Eight-goal contest at the Etihad

Manchester City retained their place at the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 5-3 victory over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium. The win moved Enzo Maresca's side to 15 points from five league matches, three points ahead of defending champions Arsenal. City took the lead in the ninth minute when Enzo Fernandez curled a free kick past Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs. The strike was Fernandez's first goal for the club since completing his 125-million-pound transfer from Chelsea.

Sunderland responded three minutes later when Brian Brobbey received a pass from Enzo Le Fee and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma. Rayan Cherki restored City's advantage in the 29th minute with a close-range finish inside the penalty box. Sunderland equalised again before the interval as Brobbey converted a cross from Thomas Meunier into an empty net. Antoine Semenyo restored City's lead in the 43rd minute, sending the hosts into half-time with a 3-2 advantage.

Brobbey hat-trick challenges City defence

Sunderland continued to create scoring opportunities throughout the second half, registering 17 total shots across the match. City extended their lead to 4-2 in the 57th minute through Semenyo's second goal of the match, which followed a contested phase where Sunderland players appealed for an unpenalised handball by Elliot Anderson. Brobbey answered two minutes later by redirecting a shot from Nilson Angulo into the net to complete his hat-trick.

“It's a defeat, but we are proud of the level of the squad.”

Brobbey became the first Sunderland player to score a Premier League hat-trick since Jermain Defoe in 2016. He also became the first player to score three goals on the losing side in a Premier League match since Roque Santa Cruz did so for Blackburn Rovers against Wigan Athletic in December 2007. Sunderland almost equalised at 4-4 when Ruben Dias cleared an effort off the goal line, and Daniel Ballard struck the post in stoppage time.

Second-half attacks secure the victory

Erling Haaland sealed the result for Manchester City in the 81st minute with his team's fifth goal. With that finish, Haaland has now scored against all 25 Premier League opponents he has faced in his career. The five goals scored on Sunday contrasted with City's prior defensive run of four consecutive clean sheets across all competitions.

“To be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game.”

Brian Brobbey3

Antoine Semenyo2

Enzo Fernandez1

Rayan Cherki1

Erling Haaland1

Brian Brobbey

3 goals

Antoine Semenyo

2 goals

Enzo Fernandez

1 goals

Rayan Cherki

1 goals

Erling Haaland

1 goals

Data from the article text

Table standing ahead of the break

The victory marked City's seventh consecutive win in all competitions following their defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield in August. Arsenal dropped points on Saturday after a 3-0 defeat away at Brighton, leaving City alone at the top of the standings. Elsewhere in the weekend fixtures, Liverpool won 1-0 at Bournemouth courtesy of an Alexander Isak goal, while Leeds United and Crystal Palace drew 0-0. The Premier League now enters a three-week international break before fixtures resume in October.