Manchester City head into the first international break three points clear at the top of the Premier League after Antoine Semenyo’s double sealed an enthralling 5-3 home win over Sunderland, for whom Brian Brobbey grabbed a hat-trick, on Sunday.
A pulsating clash at a sunny Etihad Stadium saw Sunderland twice equalise and the result was still in the balance until Erling Haaland got on the scoresheet late on to seal the points and maintain City’s 100% start to the league season.
“Too many goals, I prefer 1-0 much better,” smiling City manager Enzo Maresca said after a seventh successive win in all competitions to cap a dream start to the post-Guardiola era.
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola returned to his old club Bournemouth and celebrated only his second Premier League win since taking charge at Anfield as Alexander Isak’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win to move them sixth.
Sunderland began strongly at City but were stunned in the ninth minute when Enzo Fernandez curled a free kick past goalkeeper Robin Roefs for his first goal since his record-equalling £125-million ($167.41-million) move from Chelsea.
The visitors deservedly levelled three minutes later when Brobbey took an Enzo Le Fee pass and placed a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma but Rayan Cherki restored City’s lead in the 29th minute when the ball fell to him in the box and he poked home.
Brobbey was a constant menace though and he equalised when he converted into an empty net from a Thomas Meunier assist.
City went in ahead after a breathless first half after Semenyo finished emphatically past Roefs.
Semenyo gave City breathing space in the 57th minute with a drilled finish after Sunderland’s defence failed to clear the ball. But Sunderland, and Brobbey, were not finished.
The Dutch forward applied the finishing touch to a shot by Nilson Angulo to become the first Sunderland player to score a Premier League hattrick since Jermaine Defoe in 2016.
He is also the first player to score a Premier League hat trick and end up on the losing side since Roque Santa Cruz for Blackburn Rovers against Wigan Athletic 19 years ago.
Only some desperate defending stopped Sunderland levelling for the third time but Haaland finally got his goal, meaning he has now scored against all 25 Premier League clubs he has facedin a little over four years in England.
Liverpool and Bournemouth managed only five attempts on target in a cagey affair at The Vitality Stadium but one of them proved decisive as Isak pounced in the 57th minute for his fourth league goal of the season — more than he managed in the whole of his first season after his move from Newcastle United.
Liverpool’s performance was again far from convincing but they got the only goal when Cody Gakpo’s cross sat up for Isak to fire in his fourth of the season.
Victory moves Liverpool up to sixth and within a point of third-placed Brighton.
Leeds missed the chance to go third themselves after being held 0-0 at home by Crystal Palace.
Tyrick Mitchell thought he had given Palace the lead in the second half but the goal was ruled out for offside in the build up.
Source: Khaleej Times