Manchester City go into the international break in jubilant mood after a perfect 24 hours in which their title rivals stumbled and they took full advantage.
City watched champions Arsenal thumped 3-0 by Brighton on Saturday, then responded the following day by beating Sunderland 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller at Etihad Stadium. That combination leaves Enzo Maresca’s side three points clear at the top of the Premier League, and as the only team in England’s top four divisions with a 100% winning record still intact.
It caps an ideal opening to Maresca’s tenure, a role he took on after the unenviable task of replacing Pep Guardiola in the summer. His position had looked vulnerable in August, when City were humbled by Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Community Shield, but his side have since responded with seven straight victories in all competitions.
Maresca had called Sunday’s meeting with Sunderland his side’s “toughest” test of the season so far, and afterwards he was honest about the nature of the win. “To be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game,” he said. “I knew how good they are, off the ball very aggressive and on the ball they have different weapons, set-pieces and [Brian] Brobbey. I know it was a difficult game but [I’m] happy because we found a way to win the game and the good thing also is that these seven official games we played, they are all different, we experienced different things.”
The result also wrote Maresca into the record books. He becomes only the sixth Premier League manager to win his first five games in charge at a club, a group that includes Carlo Ancelotti, Craig Shakespeare, Maurizio Sarri and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — and his City predecessor Guardiola, who achieved the feat when he took over at the Etihad in 2016.
There were individual positives to take as well, among them the return to form of Antoine Semenyo with two goals and an assist, a delightful performance from Rayan Cherki, and Enzo Fernandez scoring his first goal for the club. Erling Haaland’s late effort meant the Norwegian finally ticked Sunderland off his scoring list, having now netted against all 25 Premier League teams he has faced.
Yet the manner of the victory raised questions about City’s control. Before facing Sunderland, they had conceded only two goals in their first four Premier League games; on Sunday they shipped three in 90 minutes. Sunderland striker Brobbey ran captain Ruben Dias ragged and managed the rare feat of scoring a Premier League hat-trick while ending up on the losing side — becoming just the sixth player to record that unwanted statistic. Regis le Bris’ side could have scored more, their expected goals figure of 4.25 being the most by any visiting side on record at the Etihad Stadium in a Premier League game.
Maresca acknowledged the concern. “I am always concerned, always trying to see what we can do better,” he said. “For sure, two of the three goals we conceded were too easy. The second coming from a quick [Granit] Xhaka free-kick and that cannot happen. The third goal comes from another free-kick, too easy in that way. We concede more chances but we scored five, created [more] and could score two or three more.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam called it a “brilliant start to the season” for City, adding: “A lot to work on but [positive] to score five goals at home and have shown that level of performance. With Arsenal losing on Saturday, [City] could have gone into the break top of the table and they have done that today.” Adam also identified an area for improvement, saying City “can’t go through a season playing like that, they need to be able to control spaces at times, instead of getting dragged everywhere man against man”, though he added that the run of results will give Maresca a “real positive feeling” and that City “can go into this international break with real pride”.
City will need to maintain that form upon their return, with a stern examination awaiting at the end of the three-week international hiatus: a trip to face unbeaten Liverpool on Sunday, 11 October.