09/20/26 10:33:00
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09/20 10:31 CDT Man City wins 8-goal thriller against Sunderland to move clear
at top of Premier League
Man City wins 8-goal thriller against Sunderland to move clear at top of
Premier League
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) --- No Pep Guardiola. No problem.
Not yet anyway for Manchester City after moving clear at the top of the Premier
League on Sunday with a 5-3 win over Sunderland.
New coach Enzo Maresca extended his perfect winning start to the season to five
games and goes into the international break three points ahead of defending
champion Arsenal in second place.
But that doesn't tell half the story of a chaotic match at the Etihad Stadium
that saw City twice squander the lead and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey
outshine Erling Haaland with a hat trick.
Eventually it was Haaland who ended the visitors' brave fight with City's fifth
goal in the 81st minute.
Alexander Isak scored his fourth goal of the season as Liverpool beat
Bournemouth 1-0, and Leeds drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
Perfect Enzo
Maresca's 100% record continues after taking on arguably the most daunting task
in soccer when stepping into Guardiola's shoes over the summer. Charged with
the responsibility of continuing City's unprecedented era of success, which
included six league titles and the Champions League among 17 major trophies, he
has made the best possible start in terms of results.
But City will likely have to tighten up defensively if it is to end a two-year
title drought.
Sunderland repeatedly cut City open, scoring three goals and creating numerous
chances to add more.
City twice squandered leads in the first half before going in at the break 3-2
up.
Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a free kick that
curled into the near post, but Brobbey got in behind City's defense to quickly
level.
Rayan Cherki restored the home team's advantage with a low effort from inside
the area before Brobbey equalized for a second time as Sunderland again took
advantage of slack City defending.
Antoine Semenyo drilled a low shot past Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs
shortly before halftime and lashed home his second in the 57th to give City
breathing room.
Brobbey completed his hat trick by forcing the ball over the line from close
range and Ruben Dias had to clear off the line to avoid the game being leveled
again with an own-goal.
Haaland's seventh goal in his last five games avoided a tense finish.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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See AP's full soccer coverage here
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