more than an hour against United, but Erling Haaland’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory.
Maresca altered his side at half-time in that game, introducing Iliman Ndiaye for Rayan Cherki before Haaland broke the deadlock. City’s ability to adapt has been a feature of their start to the season and was something we looked at in our earlier piece on the changes to Maresca’s midfield.
Sunderland was a completely different type of afternoon, and Antoine Semenyo explained afterwards why City had found it difficult to establish the sort of control Maresca wanted.
“Sometimes it is going to be like that, not every game you can control, and especially with a physical team like Sunderland, you just have to ride the waves,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
He added:
“There were so many duels in the second half, much more than the first half. So, yeah, I think we just had to ride the wave. I think we rode it.”
Semenyo expanded on that physical battle in his assessment of City’s tactical approach.
“We knew if we get our chances, we would score. But again, I think the duels were the most important thing. We needed to win them because they won a lot of their duels in the previous games and obviously ended up scoring. So we needed to do that today. We conceded a few as well, but again, ultimately it’s all about winning.”
City certainly took their opportunities, with Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki, Semenyo twice and Haaland supplying the five goals.
Four days later, the result itself needs little revisiting. Maresca’s reaction is more interesting: given the choice between another eight-goal afternoon and the control his ten-man side showed at Old Trafford, he has already made his preference clear.
LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments
