City 5–3 Sunderland, and it was closer than it should have been
Manchester City 5–3 Sunderland at the Etihad on Sunday. Eight goals, and your team needed all five of them (2) (3) (4).
Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick for Sunderland. A promoted side came to your ground and put three past you (2) (3).
Antoine Semenyo scored twice, Erling Haaland was among the scorers, and Rayan Cherki got one (4) (5).
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Semenyo kept it simple afterwards: "We held on together as a team and we got the three points" (2) (3) (4).
Semenyo is the story of the start
Enzo Maresca singled him out. "[He was] very important but its not just because he scored two goals" (4).
Five league games, five wins. 15 points, top of the table, +8 goal difference. Semenyo has been at the centre of nearly all of it (4).
Hart on Cherki: "I think he's a genius"
Joe Hart did not hedge on Match of the Day. "I think he's a genius," the former City keeper said about Cherki's goal against Sunderland (5).
Minteh linked, Liverpool circling
City are in the frame for Yankuba Minteh, with Liverpool potentially going head to head for him in January (1).
Unconfirmed for now, but worth noting given how the window has gone.
Semenyo heads to Ghana on Wednesday
Semenyo is expected in Ghana on Wednesday for AFCON qualifiers against Ivory Coast and Gambia, plus a friendly with Morocco (4).
That is three games and a lot of air miles for the man City cannot currently do without.
Fan reactions
The mood on r/MCFC is split between relief and jokes. One thread digs into the expected goals numbers from the Sunderland game, because shipping three at home to a promoted side does not sit right no matter the scoreline. Another riffs on the two-minute highlights edit, which apparently cut off a bit sharp at the end. Match thread and highlights talk
