ENZO Maresca was right when he predicted that the visit of Sunderland would be Manchester City’s toughest so far this season. But never could he have guessed it would play out like this. Nobody could.
The brilliant Black Cats played their part in a eight-goal top flight thriller for the ages. If Sunderland continue to play like they have in the last two weekends they’d probably beat any team in the top flight other than the sides they’ve come up against in the last two weekends!
So much for Sunderland struggling to score goals from open play. Brian Brobbey scored three of them at the Etihad on Sunday, becoming the first player since Jermain Defoe a decade ago to score a Premier League hat-trick in red and white.
The problem was, they conceded five at the other end, the result of some unfamiliar defensive lapses but also the brilliance of the home side, whose 100 per cent record remains intact. But they surely won’t be made to sweat as much as this on many occasions this season.
Twice City were immediately pegged back in the first half by Brobbey, and although they then scored a third and a fourth to give themselves breathing space, Brobbey scored again and Sunderland came close to a leveller before Erling Haaland struck late on and the Etihad could breathe an almighty sigh of relief.
Maresca has a team of superstars but Enzo Le Fee was as good as any of them on Sunday, dazzling to create both of Sunderland’s first half goals. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s up there with the Premier League’s best at the minute. And there aren't many strikers as effective as Brobbey.
Not many teams swatted Sunderland aside like City did in this fixture last season but it was instantly clear this would not be a repeat.
Dayann Methalie, thrown in at the deepest of deep ends for his Premier League debut, started with a dart down the left and nutmegging Matheus Nunes with his studs.
The Black Cats had a glorious chance to take the lead inside seven minutes when they worked it wonderfully from front to back.
Brobbey chested down a long forward ball from Roefs and Noah Sadiki set Enzo Le Fee away down the right.
The Frenchman’s cut-back appeared scuffed but still landed at the feet of Nilson Angulo, who should have at least tested Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Sunderland continued their front foot start and won a corner down the right, but Le Fee’s delivery to the edge of the area was cleared by the home side, who countered at speed, only stopped in their tracks when Methalie wiped out Iliman Ndiaye on the right side of the box.
The execution from Enzo Fernandez was brilliant but Roefs will undoubtedly have been disappointed.
But Sunderland soon put their disappointment behind them. With a drop of the shoulder, Le Fee created space for himself in the home half and then spotted and played an inch-perfect pass into the path of Brobbey, whose touch and finish was equally sublime.
City were being contained by the visitors, which made the manner of the second goal just before the half hour mark all the more frustrating.
With Brobbey’s hold-up play so effective, going long to the striker would have surely been the better option for Kevin Danso than trying to play into the feet of Sadiki. The pass was cut out and Antoine Semenyo teed up Rayan Cherki, who finished well.
Again, though, Sunderland’s response was superb — as, again, was Le Fee’s through-ball, this time to Thomas Meunier, narrowly onside, who squared for Brobbey to tap in.
Sunderland were desperately unfortunate to go in at the break behind, City taking the lead for the third time when Semenyo lashed in from inside the box, though the Black Cats went close to a third first half leveller when Brobbey’s deflected shot looped high and was turned onto the bar and over by Donnarumma.
The early stages of the second half felt crucial. A fourth City goal would surely see Sunderland off.
But there was no hesitation in Sunderland’s play and it was the visitors who threatened first after the interval when Le Fee touched the ball into the path of Sadiki but the midfielder blazed high.
It’s not often Le Fee makes the wrong pass but he’d have been better off teeing up Nordi Mukiele than trying an audacious back-heel to Angulo after Brobbey again barged his way through the City defence.
City had a helping hand from Lady Luck for their fourth. Cherki’s through-ball was cut out by Danso but the ball then hit the covering Mukiele and bounced into the path of Semenyo, who fired in his second.
Brobbey had his third just two minutes later. Granit Xhaka’s pass over the City defence was perfectly weighted and Angulo touched it into the path of the waiting striker for a tap in.
Sunderland kept coming. Ruben Dias saved his own skin when he scampered back to clear off his own goal line then City scrambled clear from close range when Brobbey was sniffing for his fourth.
Instead, City got their fifth when Haaland struck at the back post.
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