Full Time
Manchester City won an eight-goal thriller at the Etihad, beating Sunderland 5-3 after the visitors twice fought back to level the scores. Brian Brobbey took the headlines with a hat-trick for Sunderland and still finished on the losing side, while Antoine Semenyo (two), Enzo Fernández and Rayan Cherki also found the net for City, before Erling Haaland settled it with a late winner. That's five wins from five for City, who stay top of the table with the division's best goal difference by a distance. Sunderland's defeat leaves them on 7 points from five games — mid-table, and no disgrace at all in a game like that.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Manchester City are second after four games under new boss Enzo Maresca, who's still proving he can keep the machine running without Pep Guardiola in the dugout. Sunderland are 14th with four points, back in the Premier League after years away, and a result at the Etihad — even a battling defeat — would tell everyone this squad isn't just making up the numbers.
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2Sunderland have never won at the Etihad, and they haven't beaten a side that started the day in the Premier League's top two in 17 attempts. It's less a rivalry than a reminder of how far apart these two clubs have drifted — the last time they were regulars in the same division, City were winning titles and Sunderland were on their way out of the Premier League altogether, then spent the best part of a decade rebuilding in the lower leagues before finally coming back up.
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3Watch Erling Haaland, who scores goals the way most people check their phone — constantly, and without really trying. Sunderland's defence is already thin on cover after a midweek European game took its toll, so if he gets a sniff in the box, this could get uncomfortable early.
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4City's team news is dominated by an absence: Phil Foden is serving a three-match ban after a wild kick at Bruno Fernandes in the Manchester derby, the first red card in that fixture in two decades. Sunderland have their own injury list, with Habib Diarra and Romaine Mundle both out and centre-back Omar Alderete a doubt after picking up a knock against AZ Alkmaar in midweek.
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5This was the first Manchester derby in over a decade without Pep Guardiola in the away dugout — he's gone, Enzo Maresca is in, and City are still working out what that looks like under real pressure. Sunderland, meanwhile, just picked up their first away win in European competition in almost fifty years, beating AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League. Two clubs mid-transformation, both worth watching for reasons that have nothing to do with the scoreline.
Team Talking Points
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1City have pulled off a genuinely weird piece of history: they won their first seven league games, then lost the next three. According to Sky Sports, no top-flight team had done that in 122 years. Mention it and a City fan will tell you it's a blip. Their face will tell you they're not entirely sure.
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2The latest defeat was a 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest last Saturday. Former City academy striker Liam Delap scored twice against his old club, which is football's favourite way of being cruel. City now spend the international break six points behind leaders Arsenal.
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3Enzo Maresca is the man in charge now. He was blunt after Forest, saying the first half 'was not good enough' and calling the second and third goals 'copy and paste'. When a manager starts describing goals like a computer error, the defending was probably bad.
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4There's an injury worry too. Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, two first-choice centre-backs, both went off at half-time at Forest with knocks. Ask a City fan whether the pair will be fit after the break and you'll sound like you've been reading the medical updates.
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5Then there's the elephant in the room. At the end of September an independent commission found City guilty of 114 of the famous 115 Premier League charges over their finances. The club is appealing and nobody knows the punishment yet. Raise it carefully, or better still, let them raise it.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Seven straight wins, then three straight defeats. City have basically done a whole season's mood swings before Bonfire Night.
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Avoid saying
"Just give it to Haaland and they'll be fine." They did give it to Haaland at Forest, and his shot got cleared off the line. City's problem right now is the defending, and any fan will tell you so at length.
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1Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, and it was a big one. It ended a winless run, lifted them off the bottom of the table, and pushed Chelsea out of the top four. Not a bad afternoon's work.
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2The goal was an Enzo Le Fée penalty in the 36th minute, after striker Brian Brobbey was brought down by Levi Colwill. Chelsea moaned that Brobbey had pulled Colwill first. Sunderland fans will tell you, cheerfully, that the decision stood.
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3Chelsea had about 69% of the ball, but Sunderland created the better chances. One stats site had Sunderland's expected goals at 2.55 against Chelsea's 0.53. Translation for the non-fan: the scoreline flattered Chelsea, not Sunderland.
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4Manager Régis Le Bris had been under real pressure going in, so this one mattered. He called it 'crucial', but admitted that the target is still 40 points and there's 'a long way to go'. Sunderland are 19th on eight points, so he's right.
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5First up after the break is Aston Villa away on Saturday 21 November. Then there's the small matter of the Tyne–Wear derby at Newcastle on 5 December. Feel free to ask a Sunderland fan whether they've started thinking about it. They have.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Chelsea had seventy per cent of the ball and Sunderland had all three points. Funny how that works.
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Avoid saying
"Sunderland? I thought they were still in League One." They did spend years down there, and Netflix made a whole documentary about how painful it was. Bringing it up now, with Chelsea freshly beaten, is a quick way to get a stony stare.