Sunderland’s Northern Irish midfielder #05 Daniel Ballard (L) vies with Manchester City’s Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on September 20, 2026. (Photo by PETER POWELL / AFP)
Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League in thrilling fashion on Sunday, defeating Sunderland 5-3 at the Etihad Stadium in a high-scoring encounter.
Enzo Fernandez, who joined City from Chelsea for a reported £125 million ($167 million) on transfer deadline day, opened the scoring after just nine minutes with a curling free-kick that caught Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs off guard.
Sunderland responded three minutes later through Brian Brobbey, who converted Enzo Le Fee’s pass with a composed finish beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City regained the lead in the 29th minute when Rayan Cherki capitalised on a defensive error to score from close range.
Brobbey struck again four minutes later, combining with Le Fee and Thomas Meunier before finishing from close range. The goal stood after a three-minute VAR review for a possible offside.
The hosts restored their advantage just before half-time when Antoine Semenyo fired past Roefs in the 43rd minute.
Semenyo doubled his tally seven minutes into the second half, calmly converting Cherki’s pass after another defensive lapse by Sunderland.
Sunderland refused to surrender, with Brobbey completing his hat-trick in the 54th minute. The Dutch forward made sure of the finish after Nilson Angulo’s pass had already rolled towards the goal, keeping Sunderland within one of City.
Despite the frantic action, City held on before Erling Haaland finally settled the contest in the 81st minute. The Norwegian striker finished at the far post to register his seventh goal in six games this season.
The victory gave City their seventh consecutive win in all competitions and maintained their perfect league record. They now lead reigning champions Arsenal by three points going into the international break.
The result also marked an impressive start to Enzo Maresca’s tenure as City manager following Pep Guardiola’s departure at the end of last season after a trophy-laden spell.
However, City’s defensive struggles against Sunderland will provide Maresca with plenty to address, particularly with fixtures against Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain awaiting them after the international break.
City have scored 13 goals in their opening five league matches, but Sunday’s eight-goal thriller also highlighted vulnerabilities at the back that could prove costly against stronger opposition.
