The week City stopped being boring
Manchester City 5–3 Sunderland at the Etihad. Eight goals, three of them from a Sunderland striker, and City still ended the afternoon alone at the top of the Premier League with five wins from five (3)(8)(13). A fortnight of this and nobody will call Maresca's team mechanical again.
The defending was poor. It did not matter. City twice let a lead go, then took the game away from Sunderland anyway (19). Twelve points from four league games, goal difference +6, form reading W W W W W.
Semenyo announced himself
Antoine Semenyo scored twice and set up another (17)(18). Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cherki had already put City ahead inside the half hour, and Semenyo's second, just before the hour, was the goal that finally broke Sunderland's grip on the game.
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He came in as a squad question and left it as an answer. City now have a wide forward who finishes, not just one who creates.
Brobbey scored three. Sunderland still lost.
Brian Brobbey's hat-trick, on 12, 33 and 59 minutes, made him the first Sunderland player since Jermain Defoe in 2016 to score a Premier League treble (2)(23). He is only the fifth player to lose a Premier League match after scoring three (2).
That is the measure of this City team. A striker can produce the best afternoon of his career at the Etihad and leave with nothing. Sunderland scored three away from home and were never level in the closing stages.
Haaland's miss, and Haaland's goal
Erling Haaland missed an extraordinary chance and then scored on 81 minutes to settle it (10)(26). The miss got more headlines than the finish.
That goal means Haaland has now scored against every Premier League opponent he has faced, a run that has him tracking Harry Kane (12)(19). He also has the fifth straight win to go with it.
Doku back, and a fortnight to breathe
Jeremy Doku came off the bench, his first appearance since a calf injury picked up in the FA Community Shield (9)(13)(17)(28). City's unbeaten home record in this fixture now runs to 15 league meetings (2).
Around them, the division is less forgiving. Arsenal's defeat left the door open and City walked through it (12)(22). Bournemouth 0–1 Liverpool and Leeds 0–0 Crystal Palace on the same afternoon show how few teams are handing out cheap points (21)(22).
What to watch when the league returns
The international break takes the squad away for a fortnight. The question waiting on the other side is the one this 5–3 dodged: can City keep winning once the goals stop coming in bunches?
They conceded three at home to a side sitting 14th (4). Brobbey's hat-trick is a warning. When the fixtures resume, watch whether Maresca tightens the midfield or simply keeps outscoring everyone.
